So I Sunday, April 10, 2022, I watched the Texas Rangers play the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rogers Centre. That in itself isn't a very special event. There have been literally millions of people that havev seen a baseball game in the ballpark that opened as the SkyDome back in 1989. Heck, the Blue Jays led the American League in attendance every year from 1989 through 1994 with numbers that regularly broke 3 million.
However, it was a very important milestone in my own personal life. After all, the Rogers Centre is the 34th stadium where I've seen a Major League Game. However, four of those ballparks are no longer in use, which means that it took until now when I completed the journey that I'm sure many baseball fans desire: I have seen a game in every active Major League Baseball stadium.
I'm not sure exactly how many people have completed this journey. I used to think it was a lot, but then I realized that teams are constantly changing their ballparks, most recently my hometown Texas Rangers. They opened up their brand new Globe Life Field in 2020, but thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic there were no fans in the stands until 2021. Sure, they led the league with 2,110,258 fans in 2021, but surely not every one of those 2,110,258 were missing only that one ballpark to complete their set.
Anyways, I should be proud of my own accomplishment, even though the only reason that I was able to make this trek was because my parents' middle-class upbringing allowed me to go into school and enter a reasonably well-paying profession, which gave me the means with which to travel to all these cities. And now to rub it in I am going to be sharing my story about my visits to each of these stadiums.
1. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)
Opened: 1973
First Game: July 5, 1993 (Game 1)
Number of Games Seen: 10
I was born in 1985, but I really didn't know much about baseball until my family moved to Overland Park outside of Kansas City in 1992. I became aware that there was a baseball team there and they were known as the Royals. I'm not sure I even realized that we could go to baseball games until one of my dad's friends or co-worker invited my dad, my sister and me to go to a Royals game. I still remember seeing the green Astroturf (which just isn't quite the same), and I remember getting somewhat nervous about going to the upper deck, thinking how terrible it would be if I fell down into the lower bowl. I don't remember much about the game itself, but I do remember the final score of Royals 7, Orioles 1 which allowed me to find the date of the game about a decade later.
I've been documenting each of the Major League Baseball games I've been to since about 2010, and I suppose it's fortunate that I remember every one before then because as I kid we just didn't go to very many games. I remember looking at a list of all of the teams and the stadiums where they play and circling Kauffman Stadium because it was the only one I've been to. I scoffed at the idea that I'd go to all of them. My family would live in Overland Park until 1999, and I went to only four more games after that. I still got to see some fun moments. I got to see one of the first interleague games between the Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals. I also found out where the visiting bus was where I got to get the autographs of future All-Star Magglio Ordonez. And I got to shake the hand of future Hall of Famer Buck O'Neil. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the Kansas City area, and I've gone back to visit from time to time over the years, and I've managed to go to as many games in Kauffman Stadium as I have when I still lived in the area. Of course, it's been almost 23 years since I moved away and I only lived in Kansas for seven.
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2. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
Opened: 1992
First Game: August 12, 2001 (Game 6)
Number of Games Seen: 4
In 1999 my family moved from Overland Park, Kansas to Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. This was back before the Washington Nationals were in town, so the closest Major League venue was in Camden Yards about an hour away. The Potomac Nationals (then Cannons) were still in Woodbridge at the time, but it wasn't all that much closer. I never really gave much thought to watching the Orioles play until the summer of 2001 when my childhood friends Kevin and Alvin that moved to Northern Virginia a year before we did invited me to go to a game. It was the final summer of Cal Ripken Jr.'s career, and I remember watching practicing on the field, teasing the fans about potentially signing autographs before he never did. Then I saw him tie Royals great George Brett in hits.
My parents still live in Northern Virginia, but I made the drive over to Baltimore for an Orioles game only once, when I went to watch Taiwan pitching sensation Chen Wei-Yin (陳偉殷) in 2012. The other two times I went as I was visiting Baltimore for BronyCon. I confess that I was never a big fan of BronyCon. It was way too crowded, so I would go to Orioles games instead.
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3. Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
Opened: 2008
First Game: August 27, 2008 (Game 15)
Number of Games Seen: 8
Washington DC would eventually get a team four years after I watched a game in Camden Yards when the beleaguered Montreal Expos made the trek down to the nation's capitol. They spent their first three seasons playing in RFK Stadium before their new home ballpark opened in the Navy Yards neighborhood. I was busy preparing for retaking the MCAT for most of that first summer, and I was only able to walk around the ballpark before it actually opened in March. I was finally able to catch a game in August after the MCATs were finished. I had been trying to watch Greg Maddux pitch for several years, and I finally had the opportunity to do so when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers who made a trip to DC in late August. I ended up buying tickets to two games because I wasn't sure when he'd pitch. He wound up pitching in that first game, a Nationals win. I eventually came back the next day and saw Cristian Guzman hit for the cycle in a game that Clayton Kershaw started.
I would move to Texas a year later, but before then I got to witness another historic achievement: Randy Johnson winning his 300th game, which is still the crowning moment I had witnessed in all the games I've went to. Since then I would only make trips to Nationals Park whenever I made trips back to Northern Virginia, and not all the time. But I've seen some interesting moments, such as Stephen Strasburg's third career win in 2010, and later Adrian Beltre having his quest for 3,000 on hold due to a foot injury in 2018.
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4. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros)
Opened: 2000
First Game: September 24, 2011 (Game 32)
Number of Games Seen: 22
I moved down to Texas in 2009 for medical school, but I was mostly sequestered in Fort Worth where my medical school was. I rarely made trips to Dallas, and heaven forbid that I'd go down to Houston which was four hours away. It didn't really interest me as I had a team in nearby Arlington whose games I can attend. However, in 2011 I was sent over to Longview in East Texas to do the clinical years of my medical studies. All of a sudden a whole new world opened up. Houston was no longer a mystical distant destination but someplace where I could visit only three hours away. I was just starting to get the hang of making long drives as in that preceding summer I had driven from Fort Worth to Hartshorne, Oklahoma to visit the grave of Warren Spahn and also drove around Pennsylvania to visit the graves of other 300-game winners. I eventually planned a weekend trip to Houston with my friend Jonathan. We'd go to a game with just the two of us on Saturday, and then a whole group can go on Sunday. We watched a 13-inning marathon that turned out to be the 200,000th Major League Baseball game, and then the next day we watched the Astros get annihilated 19-3 when even pitcher Kevin Millwood homered.
Over the years Minute Maid Park became my other destination for watching Major League Baseball games. Since I didn't come from Texas, I didn't have the dislike of the Astros that many other Rangers fans hold. In fact I had liked the Astros during the Killer B days, initially with Derek Bell back in the late-1990s, and then with Lance Berkman in the mid-2000s. Of course they were long gone by the time I started going to games in Houston regularly. They had their big teardown after which they would rebuild piece by piece. In the end I've gone to four playoff games in Minute Maid Park, more than any other active stadiums, including Justin Verlander's complete game victory in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS as well as Game 1 of the 2021 World Series when Jorge Soler made history by leading off with a home run. Of course, I have also been to more games in Minute Maid Park than in other active stadiums.
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5. Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants)
Opened: 2000
First Game: April 14, 2012 (Game 37)
Number of Games Seen: 3
In early 2012 I still hadn't seriously considered the thought of going to all of the Major League ballparks. At that time I had another thing on my mind: getting to meet all of the living 300-game winners before they died. Sometime in February or March of that month I saw that Steve Carlton was making an appearance in the Tristar Productions Bay Area show on April 14, 2012. I wasn't sure when I'd ever get to meet Lefty again, so I booked a flight to San Francisco. Just for S&G I checked to see if the Giants or the Athletics were in town that day. The A's were on the road in Seattle, but the Giants were at home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. I figured, if I was going to fly all the way to California I might as well watch a game there. I missed my flight that day, but I was still able to get on another flight that got me to San Francisco early enough that I was able to visit my old house in Pleasanton (where I lived from 1989-1992 before moving to Kansas), and then driving around the Bay to the Cow Palace where the card show and autograph signing took place.
And then came the game. I was dressed in my regular attire back then in only a T-shirt and shorts, definitely not expecting the Bay Area weather which was only 54 at first pitch and only got colder as the night went on. I tried to hang in there the best I could but by the time the Giants walked it off on an error the person sitting behind me took pity on me and lent me a blanket. Nevertheless I was struck by the beauty of the ballpark. I would go back to the San Francisco area a few times over the years for the Bay Area Brony Spectacular (Babscon). And whenever the Giants were at home, as they were in 2016 and 2017, I made sure to go to a game in Oracle Park. And I made sure to dress warmly.
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6. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Opened: 2001
First Game: August 11, 2012 (Game 40)
Number of Games Seen: 1
In the summer of 2012 I began my fourth year of medical school. This was an advancement in my training where I got to pick and choose certain electives to tailor to my professional interests. I had applied and was accepted for an infectious disease rotation in Akron, Ohio. I had interviewed at the Northeastern Ohio Medical University and I really liked the area. I eventually got in off the waitlist, but alas I had already accepted my spot in Texas. As I started my training, I realized that Akron was within three and a half hours of four different Major League Baseball stadiums, and the home teams for those stadiums would be present in the weekends of my elective.
My journey started with going to Pittsburgh, since they were at home at the time, and because I was a little bit more comfortable with the city. My sister lived there at the time as she was studying at the University of Pittsburgh, and I had gone to visit the city the year before. Plus at two hours it was closer than two of the other venues, and I wanted to save the closest venue with another stadium in the same direction. PNC Park is well known for its impressive view of the Pittsburgh skyline along with the Allegheny River. The view was nice, although I found the navigation throughout the stadium to be somewhat confusing. Nevertheless I had a good time as Jason Marquis took a no-hitter into the seventh before finishing with a complete-game shutout, and Styx played a post-game concert afterwards. Alas, I have yet to go back for a return engagement.
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7. Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati Reds)
Opened: 2003
First Game: August 18, 2012 (Game 41)
Number of Games Seen: 1
A week later it was the Cincinnati Reds that were at home, and I decided to make the three-and-a-half hour trip to watch a game there. Before I went into Cincinnati proper I stopped by the suburb of Milford, where Eppa Rixey was buried. Eppa Rixey was the only Baseball Hall of Famer coming from my alma mater of the University of Virginia, and I had a Facebook account under his name for a while. Anyways, the Great American Ball Park was a perfectly fine ballpark and I saw a perfectly fine game. The only other thing I really remember was seeing Scott Rolen play, and me thinking that one day he would be getting into the Hall of Fame. Now it's something that might happen.
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8. Progressive Field (Cleveland Guardians)
Opened: 1994
First Game: August 25, 2012 (Game 42)
Number of Games Seen: 1
The final weekend of my rotation in northeast Ohio saw me go to the ballpark closest to Akron, the home of the team then known as the Cleveland Indians. I grew up as an Indians fan back in the mid-1990s. I remember watching a segment on TV of Cleveland pitcher Charles Nagy giving a tour of the Indians clubhouse and for me to gain an appreciation for the team. Later in 1995 I jumped on the Indians bandwagon and enjoyed watching games broadcast from what was then known as Jacobs Field.
Eventually my interest in the team died down as the Indians went through some difficult times, and even worse the team sold the naming rights to the stadium to the Progressive insurance company, which I found distasteful. Nevertheless, I was curious to see the place in person. I went with an acquaintance from the old Nintendo NSider forums named BootheGhost, and watched as the Indians outplay the New York Yankees, even if Derek Jeter had gotten two hits. It was a fun game, but I never found the urge to return.
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9. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
Opened: 2000
First Game: August 26, 2012 (Game 43)
Number of Games Seen: 1
After the Indians game ended I had to jump on the road, because I had a two-hour drive ahead of me. The plan was for me to hit up Cleveland and Detroit in the same weekend, which was possible because the two were both northwest of Akron, and both the Indians and the Tigers were at home. Of course it was still two and a half hours from Cleveland to Detroit, so I didn't have much time to waste.
I was born in Michigan only two months after the Tigers won the World Series behind the heroics of Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. The Tigers remained good throughout the rest of my time living in Michigan, but it was before I became interested in baseball. And every time I visited Michigan after I did get interested in baseball I couldn't go because most of my aunts lived in Lansing which was an hour away and I had to abide by my family's schedules. But in 2012 I finally got to travel on my own terms, and I was determined to watch the Tigers play.
And even though I made it into the hotel well after 1 in the morning, I still made it up bright an early to watch the day game between the Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels had their super-rookie Mike Trout, who singled and scored his 100th run of the season in the first inning. However, the Tigers starter was nothing to sneeze at either: Max Scherzer. He shut down the Angels after that initial bump, and ended up winning the 50th game of the career. I had enough time after the game to meet up with a friend doing a rotation in Michigan before driving back to Ohio.
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10. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
Opened: 1914
First Game: June 28, 2014 (Game 53)
Number of Games Seen: 1
If my trip to Major League Baseball stadiums in August 2012 set me on my way towards going to all of them, I didn't have a chance to make it a major commitment. It doesn't help that I graduated medical school in 2013 and ended up in the internal medicine residency in Longview, when my schedule became so packed that I didn't have a chance to go to many baseball games in Texas, much less traveling to ballparks outside Texas. Besides, I was more committed to meeting all of the 300-game-winners. By that time I was missing only Tom Seaver (whom I never had a chance to meet, RIP), Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson. Well, I found out that Maddux was going to be making an appearance in a sports collectors convention in June 2014, I knew I had to go. I made sure I had that weekend off, and when I was successful, I checked to see if either of the Chicago teams were at home. I saw that while the White Sox were on the road, the Cubs were at home. I got tickets for myself and Adam, who was wanting to join in on the road trip. I had also gotten tickets for two of my former classmates who were doing their residencies near Chicago, but they had to back out at the last minute.
Adam and I were still content to go to the game ourselves. I had built up the ability to make overnight drives, so I got on the road once I got off work on Friday. I drove all night, and we made it into Illinois early enough that we had time to make a detour into Champaign, where Adam wanted to visit Roger Ebert's childhood home. We got to the convention where we got a chance to meet Maddux, and I still had time to get my autographed ball of 300-game-winners updated by PSA. We had a few slices of Chicago deep-dish pizza, then it was finally time to head to the game. It was Wrigley's 100th anniversary (since they had opened as the home stadium for the Chicago Whales in the Federal Leagues before the Cubs moved in.) We were somewhat thankful that my friends couldn't show up, because the seats were extremely narrow and cramped. We watched a nice game in between a length rain delay, then it was on to our hotel in Bloomington, Illinois. We spent the night and drove back to Texas the next day.
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11. Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels)
Opened: 1966
First Game: September 6, 2015 (Game 58)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Besides my rotation in Akron, I had also gotten into the My Little Pony community in 2012, and for most of the mid-2010s much of the travel I did was to go to My Little Pony conventions. Baseball kind of took a backseat during this time, but if there was a game that interest me nearby a convention, then I'd look into getting to the game. For example, I cut short my very first pony convention to go to the Rangers play the Houston Astros in the Astros' very first game as an American League team. Later I went to a Cardinals-Royals interleague game when I went to Midwest Brony Fest in 2015. Later that year I went to Equestria LA in Anaheim. It was a high-profile convention that includes grade A guests such as cellist Tina Guo, My Little Pony founder Bonnie Zacherle, and My Little Pony show-runner Lauren Faust.
Of course, the Rangers were also visiting the Angels. The Rangers had climbed out of a dismal 2014 season and a slow start to the 2015 season to climb back into the Wild Card race with an outside chance at the division title. So I did everything I wanted on Saturday, and then drove out to Angel Stadium on Sunday. It was a relatively easy drive since the convention was already in Anaheim. Then I sat back and watched as the Rangers got absolutely slaughtered by the Angels. Such is life as a Rangers fan.
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12. Truist Park (Atlanta Braves)
Opened: 2017
First Game: May 24, 2017 (Game 67)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Through the beginning of the 2017 season, I had not made much progress in terms of visiting Major League Baseball stadiums. I did have 15 stadiums checked off, but four of those were stadiums that were no longer in use. I had gone ahead and visited Atlanta to top off my 2012 trip, but then they made the shocking move to brand-new SunTrust Park in the suburbs of Cobb County to open the 2017 season. However, by 2017 I had finished my internal medicine residency and moved into my psychiatry residency, which was far less rigorous when it came to work hours. Furthermore, I had done all that I could in regards to meeting 300-game-winners, so I could dedicate more time towards going to the various Major League ballparks.
The Rangers were coming off a solid 2016 season where they captured an AL West title, and moreover Adrian Beltre had ended the season at 2,942 hits, just 58 away from the coveted 3,000-hit mark. I had fantasized over being present for that milestone, and decided to take some time off in the end of May and beginning of June in hopes of being able to follow the Rangers until Beltre could hit the milestone. Alas, fate threw a wrench in those plans, as Beltre wound up suffering a lower body injury in spring training 2017, with a return not expected until May. I ultimately decided to restructure my trip to include a tour of many of the east coast stadiums I had yet to visit, especially since most of the east coast teams would be at home. That included the Braves.
Despite the fact SunTrust Park was still new, the seats were remarkably cheap. I was able to get two seats behind the Braves dugout for just $50 each. I found a friend that was willing to go on the road trip with me, then we drove east on I-20, stopping for a night in Vicksburg. Then we went and watched a delightful game where the Braves forced extra-innings against the Pirates, but the Pirates scored seven runs in the tenth, including back-to-back-to-back home runs. The original plan was for my friend to rent a car in Atlanta to drive back to Texas while I head north towards Virginia where my parents were. However, there were no rental cars anywhere in Atlanta, and in fact we had to drive all the way back to Birmingham, Alabama to get a rental car. What a bother.
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13. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies)
Opened: 2004
First Game: May 27, 2017 (Game 68)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Thanks to the rental car delay, I did not return home until well after midnight on May 26. I spent that day resting before setting off on the second leg of my east coast trip, one that would see me go to three games in three stadiums in three days. The first of these is Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is a relatively easy two-hour drive from my parents' house to Philadelphia. I had previously passed by the ballpark in 2007 on my way to New York, but this would be the first time I get to watch a game.
The day started out on a tragic note as we had received word that former Phillies great Jim Bunning had passed away the night before. I got there early enough that I was able to walk around to look at the statue of 300-game-winner Steve Carlton. Then I went over to the Phillies Wall of Fame where the team had already put black ribbons around the plaque for Bunning. As I was there to look at Bunning's plaque, the stadium announced that Phillies great Tommy Greene was in the building. I didn't have his card, so I had Greene sign my program. After that I settled down to watch the Phillies beat the Reds in an exciting walk-off.
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14. Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)
Opened: 2009
First Game: May 28, 2017 (Game 69)
Number of Games Seen: 1
After the Phillies game finished, it was back on the road for me, as I drove an additional two hours to go to New York, where my next two games were. I had gotten a hotel in Flushing, but I would be watching the Yankees first, thanks to a scheduling quirk where the Yankees were finishing up a homestand a day before the Mets start one. Thankfully, the New York Metro system was easy to use, so I could just take the subway from Flushing to the Bronx.
I had been partial to the Yankees since I was a massive Mickey Mantle fan as a kid, so I was excited to go to Yankee Stadium. However, the Yankees have always been a team of excesses, and I kind of felt that way with the stadium. It is a palatial structure, but I found the stadium to be very corporate and daunting. All of the Major League Baseball franchises are corporations, but I felt most of the ballparks at least try to be welcoming while I felt that Yankee Stadium demanded that I be grateful to have the opportunity to stand on those hallowed grounds. I still took in Monument Park, and I marveled at the fact the team played with the Miller Huggins, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig statues in play for years. The game itself was fairly exciting, as I managed to witness Aaron Judge's first grand slam, the first grand slam I had seen in Major League action since September 1997 almost 20 years ago. Nevertheless, I felt relieved to leave the stadium to make my way to Nintendo New York, where I was able to buy my Nintendo Switch.
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15. Citi Field (New York Mets)
Opened: 2009
First Game: May 29, 2017 (Game 70)
Number of Games Seen: 2
The final leg of my east coast trip culminated in Citi Field, the home of the Mets. I had actually been to the Mets game back in 2007, but they moved into a new ballpark two years later, one that was based off of Ebbets Field in its exterior. In 2014 I had tried driving to the Calvary Cemetery in Queens where Mickey Welch was buried, but was stuck in traffic that I later realized was headed towards Citi Field. I was tempted to say screw it and go to the game, but decided to press on only to find the cemetery was closed when I arrived. But in 2017 I had a hotel, a parking pass, and a game ticket. So I was ready.
I was never much of a Mets fan, but the feeling that got from going to Citi Field was the antithesis of what I experienced at Yankee Stadium the day before. The stadium had a very homely and cozy feel. It was very easy for me to head down close to the field where I was able to get former MVP Ryan Braun to take a picture with the Rainbow Dash figurine I used to carry with me everywhere. It left such a strong impression on me that a year later when I went back to New York I opted to go to another Mets game instead of watching Frozen on Broadway.
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16. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
Opened: 1995
First Game: September 17, 2017 (Game 79)
Number of Games Seen: 2
The 2017 trip was fun, but it wasn't the only Major League Baseball I watched that year. I had been to several other games in ballparks I've been to previously, including Oracle Park, Nationals Park, Kauffman Stadium, and Minute Maid Park. I also got to witness Adrian Beltre's 3,000th hit in person. When all was said and done I found out that I was on pace to go to nine different Major League ballparks in 2017. Back in 2012 I set a personal record with 10, and I wanted to be able to match it, but I didn't really have the time or finances to fly to another park that I hadn't been to in 2017. However, I could potentially take a weekend trip to one within driving distance in the weekend bisecting my two weeks of night shift. There were a few teams within driving distance, but the one that really intrigued me was Coors Field. A year earlier I had thought about driving to Denver to watch Ichiro get his 3,000th hit, but decided it against it because by the time I considered this proposition I would have required back-to-back overnight drives, which is not ideal as I had done it in both 2012 and 2016. However, with some proper planning I can make it happen.
My night shift weeks go from Monday night through Saturday morning. The way I envision it I can get on the road after my Saturday shift, and drive all the way to Denver, where I had a hotel waiting for me. I got through the drive, although I did drink two 2L bottles of Diet Mountain Dew during it. I spent the night at the hotel, then got up bright and early for the Sunday day game. After dealing with continued 90-degree temperatures in Texas, the 68-degree cloudy weather was a welcomed change. I watched an exciting game interrupted by a short rain delay. After the game I drove back, making a detour at the Columbine memorial in Littleton, then got home Monday morning, where I could get some sleep before restarting my night shift later that night.
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17. T-Mobile Park (Seattle Mariners)
Opened: 1999
First Game: May 17, 2018 (Game 88)
Number of Games Seen: 2
I had continued to go to My Little Pony conventions after Equestria LA in 2015, and it culminated with me going to seven different pony conventions in 2016! They were a lot of fun, but I became increasingly aware that these were becoming a drain of time and money, and I knew I had to back off. I decided to prioritize nearby conventions, as well as cons that would invite Ashleigh Ball, the voice of my beloved Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash. Well, it just so happens that Everfree Northwest in Seattle was inviting Ashleigh Ball to their convention in 2018. Furthermore, Seattle was home to what was then known as Safeco Field, one of the stadiums I had not been to. I do have an aunt that lives in Seattle, and her husband (my uncle) had taken me out to take a walk outside Safeco when I visited before an interview at the University of Washington in 2012. However, I don't count stadiums until I had actually watch a game there. It just so happens the Mariners were at home for the 2018 convention, so I knew this would be a perfect opportunity to check another ballpark off the list.
I had taken a whole week off for this convention, so it was possible for me to go to the game on May 17, the day before the actual start of the convention. I had a fairly large group of my fellow brony friends that were interested in the game as well as my uncle, so I brought a total of eight tickets. We met up at the con hotel and traveled to the game via subway, getting there as gates were opening. I had a strong interest in trying the chapulines, or grasshoppers, that were being offered. I didn't mind the texture of the insects, but the chili-lime salt used for the flavoring were too much for me. Unfortunately nobody else wanted to use the grasshoppers, so I ended up eating them all at once. Thankfully the stadium was full of other great food, including a donut stand as well as a concession stand from Ding Tai Feng which didn't have their trademark xiaolongbao but still featured delicious baozi. I was very impressed with the stadium, so when I went back to Everfree Northwest in 2021 I made sure to take another trip to T-Mobile Park.
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18. Target Field (Minnesota Twins)
Opened: 2010
First Game: September 8, 2018 (Game 103)
Number of Games Seen: 1
For the longest time, my inability to watch the Minnesota Twins play in person was perplexing. I have seen far more American League games, growing up around the Royals and going to a lot of Rangers games over the years. However, our paths just never crossed. I had made plans to watch the Twins in their fairly new home of Target Field in June 2016 when I went up to Minnesota to attend the book release of M.A. Larson's "The Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy." However, I drove overnight up from Texas and had to drive overnight back, so I decided it was probably better to crash with friends at MLP MSP which was going on that weekend than go to a Twins game, so I sold my ticket. In the end the Twins visited the Rangers, and I finally got to see them in Game 102. Nevertheless, had I missed that game I still would have had a chance to see the Twins a week later.
I moved away from Kansas in 1999, but beginning in 2000 I have been making a trip back to the state where I grew up every three years. I decided to schedule a weeklong trip in September 2018. I was talking with a few brony friends that lived in the Kansas City area, and they mentioned that the Royals would be playing the Twins in Minnesota around that time, and that it would be fun to go and watch the game. Since I had taken a whole week off, we would be able to drive up, watch the game, and spend the night afterwards. One of my friends had to bow out, but the other was still up for the trip, so I drove overnight from Texas to Kansas to pick him up, then we continued on to Minnesota. We got there with plenty of time to spare, able to rest before heading out to the ballpark. We imagined a typical game, but what we saw was almost magic. We noticed that Royals starter Jorge Lopez went through the Twins lineup without a baserunner in the first three innings. This continues through the second time through the lineup, then the third. He completed eight innings with nary a baserunner. Alas, our chances at watching history evaporated when Lopez walked Max Kepler. The next batter, Robbie Grossman, singled to keep us from watching a no-hitter. The Royals wound up with the win, but the inability to watch a perfect game still bothered us.
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19. Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
Opened: 2006
First Game: September 11, 2018 (Game 104)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Besides going to watch the Twins in Target Field, I had another visit to a new ballpark planned for the trip to Kansas in 2018, but it was one that I was somewhat reluctant to do. As a Texas Rangers fan Game 6 of the 2011 World Series stood out as the worst moment in the history of the franchise. Thanks to the National League winning the All-Star Game in 2011, the Cardinals got to host Games 1 and 2 as well as Games 6 and 7 as the National League representative. This helped me go to Game 3 in Texas as it happened on a day off, but with the Rangers leading the Series 3-2 after five games they had to try to clinch in St. Louis. Needless to say, it did not go well. And of course Busch Stadium became somewhat of a house of horrors for Rangers fans thanks to that game. Nevertheless, I was well on my way towards visiting all of the Major League ballparks, and so I had to grit my teeth and make the trip.
It was not my first time being around Busch Stadium. Back in 2015 I had an interview in St. Louis. I had time before my flight so I stopped by the ballpark and visited the museum and the gift shop. 20 years before that, I went with a visit to my family to St. Louis, and we passed by the old Busch Stadium. There was a game going on, but nobody else in my family was interested in going. I wasn't exactly enthused about going either, but I got in my car and drove the four hours from Kansas City to St. Louis. It was a fairly boring ride and arrived in time to eat at a restaurant connected to the ballpark, where of course I saw Game 6 being commemorated on a wall. Then when the gates opened the stadium announced that Cardinals great David Green was at the game. I got him to sign my program. I asked him what it was like to homer off Steve Carlton in Lefty's 300th win. He said something like "It was nice" but I'm not sure he completely listened to my question. Anyways, they played the game, which the Cardinals won, and I drove four hours back, much to the chagrin of the AirBNB host. I passed by the stadium once more after, but I decided against watching another game there.
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20. RingCentral Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
Opened: 1966 (1968 for baseball)
First Game: April 20, 2019 (Game 113)
Number of Games Seen: 1
I had been to Babscon every year from 2014 to 2017, going to Giants games in the latter two of those years. The Oakland Athletics lay across the San Francisco Bay, but I never really had any desire to go there, just because Oracle Park was such a nice venue. It was funny because I lived in Pleasanton from 1989 to 1992, when the A's were the best team in baseball. My family went to Oakland fairly frequently and we'd pass by the Coliseum from time to time, but never stopped to watch a baseball game. And as a Ranger fan I had learned to hate the A's as a division rival. I skipped Babscon in 2018 and didn't have any plans on going in 2019, but the Athletics were at home and I had gotten to the point where I needed to make the trek to check it off the list. It helps that my friend Nate was going to be at Babscon, and he was willing to drive. Another friend wanted to go, so the plan was set. I flew over to SFO, something I had done several times in the past, and crashed in Nate's room, sleeping in their closet the best that I could.
The Coliseum has gained its reputation as being one of the worst stadiums in baseball. It had some renovations done to it over the years, but it was still a giant concrete mess with crumbling infrastructure and the giant Mt. Davis blocking what could have been a fine view of Oakland. I had low expectations for the Coliseum, and I was still able to be underwhelmed. It was old and decrepit and still had crowded concourses and nasty bathrooms. I spent as much as I can at the field watching the game as I could. The game between the A's and the Toronto Blue Jays was actually quite good. We saw Freddy Galvis make a tremendous bare-handed play, and watched umpire Jeff Nelson take down a fan that had run on the field. Best of all, the Blue Jays dominated the A's. It was a fun trip, and I still managed to do things around the convention, but I was glad to go back to Texas and away from the Coliseum.
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21. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
Opened: 1912
First Game: June 13, 2019 (Game 121)
Number of Games Seen: 1
By this time, I had been to most of the Major League ballparks on the east coast, thanks to the trip I had taken in 2017. There was one that was missing, just because the home team was on the road the entire time: the legendary Fenway Park. I have been that far north only once, and that was back in 2014 when I went to visit the graves of 300-game-winner Tim Keefe and John Clarkson who were buried in the same cemetery. Of course the Red Sox were on the road that time too. After I finished the Oakland trip I started looking at the schedule to see what trips I could make for the other stadiums I was missing. I saw that the Rangers would be visiting Boston in June, around the time that I make my annual trip back to Northern Virginia to visit family. I like to watch the Rangers on the road whenever I can, and made plans to visit Fenway for one of the games in the series. I was eventually able to find one of my brony friends living in the Boston area to come along for the trip.
I drove from Texas to Virginia on June 9, a day after I spent all day at a Rangers double-header where Adrian Beltre's number was retired. Once I got back to my parents', I stayed there and rested for two days before driving up to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where one of my med-school friends lived. I chose to take this trip the day before, just because it was only five hours to Fenway from Pennsylvania compared to seven from Northern Virginia. Thanks to that I was able to arrive in Fenway hours before the gates opened, and I was able to wander around the historic neighborhood taking in all of the sights and sounds. The historic ballpark was beautiful, but typical of a ballpark over a century old, some of the sightlines weren't the best. Which was all right with me because the Rangers blew a massive lead only to lose, in a game that took over four hours. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised
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22. American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers)
Opened: 2001
First Game: August 9, 2019 (Game 129)
Number of Games Seen: 1
With the Coliseum and Fenway Park out of the way, most of the stadiums I had left were ones that had another close to each other that I could theoretically finish off in a trip. I looked at the 2019 schedule for many of those teams to find out when they would be at home, and there was one game that really intrigued me. The Rangers would be playing the Milwaukee Brewers in what was then known as Miller Park. What made it better was that the other team whose stadium I had yet to visit would be at home that weekend as well. I decided to target that weekend to complete the rest of the midwestern ballparks. I took that Friday off so I can go to the Brewers game that day, and made plans to drive up the night before.
I had previously been to Milwaukee a few times for med school and residency interviews as well as a pony convention in 2015. I passed by Miller Park each of those times, but each of those visits just happened to be during the offseason, so I could never actually watch a game then. But I was determined to make this trip work, so I got on the road as soon as I got off of work, then steadily made my way out of Texas and into Oklahoma before cutting through Missouri and Illinois. I decided to get a hotel in Bloomington, which is about equidistant from the stadiums I have to visit. Things got a little hairy when a cop pulled me over and tried to get me to confess to carrying drugs, but I stood firm because I knew I wasn't carrying anything. I got to my hotel, and drove the additional three hours into Milwaukee with time to step and get lunch because the parking lots weren't even open yet. I then waited around for the gates to open, even walking to the former site of the Milwaukee County Stadium where Nolan Ryan won his 300th game. At last the gates opened where I managed to get an autograph from Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, who was getting inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor that day. The ceremony delayed first pitch, and then the Rangers and Brewers battled back and forth before Marcus Thames finally ended things with a walk-off home run. I was disappointed that the Rangers lost in brutal fashion, but it was almost midnight, and I still had a three-hour drive ahead of me.
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23. Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox)
Opened: 1991
First Game: August 10, 2019 (Game 130)
Number of Games Seen: 1
I managed to make it back to my hotel in one piece, where I was able to get some rest before heading out to the other Major League ballpark in my trip: the Chicago White Sox's home with the much-ridiculed name Guaranteed Rate Field. I had been by what was then known as Comiskey Park back in 1996 when I went to Chicago for a Chinese word-recognition competition. Unfortunately it was during the off-season, and nobody in the party had any interest of watching a baseball game anyways. Over the years I never had a chance to go back to the stadium, which gained the name US Cellular Field before finally settling on Guaranteed Rate Field. Of course, I never had much of a chance to watch the White Sox on the road either. I saw them play the Royals in 1997, and didn't see them again until they went to Texas 21 years later in 2018.
I drove the two hours to Chicago, and even had time to get lunch at the churrascaria Fogo de Chao in downtown. Then it was off to the ballpark, where there was already a crowd thanks to the Eloy Jimenez bobblehead that was being distributed. I had heard a lot of nasty things about Guaranteed Rate Field, mostly from its drab appearance, having been built before Camden Yards had ushered in new ballparks with a retro feel. However, when I went inside I was pleasantly surprised that the stadium looked quite nice. No, it didn't have the stunning view of places like Oracle Park or PNC Park, but it was still a nice place to watch a ballgame. I even liked the colorful pinwheels based off Bill Veeck's exploding scoreboard that set off fireworks with every White Sox home run. Really, the worst part of the ballpark is clearly its name. So after I finished watching the White Sox defeat the hated Oakland Athletics, I returned back to Bloomington in a very upbeat mood.
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First Game: October 12, 2020 (Game 137)
Number of Games Seen: 12
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Opened: 1990 (1998 for baseball)
First Game: April 15, 2021 (Game 142)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Opened: 2012
First Game: April 16, 2021 (Game 143)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Opened: 1998
First Game: September 8, 2021 (Game 155)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Opened: 2004
First Game: September 26, 2021 (Game 156)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Opened: 1962
First Game: September 28, 2021 (Game 157)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Opened: 1989
First Game: April 10, 2022 (Game 160)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Baseball Service: 1962-1971, 2005-2007
First Game: July 22, 2005 (Game 8)
Number of Games Seen: 6
Baseball Service: 1964-2008
First Game: May 17, 2007 (Game 12)
Number of Games Seen: 1
Baseball Service: 1994-2019
First Game: July 20, 2009 (Game 19)
Number of Games Seen: 66
Baseball Service: 1997-2016
First Game: September 1, 2012 (Game 44)
Number of Games Seen: 1
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