As 2013′s Major League Baseball division begins, that academician admonition from the cornfield whispers truer than ever: If you body it, he (or she) will come.
The cross-country amphitheater hunter, that is.There are bags of them, traveling city-limits to city, spending their summers and their money on the alley with the fanatic’s ambition of visiting as abounding as they can of North America’s 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.Some ballpark chasers, as they’re generally called, administer the admirable bang of the amphitheater hunt—hitting all the parks in a individual season.Those added aggressive accept aimed for accomplishing the bout in one ages or less.
But a lot of chasers allot their lifetimes to the pursuit, as Craig Landgren is doing.The 32-year-old Cincinnati Reds fan lives abreast Seattle, has visited 14 alive stadiums and aims to see the blow in advancing decades.Landgren is aswell the architect of BallparkChasers.com, an online association abject for baseball admirers with a affection as abundant for stadiums as the bold itself.He launched the website and the alignment about 5 years ago.
“I kept affair humans who had the aforementioned ambition as me, to appointment all 30 of the stadiums,” Landgren told Off the Road.“I absitively there should be a association for this.”
Today, there is.BallparkChasers.com has 1,500 members.They use the website as a ability for tips and suggestions on how to a lot of calmly and a lot of enjoyably accomplish the Can-American amphitheater tour—including auberge and restaurant suggestions for ceremony city-limits and appropriate multi-stadium weekend routes.Members aswell use the website as a amusing networking apparatus for affair added ballpark chasers, generally at games.Many ballpark chasers accept become pen pals.Others accept become best friends.Some are baseball newbies, while others accept apparent hundreds and hundreds of games.
This Google map shows the area of every Major League Baseball stadium.Outlying cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and Miami accomplish activity harder for committed ballpark chasers. (Photo address of BallparkChasers.com)
For a few abnormally aggressive chasers, the amusement is not just a ambition but a race—and a part of these people, annal are kept.One affiliate of BallparkChasers.com, for instance, alleged Josh Robbins, holds the alleged “land record,” accepting visited every amphitheater in 26 canicule after traveling by air—an accomplishment fabricated abnormally difficult by such afar baseball cities as Miami, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area and, especially, Seattle.Another member, Chuck Booth, holds the all-around fastest almanac of 23 days—several of these, obviously, doubleheaders.Booth describes the adventure in his book The Fastest Thirty Ballgames: A Ballpark Chasers (sic) World Almanac Story, which he co-authored with Landgren.
Another stadium-hunting baseball fanatic, from Annapolis, Maryland, affairs to ride a bike to every esplanade in the country.Jacob Landis, 23, larboard home several canicule ago and will be pedaling the absolute 10,500-mile amphitheater circuit, with van support.The adventure may yield 175 days.
Roberto Coquis and Judy Pino completed the amphitheater bout in 2009 with their months-old baby, Sofia.
Fenway Esplanade welcomes Bob DeVries in 2009, twenty-eight stadiums into the Cubs fan’s amphitheater bout in account of his backward wife, Shawn Marie DeVries. (Photo address of Bob DeVries)
Bob DeVries, of McHenry, Illinois, became a ballpark attorney in 2009.DeVries absent his wife, Shawn Marie, to a affection action alleged arrhythmogenic appropriate ventricular dysplasia in 2008 if she was 35.In 2009, DeVries spent all bounce and summer touring the nation, visiting every amphitheater by September 6, four canicule afore the ceremony of Shawn Marie’s passing.It was a way of befitting himself alive and focused while confusing himself from the abandoned time he al of a sudden had to face ceremony weekend, DeVries, 49, told Off the Road.In 2010, the Cubs fan afresh the journey—this time with media advantage and a fund-raising accomplishment for SADS.org, an alignment committed to compassionate and preventing heart-related deaths like that of Shawn Marie.
DeVries says the amphitheater bout amount him amid $17,000 and $20,000 ceremony of his two years on the road.He said the easiest arena to accouterment is the Northeast, area one can conceivably see a bold at every amphitheater in a week.Some regions of the country, meanwhile, accept to be approached carefully.
“I fabricated abiding that the Astros and Rangers were both at home if I went to Texas so I wouldn’t accept to go aback afresh later,” he said.“I did the aforementioned affair in Florida and in San Francisco.”
Like so abounding ballpark chasers, DeVries says his admired amphitheater in the country is the Giants’ AT&T Park.His atomic admired is just several afar away, beyond San Francisco Bay—the ogreishly alleged O.co Coliseum.When The New York Times afresh denticulate ceremony esplanade application Yelp ratings, the Toronto’s Rogers Centre came in endure (though it’s still the finest Major League esplanade in Canada, no contest) and O.co landed at amount 29—the worst-rated amphitheater in America.High on the account were the celebrated Fenway Esplanade of the Boston Red Sox—now the oldest alive amphitheater in the Major Leagues—and Wrigley Field of the Chicago Cubs.Oriole Esplanade at Camden Yards—built in 1992 and advised the aboriginal of the new beachcomber of American baseball stadiums—came in fifth, while the Pirates’ PNC Esplanade in Pittsburgh was alleged as the favorite.
Over the able 20 years, the baseball alley cruise has enjoyed an acute makeover.Prior to the aboriginal 90s, abounding stadiums were arid and dull, or artlessly defective in company amenities.Then, the Baltimore Orioles opened Camden Yards.The esplanade was apple-pie and able but with a awakening brick-and-ivy attending that evoked the acceptable old canicule of archetypal American baseball.The Orioles had congenital it, and the admirers came.Attendance spiked.Other cities followed suit, and 22 stadiums accept back accustomed boastful makeovers, axis from abrupt old venues of crumbling bleachers and agitated beer base into semi-swanky day-tripper attractions.
As new stadiums abide to arise through the seasons, even the a lot of able ballpark chasers may acquisition acumen to yield to to the alley again.Currently, there is allocution of affective the Oakland Athletics to a new home in San Jose.Some retired amphitheater hunters, too, will apparently amend old accomplish if parks accept renovations, which are always in the works.Still others who accept apparent every alive park, according to Landgren, accomplish it a ambition to echo the feat, this time seeing their admired team—not just any teams—play in ceremony stadium.Some are searching to aggrandize the coursing into Japan, area Major League amateur accept been played.A few attending to an absolutely added level—the Minor Leagues—and activate a accomplished new coursing in a acreage of abate crowds, cheaper seats and players who aren’t millionaires.
The ballpark coursing goes on.
The O.co Coliseum in Oakland, defective in avant-garde or chic amenities, is one of the atomic admired baseball stadiums in the country. (Photo address of BallparkChasers.com)
Tips for the Tour: Following are a few suggestions for how to accomplish the amphitheater bout (no absence Toronto, Seattle or Miami!) at basal amount and accent and with basal backtracking.
Beware of rainouts.If you accept to chase alee from a rained out bold in adjustment to bolt added amateur for which you’ve already bought tickets, you will be affected to acknowledgment after for addition try.A rainout in Colorado could potentially be adverse for your summertime amphitheater tour.
If you’re driving, hire a amalgam car and abate your gas costs.
When possible, appointment two stadiums in a day.This will buy you time for after down the road.
For places with assorted teams aural a baby region, like Florida, the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California and the Northeast, try and appointment if ceremony club is in town.
Camp.It’s cheaper than sleeping in hotels.
Don’t go too fast, and save time to see the highlights of ceremony city.This may be the alone time you’ll appointment them.
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