Ballpark Travel

On Friday, April 28th, 2017, I joined an exclusive club that I have been pursuing for 16 baseball seasons – I have now visited all 30 active Major League Baseball stadiums and 3 more that either no longer exist or host a team – Yankee Stadium, Turner Field and Olympic Stadium. If you know me, you know that baseball defines who I am. I travel for work about 100 days every year and from March to October, I am acutely aware of what the closest team is and if they are playing a home game that night. I could care less who is playing or even who wins most of the time, I am happiest in a baseball stadium. I love baseball because it is one way I can relate with people. If I happened to meet someone from Denver, I could go on and on that Coors Field is in my top-5 ballparks and how much I love the variety of craft beer at the ballpark and going out on Blake Street after the game. Let the conversation begin. This journey has allowed me to learn how incredible and diverse our country is and wh...

Sports are the last great live spectacle. Going to see a concert or a play has its place, there are no other events that we can watch with unknown outcomes, that is the beauty of sports. We watch because there are new storylines every single night and we can find common ground with complete strangers over our favorite teams and players. I also think that sports serve as a diversion to many. Sports are an escape from the real world issues that trouble us – money, career, weight, injury or grief. Occasionally our issues enter the sports world in a very relatable way. Today – September 25 th , 2016 – was an unbelievable day and one that needs to be written about. In the same day, Major League Baseball began to mourn the loss of budding Miami Marlins star, 24 year old, Jose Fernandez and golf legend Arnold Palmer passed away at age 87. Those headlines may be what most people remember about this day, I think that it is important to identify the beauty that sports provided on this day...

I have been compelled to get back to writing to discuss the 500 Home Run club’s newest member, David Ortiz. The other day while listening to a popular talk radio show discuss his candidacy for the MLB Hall of Fame, there were some arguments on both sides of the issue. To me, there is no question that David Ortiz belongs in Cooperstown. His history of postseason heroics and overall offensive numbers put him in company with the already enshrined. More importantly, he is one of a shrinking number of athletes who is embraceable public figure and has given back and grown the game. If I were to have been able to weigh in on this radio show, these would have been my case for David Ortiz. Steroids One of two arguments against David Ortiz relates to steroids. In 2003 when performance enhancing drug use was widely used throughout baseball (and all sports), David Ortiz and many other baseball players participated in a test for Major League Baseball where no penalties for a positive...

First, I hope to keep a promise to myself and return to writing post-MBA about business, baseball and a few personal pieces. It has been a while, but I plan to wipe the dust off by writing about the Braves offensive struggles and some ideas how to improve during the season. I moved to Atlanta in 2008 to work for the Braves in a season where Chipper Jones was hitting over .400 well into the summer in what was one of the most impressive offensive seasons I have ever been able to closely watch. Since, Atlanta has lacked a dominant offensive player, which is their first problem and one that likely will not have a solution unless Freddie Freeman take the last step this season from one of the best first-basemen in the league to one of the best players in all of baseball. In order to do that, his power numbers will need to climb to 30+ and his ability to come up with a clutch hit needs to continue to be strong. When he signed the long term contract this past off-season my first thought is ...

In recent years, WAR (Wins Above Replacement, read more HERE ) has become one of the most discussed statistics in player evaluation. With the release of Moneyball last November and another amazing success story of the Oakland A’s (and the lowest payroll in the MLB, $49 Million) winning the AL West on the final day of the season statistical analysis could not be more in vogue. In order to earn a playoff berth this year, the A’s had to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Albert Pujols was easily a top-5 player and the main contributor to the team that just had won the World Series. Deservedly so with this status, he signed a mega contract that will pay him $240 Million dollars over 10 years. The Angels, as can any team that spends a substantial amount of money on one player can argue that by adding a star caliber talent, it will ultimately make the whole team better and provide an opportunity to win a World Series. The question raised is h...

It has been a while since my last blog entry, since the last time I wrote, I have crossed off many new baseball stadiums and am down to the last few to see before making trips back to see repeat teams with new stadiums. What got me thinking about writing again was this weekend's trip to Denver, Colorado. This experience was so incredible that it needed to be written about. Over the course of three days, I saw Coors Field, crossed off a new state to visit (Wyoming), visited three of over one hundred local breweries and spent a day in one of the most amazing and unique tourism spots that I have ever seen - Rocky Mountain National Park. While planning various trips to MLB stadiums across the country, Denver was never high on my list. Turns out, Denver may end up near the top because of the other activities that I was able to experience while in the area. Amazingly, I learned that Coors Field, built in 1995, is the third oldest stadium  of all National League teams. Only the Chicago ...

I sit here on Wednesday night, in the wake of Major League Baseball's second ever post-season no hitter and I just know that it is just beginning. When I look at the teams that made it this season, there is one juggernaut (Philadelphia) and seven others that are hungry for playoff success. Here is what I am thinking about each team starting the playoffs: Philadelphia (97-65): The Phillies had a dominant September. They have an American League offense, the big three and their closer is back and pitching lights out. When I see this team, it is going to take a lot of heart to uproot the team that has played in each of the last two World Series. They are deep in pitching, deep in hitting and have a serviceable bench. They are going to have to get in their own way to get knocked out before the World Series, if they do that -- is it poor defense? is it Lidge reverting to his erratic self because of Manuel's overuse? I know what it won't be -- this team is cool and collected, th...