2008 Home Schedules
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In the News....
The Dodgers made their exit from Vero Beach official as their new spring training stadium in Glendale, AZ is scheduled to be completed in time for 2009. The Dodgers will leave behind their famed Dodgertown facility after 60 years to share a complex with the White Sox.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds are joining the Cleveland Indians in their exodus from Florida, and by 2010 the teams will share a new spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona. The Reds will spend one more year in Sarasota before joining their Ohio neighbors in the Cactus League. The Indians will begin training in Goodyear in 2009.
Welcome to Baseball Pilgrimages.com
On March 16, 2001, after saving up enough vacation time to take two weeks off, I arrived in Melbourne, Florida for Spring Training. Coinciding with my arrival was an unexpected phone call, informing me that I had been laid off, another casualty of the dot-com bust. And so the journey began when my personal misfortune afforded me the time to do what I had always wished: travel the country. Add to that my passion for baseball, and most of my trips have included numerous baseball pilgrimages, hence the name of the site. And when my original car died on the way to Vero Beach for a game on my Spring Training journey of 2002, I bought a new one and embarked on a cross-country trip to California.
What started out as just a trip to Spring Training has morphed into visiting ballparks at all levels, from the lowest levels of the bush leagues to the legendary ballyards in the big leagues. Although I'd been to a number of ballparks prior to the 2001 season, I decided to use that year as my starting point. Through seven seasons, I’ve seen 175 games in 78 ballparks and traveled thousands of miles across our great country in pursuit of the national pastime. I've been to places I'd never thought I'd go, or probably would not have considered....all because of a baseball game.
A tour of ballparks is a great way to see America, as professional baseball is dotted across its landscape. This site is dedicated to all of those who have taken the journey, or wish to.
The journeys will continue in 2008,
Graham - Peachtree City, GA
info@baseballpilgrimages.com
E-mail me your personal baseball pilgrimages if you'd like to be included on the site
Baseball jerseys, plaques, posters, wristbands and other unique collectibles
The Classics |
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Fenway Park
Boston Red Sox
The smallest, oldest and most charming ballpark in the Majors has been baseball nirvana for over 90 years. From the Green Monster to the Pesky Pole, no ballpark has more unique features or loyal fans than Fenway Park, the proud home of the 2004 world champion Red Sox. |
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Yankee Stadium
New York Yankees
The most famous stadium in the world has been steeped in the lore of Yankee mystique since Babe Ruth and the Bronx Bombers opened it in 1923. The allure of championships continues to bring in great players, while fans flock to Yankee Stadium for a taste of baseball history. |
Bay Area Ballparks |
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McAfee Coliseum
Oakland A's
Oakland's ballpark was altered to woo the Raiders back to town and the Coliseum has a decided football feel to it after undergoing $200 million worth of renovations in 1996. But the A's no-frills stadium is a good place to watch a ballgame, primarily because there aren't any other distractions. |
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AT&T Park
San Francisco Giants
The privately funded ballpark on the 'Frisco Bay has been a splash hit with Giants fans. Due to wind patterns, the orientation of SBC Park can't take advantage of downtown buildings or the Bay Bridge, but the waterfront park is a must-see for baseball fans. |
2005 World Series Ballparks |
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Minute Maid Park
Houston Astros
This downtown ballpark celebrates the long ball and Houston's railroad history with its signature feature: the home run alley that connects to Union Station. Full of unique features, Minute Maid Park is a beauty when its retractable roof is open, which isn't often enough during the summer. |
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U.S. Cellular Field
Chicago White Sox
A decent ballpark plagued by bad location and timing, U.S. Cellular Field was the last stadium built before the retro ballpark craze began, and millions of dollars in renovations since can't bring back the charm of Comiskey Park. |
Retro Ballparks |
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Camden Yards
Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore is the birthplace of two baseball icons that forever changed the sport: Babe Ruth and Camden Yards. The Eutaw Street walkway is fabulous and the Warehouse phenomenal at the ballpark that started a renaissance. If there were a Six Degrees of Separation ballpark game, Oriole Park at Camden Yards would be the link to any ballpark built since 1992. |
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PETCO Park
San Diego Padres
The home of the Padres is open and inviting with pockets of exclusivity, just like the city of San Diego itself. Petco Park, with one of the best downtown locations in the Majors, has turned San Diego into a baseball town. |
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Coors Field
Colorado Rockies
Built on the edge of downtown Denver, Coors Field doesn’t provide the sweeping views of skyline and mountains you’d expect, unless you sit in the right areas. The ballpark does pay homage to the city's elevation and has a purer baseball atmosphere than most of the retro breed, and the experience is all the better due to the host city. |
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Citizens Bank Park
Philadelphia Phillies
One of the best ballparks in baseball, Citizens Bank Park was nearly built to perfection with a perfect mix of charm and openness. It's an absolute joy to watch a ballgame here and my only wish is that it had been built in downtown Philadelphia. |
A Bygone Era Soon to Be Gone |
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RFK Stadium
Washington Nationals
The original cookie cutter stadium returns to Major League use 33 years after the Senators abandoned it. Unfortunately, RFK Stadium suffers from more than just its bland design; even simple things like buying a ticket and hot dog are handled poorly in what is baseball's worst facility. |
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Shea Stadium
New York Mets
It's large and located in the flight path of neighboring La Guardia Airport. But size and noise are a part of life in a city with eight million inhabitants. Like New York itself, Shea Stadium is big and not very intimate, but a fun place to visit. |
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115,300
Los Angeles Coliseum - March 29, 2008
One hundred fifteen thousand three hundred. That was the announced attendance for an exhibition game played at the LA Coliseum. Meaning what happened didn’t count in the standings, just in the stands, where the crowd was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever to attend a baseball game. But were there really that many people there? Here's a fair and balanced account of the small game in the big stadium.
Read the full article |
A Taste of International Baseball
Estadio Calimax - Tijuana, Mexico
Ever wonder what it's like to watch America's pastime somewhere where the English language is scarce? In the Mexican League, the game on the field looks familiar but the experience in the stands is anything but normal. Girls dressed like strippers on top of the dugout, a mascot on the field during the game, and lots of music are just a few things that will detract your attention from players you've never heard of. But it all adds up to a very lively, and intoxicating, atmosphere.
Read the full article |
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Opening Day
PNC Park in Pittsburgh - April 4, 2005
A baseball season is a long six month journey, which makes it hard to imagine that a single game every April can inspire so much anticipation among fans in 28 Major League cities. Yet every spring the unofficial holiday known as Opening Day captures the imagination of fans in markets large and small, especially in places like Pittsburgh where the game is more than just one of 162....
Read the full article |
Batting Practice
Catch It If You Can
The average life of a Major League baseball is only six pitches, but the likelihood of catching a foul ball is very remote due to the size of the ballpark and competition from thousands of fans. For most fans, batting practice is the only chance to get a ball as players successfully swing for the fences in front of small gatherings. With balls landing in relatively empty seats the likelihood of catching – or at least retrieving – one would seem simple. At least that's what I thought while trying to snag a souvenir during BP in Houston.
Read the full article |
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A Ballpark Tour Fueled by Vegetable Oil
215 Days, 260 Ballparks, 1 Car Running on Veggie Oil
Joe Connor is fueled by his dreams. His dreams just happen to be fueled by the vegetable oil he needs to drive his 1984 lime green Mercedes to a different ballpark every day. Connor is spending seven months - the entire 2006 baseball season - driving a two-decades old automobile to a ballpark near you. His Fuel of Dreams tour will cover more than 40,000 miles and take him to 48 states and 260 ballparks, but thanks to 9 sponsors it won't cost him a dime.
Read the full article |
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