February 12: Seven Ballparks

When I received news on December 26 of 2008 that I was hired to work at Baseball Info Solutions in Coplay, PA as a video scout intern for the summer of 2009, I was stoked. Not only was I excited to get paid to watch Major League Baseball games, but I was excited to be able to experience a new set of baseball parks.

At the time, I had been to every ballpark on the west coast from San Diego to Seattle and upon receiving news of my hiring, I made it a goal to visit the seven ballparks that would be accessible to me during my stay in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York City for the Mets, Boston, New York City for the Yankees, and Pittsburgh were all within driving distance to where I was going to be so I thought this would be the perfect time to see those parks.

The first one was easy. Philadelphia was about an hour away and that trip pretty much fell into my lap. One of the other interns was a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan and the team was going to be in Philly in April. One day, this intern stood up in the office and made an announcement that he was going to be going to Citizen's Bank Ballpark to watch his Brewers play and asked if anyone else wanted to join him. Even though I really wanted to wait until the Padres were in town, I didn't know if I would get another opportunity so I said I would go. We drove there in the morning for the 1:05 game, had no problem with parking, and even got to see a near no-hitter by Dave Bush of the Brewers.

The next trip took place at the end of May. I had planned on going with two friends from the internship so we must have chosen that particular game because we all had the same days off. The destination was Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and the game just so happened to be the Major League debut for one of the more touted prospects; Matt Wieters of the Orioles.

It took us about three hours to drive there, and we did so with the threat of rain. The game was scheduled for 7:05, and we were all praying that the rain would wait until after the game because we didn't like the idea of driving so far only to be turned away due to a postponement. We got into town early enough to get a beer at a local bar and an official Baltimore crab cake at a nearby restaurant. As we sat and ate our lunch/dinner the sky opened up and the rain began.

We walked over to the ballpark and took in the sights as we stood under awnings, overhangs and anything else that would keep us dry. After only an hour's delay, the game started and we saw a home team victory. Wieters went 0-4, but it was still cool to see the crowd's enthusiastic reaction to a routine play that he made in the first inning.

My next trip didn't come for a few months. I have an aunt that lives in DC, so I made it a point to visit her at the end of the July when the Padres would be in town to play the Nationals. I was able to visit with my aunt, see all of the monuments and memorials and watch my beloved Padres get their butts kicked by the worst team in the Majors. Not only did I have to watch my team take a pounding, but I had to wait three hours in the pouring rain by myself to do so. The game started on time, but after one full inning of play, the tarp was pulled on to the field and the game was delayed due to the weather. My aunt, her husband and his daughter decided they had had enough after two hours of waiting so they wanted to go. I told my aunt that I didn't drive that far to watch my team play one inning and I didn't mind taking the train or a cab back to her house by myself once the game finished. I was glad to see the Padres play, but it was pretty humiliating having to walk out of Nationals Park wearing my San Diego gear with my tail between my legs at 2:00 in the morning.

By the end of August, I hadn't seen any other parks and my goal was looking pretty grim and futile. There was just a little more than a month left on the season and I still had to see both New York parks, Boston, and Pittsburgh. The Padres were going to be in Pittsburgh at the end of September so I wasn't worried about that one, but I was finding it more and more difficult to convince people around the office to take their minimum wage and spend it on a trip to a ballpark to watch more baseball. I was able to convince one of my friends to go to New York for a Mets game on August 24, but I was getting pretty depressed that I was still going to miss the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Then in the middle of August, everything came together perfectly. I sent a random text to a friend in California asking him if he wanted to meet me in Boston to watch the Red Sox play at Fenway. I didn't think there was a chance in Hell that he would say yes, but he did! Then, from out of nowhere, one of the interns asked if I wanted to join him and his roommate on a trip to New York to watch the Yankees make up a game from earlier in the year with the Angels.

So on August 24 (a Monday), I drove to New York City (about two hours) to watch the Mets play at Citi Field. I drove back that night and finished the week of work. On the following Monday, I took a bus to New York City where I got on another bus to Boston and spent the next three days with my friend. He knew someone that lived in the city so we were able to stay with him for free which saved a ton of money. I got back to my apartment late that Wednesday, worked through Sunday and took my third trip to New York City in three weeks to watch the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium.

I officially completed my goal on September 18 when I saw the first of a four game series between the Padres and the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Of course, the Padres lost the one game I was at and won the next three, but I had done it! I saw seven different ballparks in one summer. I have now been to fourteen of thirty ballparks and can't wait for the new season to start so I can check the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Minute Maid Park in Houston, and possibly one more off my list too.