Ballpark Travel

The 2019 MLB season is underway and there remains a competent team of MLB players who are free agents. By no means is this a playoff team, but this group probably could compete at the level that the Baltimore Orioles plan to this season. There are enough offensive players to get to a 24-man roster so the final spot would have to go to a true catcher since Evan Gattis is more of a DH these days. The pitching staff is the strength of this team with a couple difference makers still available beyond often discussed Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel. Denard Span, RF Brandon Phillips, 2B Matt Holliday, DH Evan Gattis, C Jose Bautista, LF Logan Morrison, 1B Chase Headley, 3B Jose Reyes, SS Austin Jackson, CF Danny Valencia, INF Chris Young, OF Ben Revere, OF - cut by TEX on 3/26 Rotation Dallas Keuchel Edwin Jackson Dan Straily - cut by MIA on 3/25 James Shields Miguel Gonzalez Bullpen Yovani Gallardo, RH Dan Jennings, LH - cut by LAA on 3/27 ...

When the rules changes were announced on March 14th, there really wasn't anything too earth shattering, but it does feel like some substantial changes are building during the next CBA negotiation at the conclusion of the 2021 season - expansion (possibly globalism), fewer games, shorter games and fixing free agency all will be hot topics and to the league office's credit, Commissioner Manfred has done a tremendous job of being open in discussing the future of professional baseball. For this round of changes, however - there were some interesting small adjustments. 1. Changes to encourage faster games: Inning Breaks are reduced by 0:05 in regional broadcast games and 0:25 in national broadcast games. For a national game, that is somewhat significant savings of 7+ minutes, but just shows the commitment to faster games. Maximum mound visits reduced from 6 to 5. I have a hard time remembering a game without playoff implications where this was an issue, but this rule def...

The idea of seeing all 190 active major and minor league ballparks feels like a daunting task and a life's work - chipping away here and there over many years. For the 2019 season, here are some recommendations to take a week or a weekend getaway to get just a little bit closer. Many of the players from the MLB first year player draft get their feet wet in professional baseball in rookie ball either in the Appalachian League or the Pioneer League. It's a great opportunity to get a first look at the draft crop, but also visit some of Minor League Baseballs' smallest and more unique parks in the beautiful scenery of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounding Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Looking at attendance figures from 2018, league games averaged 1,015 attendees with the range of 2,764 (Pulaski) to 529 (Elizabethton). This August, do 10 parks in 10 days or break it in half and do either the East division (green) or West division (blue): West Division: Friday, Augu...

The idea of seeing all 190 active major and minor league ballparks feels like a daunting task and a life's work - chipping away here and there over many years. For the 2019 season, here are some recommendations to take a week or a weekend getaway to get just a little bit closer. This summer, the MLB All Star Game heads to Cleveland, OH - one of my favorite cities (seriously). In the summer time, there is a lot of baseball to take in surrounding the mid-summer classic. Flying round-trip to Cleveland (CLE), this trip would make visiting the All Star Game and 5 minor league ballparks feasible. Saturday, July 6 - 7:00PM - Lansing Lugnuts @ Lake County Captains Sunday, July 7 - 4:05PM - Williamsport Crosscutters @ Mahoning Valley Scrappers Monday, July 8 - Evening - MLB Home Run Derby Tuesday, July 9 - Evening - MLB All Star Game Wednesday, July 10 - No baseball games, NFL Hall of Fame / Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Thursday, July 11 - 7:05PM - Altoona Curve @ Erie Seawolves F...

The idea of seeing all 190 active major and minor league ballparks feels like a daunting task and a life's work - chipping away here and there over many years. For the 2019 season, here are some recommendations to take a week or a weekend getaway to get just a little bit closer. In June, there is an opportunity in the Carolina's to see 9 games in 7 days. You would be able to fly in and out of the Raleigh-Durham airport (RDU) and see a wide variety of ballparks from the Burlington Royals 3,500 seat rookie league park built in 1960 all the way up to the Charlotte Knights, Durham Bulls and Greenville Drive, all consistently considered among the best Minor League ballparks. Monday, June 24 - 7:00PM - Down East Wood Ducks @ Carolina Mudcats (Zebulon, NC) Tuesday, June 25 - 1:05PM - Charlotte Knights @ Durham Bulls Tuesday, June 25 - TBD - Kingsport Mets @ Burlington Royals Wednesday, June 26 - 12:00PM - WV Power @ Greensboro Grasshoppers Wednesday, June 26 - 7:00PM - My...

It's March and Spring Training is in full swing. Baseball has done a tremendous job with their exhibition season over the years creating travel destinations in Arizona and Florida for fans to enjoy baseball and amazing weather. Most travelers follow their team to their warm climate homes in either the Cactus League or Grapefruit League, but for those who are just happy to be in the ballpark or looking for a change of scenery, the experience could not be more different. Either way, you are going to enjoy yourself. Decide for yourself which is right for you considering the following travel factors: Baseball: Phoenix It's not that you are going to see different brands of baseball, what makes Phoenix so great is that the distance between Surprise (Northwest) and Mesa (Southeast) is a 50 minute drive meaning that any game on the schedule is in play every day. Many days, you can easily do a doubleheader and see two games in two stadiums on the same day. It happened 17 times in...