Ballpark Travel

It seems likely that Major League Baseball is going to expand in the near future with the addition of two more teams. Much has been written recently about speculating where, but Montreal and Portland seem to be two of the common front runners. The addition of two MLB teams will have a ripple effect into Minor League Baseball in what could end up with between 10-12 additional franchises. Not all teams have both Class A Short Season and a Rookie League affiliate, but it is a sure thing that at least five teams will be added per expansion franchise which could expand to a sixth team should the parent club desire to field a Rookie League team. Presently, there are 160 MiLB teams. Here is how the levels break down with the number of teams in parenthesis: -         30 Triple A – International League (14), Pacific Coast League (16) -         30 Double A – Eastern League (12), Southern League (10), Texas League (8...

I play the lottery when it reaches $100 Million because I love to dream about the opportunity to run a minor league baseball team and do it my way. I have spent all of my professional career managing relationships, so most of my time plotting is spent on people – how to treat corporate partners, consumers, employees and players. Corporate Partners I think that most teams already do a very good job of making their corporate partners happy – they are a lifeline of the business. What the Cleveland Browns did last fall with Bud Light to unlock a refrigerator full of free beer after their first win of the season was brilliant. The Browns took advantage of this opportunity as an improving team to partner with Bud Light and created likely the best sports promotion of the year following a season of ineptitude in which the Browns were 0-16 and had their fans in upheaval. This promotion involved the Browns, Bud Light and a variety of agency partners to fulfill the idea, but that is the c...

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. I have had the opportunity to traveling to California many times and if there was one state to have a road trip, that would be it. You get the chance to see the desert, mountains, national parks, wine country and enjoy a few double double animal style burgers at In-N-Out. California and Nevada offer 12 Minor League ballparks and 5 Major League ballparks, so there are plenty of options and great variety. While this trip would require both a ton of time and money, it would be one for the ages. Here is my proposed two-week journey that would cross off 14 ballparks including all 12 MiLB parks plus LAA and SF, but what seems more attainable could be one of either visiting all the teams in the south or nort...