Tour 2021: Return to Cooperstown

All photos of Lake George, Cooperstown, and National Baseball Hall of Fame available on Flickr.

This past week, Erik and I got together in person for the first time since the pandemic started, and for our first "ball trip" in over 2 years.  I say "ball trip" in quotations because this was certainly a first (and hopefully last) for one of our trips - we didn't actually go to a ballgame, or any sort of sporting event for that matter.  We made the last-minute and gut-wrenching decision to delay our planned Texas trip once more.  Being in a large crowd during the surge of the Delta variant in an area with one of the highest growing Covid case volumes in the country just seemed like too much of a risk.  And I'll admit that going to one of the reddest states in the country where we were more likely to be surrounded by unmasked and/or unvaccinated folks also played a huge factor in our decision.  I felt particularly bad for Erik since he has not been to a ballgame anywhere since 2019.  But as difficult and disappointing as it was, looking back I know that we made the right choice, and we had a hell of a time at our pinch-hit trip - Cooperstown!  We were not going to go a whole other year without seeing each other, so we made the trek to upstate New York instead for 4 nights.

Before we returned to the hallowed grounds of the Hall of Fame, we spent a couple of days in beautiful Lake George, NY.  Having been to Cooperstown on The Tour and knowing there was not an entire weekend of things to do there nor any decent lodging, Erik made the wonderful suggestion of staying in the Adirondack region of New York, which was only about a 2-hour drive from Cooperstown, and a 3-hour drive from his house in New Hampshire.  Erik picked me up at the Albany airport on Wednesday night and we spent our first night not unlike the first night of most of our trips - tying one on watching ball.  The only difference was this time was a couple of packs of craft beer in our cottage watching several screens, rather than enjoying a frosty Miller Lite from the bleachers.  Our cottage was a part of the Sundowner Resort right on Canada Street, the main thoroughfare of Lake George.  It had a kitchenette, fridge, patio with grill, and just about everything we needed to relax for a few days - most importantly, we each had our own bathroom.  The next day was a pretty relaxing day taking advantage of the resort amenities of hot tub, beachfront deck, and kayaks, and spent a lot of the day on the water.  We walked a good portion of the town on foot and found it to be eerily similar to Wisconsin Dells.  Not much was open on a Thursday afternoon, so after a flight at a local brewery, we just had a nice night in playing some games.  Friday was our busiest day and personally my favorite day of the trip.  We started the day with a drive to the other side of the lake to hike up Pilot Knob Mountain.  I call it a mountain, I'm not really sure if it is or not, but it was over 1,000 vertical feet and I am by no means a hiker, so to me it was pretty difficult.  Outside of the Brewers 10K I ran a few times, this was by far the most difficult physical activity I can ever remember doing, but for the views we got from the top and within, it was well worth it.  After the hike, we toured the lake on a 100+ year old steamboat called the Mohican.  Among other things, I learned that the lake was about 32 miles long and 3 miles wide at its center point, and the western edge was once referred to as "Millionaire's Row" for all of the wealthy Manhattanites and famous elites that had summer homes up there.  Even today it is still scattered with gargantuan homes, breathtaking resorts, and quite a few islands within the lake that are privately owned and of course populated with mansions.  We spent our 2-1/2 hour ride debating over a few drinks which islands we would want to buy, and how cool it would be to camp on one of them if we ever returned.  Following the boat ride, we quickly crushed some dinner back at the cottage and had our one late night out of the trip at a bar called Duffy's.  They had a couple of great music acts, cheap beer, and entertaining locals, just a few of the reliable ingredients in a fun E & P night out.

Saturday was the big day - Cooperstown.  It was a treacherous 100-mile drive that was almost entirely on windy, hilly, and narrow, shoulder-less back-county roads.  On numerous occasions cresting a hill or making a turn, my heart leapt out of my chest wondering if we were going to skirt off the road, and that is no commentary on Erik's driving but rather the sheer remoteness of Cooperstown.  You have to be really dedicated to baseball and to finding this town for the effort it takes to get there - the phrase "in the middle of nowhere" gets thrown out very casually sometimes, but it was true in every sense of the word in this case.  Once you arrive, knowing how you got there simply just adds to the mystique and aura of the place, almost like it is suspended in time.  The entire town is baseball-everything and even still has the old batting cages by Doubleday Field that Erik and I remember embarrassing ourselves at in 2007.  There were a couple new distilleries and breweries in town just like there are in every corner of America these days, but for the most part every other detail is exactly like I remembered it.  We arrived at the museum around 11:30 just as the rain started to fall and headed inside.

Just like in Cooperstown itself, not much on the inside has changed either aside from all of the Covid precautions.  You are advised upon entering to walk up to the 2nd floor and start your tour in the museum portion of the building.  This floor is dedicated almost entirely to the history of the game, starting from the early 19th century all the way through the current year.  It is mostly split up into decades or eras arranged chronologically, featuring exhibits on how the rules or equipment might have looked during that period, as well as artifacts and blurbs on famous players from those times, and plenty of photos and multimedia displays as well.  There was an entire section on the Latin influence and emergence in the game that I did not recall from 2007.  There was also a lot more video and interactive media displays then obviously existed 14 years ago.  Babe Ruth still had an entire section dedicated solely to him and his effect on the game, as well as a "new" Hank Aaron section.  From the 2nd floor you then ascend to the 3rd floor of the museum.  Up here, the exhibits begin with a history of the baseball park, which Erik and I certainly found to be one of the more interesting sections given all the ballpark chasing we do.  There was even a display case featuring a "30 Stadium Tour" shirt like Erik and I still have, and we grumbled as to why we were not in the Hall.  Generally, the American ballpark can be split into 5 eras: the original wood frame structures of the late 19th century (Polo Grounds, Borchert Field), the steel and concrete classical parks of the next 50 years or so that people most associate with baseball (Ebbets Field, Tiger Stadium, original Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, etc.), the multi-purpose "donuts" of the 1960s and 70s (Veterans, Riverfront, RFK, etc.), the retro boom of the 1990s and 2000s, and then whatever you want to call the "modern era" of ballparks today.  After this was my favorite section that outlined every major record in baseball and displayed artifacts from them - Ichiro's most single-season hits of 262, Bonds' career homerun record, Pete Rose's hit to break Ty Cobb's record, and many more.  The last chunk of the museum portion of the building has a locker dedicated to all 30 teams, which is nice because it gives an opportunity for every fan to connect to the museum on a personal level.  These lockers constantly cycle through recently game-used items of significance - for instance, the Brewers locker has a pair of Christian Yelich's shoes from one of his cycles in his 2018 MVP season.  There was also a locker dedicated to each of the newest member of the HOF inducted this year - Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, and Ted Simmons.  

Following the museum portion of the building, we were 3 hours into our day at this point and needed a break for lunch.  We got our hand stamped and had perhaps the best meal of the trip, a hoagie from an Italian deli down the street.  We returned to walk through the actual Hall of Fame portion of the building on the main floor and raided the team store up until doors closed at 5pm.  We concentrated on the men who have been inducted since we last visited in 2007, but we of course walked through the whole thing just for old times' sake.  It's super interesting to see how players and even the wording on the plaques have changed over the past 85 years of the Hall of Fame, starting with the original class of Mathewson, Wagner, Cobb, Ruth, and Walter Johnson in 1936.  It's a beautifully designed space that feels sacred the moment you set foot inside (as it should), with an almost cathedral-like feel, both in terms of materials of marble and wood, as well as the height and purposeful use of skylights above.  It is the kind of space where you are quiet out of respect without even being asked, again much like a cathedral.  I spent a good hour or two in this space, deep in my own thoughts and honored to be in the presence of such greatness again for a short while.

Following our full day in downtown Cooperstown, we were unfortunately denied a shot at redemption at the batting cages because of the rain, so we stopped at Ommegang Brewery on the way back to Lake George.  It's a beautifully picturesque brewery on acres of rolling hills and pristine landscape - so beautiful in fact that a couple of weddings were going on there -  that is very befitting of the area and a must-stop for anybody passing through.  We ended our time in Lake George on Sunday with one more leisurely stroll along the lake, and I spent some time with my friend Josh who happens to live in Albany before flying home Sunday evening.  It certainly wasn't the trip we planned, but what in these past couple of years has gone to plan for anybody?  We made the most of it and were happy to see each other and enjoy the trip for what it was - a relaxing time to catch up, watch and talk about ball, imbibe in way too many beers, and already start discussing next year's trip.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 9/20/21:

Brewers 91-59, +10.5, clinched playoff spot; 4 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Mets, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Dodgers

Twins 65-85, -20.0, eliminated; 2 @ Cubs, 4 v. Blue Jays, 3 v. Tigers, 3 @ Royals

2021 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 0

Peter - 8

Tour 2013: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

All photos of Monarch Plaza and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum available on Flickr.

Following my exciting night in Springfield, I hit the road for Kansas City a little after 8 AM.  The drive took about 2 1/2 hours and was primarily on this dangerous state highway called the Kansas City Expressway that features a 65 MPH speed limit with controlled intersections, legal U-turns, a narrow shoulder, and Amish horse-drawn wagons.  My plan when I got into town was to have lunch at the famous Arthur Bryant's BBQ.  However, on my way there, I drove past an interesting place called Monarch Plaza.  It is not at all in my nature to alter my schedule, but for some reason I felt compelled to stop.  I'm fortunate that I did, because I came to find out the plaza was built on the historic site of the former Kansas City Memorial Stadium, the former home to the Athletics and later the Royals, the NFL Chiefs, and the Negro League Monarchs.  Since the park's demolition in 1976, the site has remained mostly vacant and overgrown with a few low-income housing units where the outfield used to be, but now is a great marker of Kansas City history with plaques commemorating great athletes who played there.  Google Maps does not even show the plaza, so it must be very new.  I talked to a resident there for awhile who told me a lot of stories about the old park, and one story in particular about Reggie Jackson when he was with the KC A's supposedly hitting the longest homerun in baseball history, which cleared the stadium over the centerfield wall and rolled all the way down the street to Arthur Bryant's 4 blocks away.  After the mention of Arthur Bryant's I kind of zoned out and remembered I was on my way to mow down on some brisket, so I just politely nodded until he was done talking and left.

Before I went on this trip, I asked my friend Evan, who is a native of Kansas City, what the best place was for BBQ there, and he told me Arthur Bryant's without hesitation, and I could tell by the large tour group going in as I got there that he was probably right.  It's one of those places that is so old and entrenched in the community that you really have to be "in the know" to order properly, so I was relieved the tour group was there so I did not feel like too much of an outcast.  The open-faced burnt ends sandwich on white bread was super delicious and it kept me full well into the Royals game that night. 

My next stop after lunch was the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, only another few blocks down the road.  It shares a building with a jazz museum in the 18th & Vine District, which I came to find out on the tour was a historically significant location as a former nationally known intersection and pillar of the black community.  Typically this museum is a self-guided tour, but luck was on my side again on this trip as I got there just in time to latch on with some other folks to a private tour for some of the visiting Washington Nationals players - Denard Span, Ian Desmond, and Scott Hairston - as well as some DC media.  It is not uncommon for visiting African-American players to visit this museum (Rickie Weeks did last year when the Brewers were in town), but Hairston's visit was extra special because his grandfather was a former Triple Crown winner in the Negro Leagues.  I really learned a lot I did not know about the Negro Leagues, including how long the league survived after integration, the Monarchs being the Yankees of the Negro Leagues, Latin American presence and barnstorming tours, and most impressively, just how great some of the players were.  Satchel Paige did not make it to the major leagues until his 40s, and Josh Gibson died of a stroke just 3 months before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.  Many people do not know very much at all about these two players, if anything, and it could be argued that they were the greatest pitcher and hitter of all-time.  Although many individual players were celebrated here, the tour guide made it very clear that this was an all-inclusive museum, and not just a hall of fame.  After the guided tour and sneaking some photos of the Nats players, I kind of went back through the museum in reverse because I didn't really get to look at any of the exhibits in depth.  The museum runs chronologically from the 19th century, to the formation of the Negro Leagues in the 1920s, all the way through its final days in the 60s as a globetrotter-type entertainment league.  Then there were lockers dedicated to all of the Negro League players in Cooperstown and finally the "field of legends" with 9 bronze statues by position of 9 Negro League greats, with of course Paige and Gibson front and center as the starting battery.  Overall, the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and it was a very amazing and overwhelming experience.  Anybody who considers themselves a true baseball fan definitely needs to make the trip to Kansas City and see this museum.

In total, I spent about 3 hours at the museum, then went to check in and relax at my hotel for a few minutes, and left for Kauffman Stadium around 3:30 for a 6:10 start. 

Bob Feller Museum

All photos of Bob Feller Museum and Iowa State Fair available on Flickr.

With Lauren out of town and nothing to do, I decided to drive down to visit my buddy Karl and see what Des Moines has to offer. Upon hearing this, Erik sniffed an opportunity. What was originally to be an afternoon excursion quickly turned into a 4-day Iowa barnstorming tour, and with Erik leaving for Virginia to work on another campaign this week, the timing could not have been better. I met Erik at 4:30 on Friday in Quasqueton, about a half-hour east of Waterloo, for the last tour of the day at Cedar Rock, one of two Frank Lloyd Wright residences open for touring in Iowa. Afterwards, we grabbed some dinner and drinks back in Cedar Falls and got to bed early for our long Saturday.

We left for the Des Moines area around 9:30, and made a stop in Van Meter on the way to Karl's house. Van Meter is the birthplace of Indians Hall-of-Famer Bob Feller and is home to the Bob Feller Museum. It is a small charming building that resembles an old one-room schoolhouse and features a Bob Feller relief on one wall, and a giant baseball on the front lawn with a replica signature of Feller's. Van Meter is your quintessential rural Iowa town - a few gas stations and Victorian farmhouses (including the house across from the museum that was probably there when Feller was growing up), railroad tracks cutting across the center of town, and corn as far as the eye can see. After a few exterior photos, we gave our $5 admission to the lady at the front desk, whom I later found out taught kindergarden in Van Meter for over 30 years. The museum would have been disappointing for a big-city museum, but for a small town like Van Meter, it was just right. It was very quaint and featured mostly photos and framed letters from Feller's playing days, as well as a few game-worn uniforms and artifacts. There were autographed baseballs and photos on display from every major leaguer that stopped by the museum and a little piece of tin in the shape of a baseball for each of his 266 wins scattered throughout the building. The coolest part by far was the last bat ever held by Babe Ruth. Everybody knows that famous picture of a very ill Ruth leaning on a bat in his familiar #3 Yankees uniform on the day it was retired in 1948. What many people don't know is the Yankees were playing the Indians that day, and as the Babe emerged onto the field, he grabbed a bat at random from the Indians' batboy, and it just so happened to be Bob Feller's. That bat was later autographed by Ruth, and he died two months later. After falling into the hands of several owners, it eventually found its way back to Bob Feller and his museum to the tune of $96,000. You can still faintly make out Ruth's distinctive signature on the barrel, as well as Feller's autograph. The museum only takes about 20 minutes to go through, even at Erik's slow museum pace. It is well worth the time and admission price for any baseball fans driving through central Iowa.

After the museum, we finished the drive to suburban Des Moines. We spent the day with my friend Karl and his family at the Iowa State Fair, featuring most notably giant buckets of cookies, a 3500-lb bull, and a full-scale cow made out of butter. It was the 3rd State Fair Erik and I have been too, and it's interesting to note the pros and cons of each. We had a great day being unhealthy and taking in a huge slice of Americana.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.25:
Brewers 61-63, -10.0 (3 v. Reds, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 52-71, -18.5 (3 @ Brewers, 3 v. Dodgers)
Twins 62-63, -4.5 (3 v. Orioles, 3 v. Rangers)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 40 (+21 worked)
Peter - 52

Tour 2009: Air Canada Centre

All photos of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Air Canada Centre available on Flickr.

How can you go to Canada in March and do nothing hockey-related? We just had to see a Maple Leafs game and the Hockey Hall of Fame on our last full day in Toronto. The Hall of Fame was only a few minutes' walk from our hostel and we got there just before 2. This gave us about 3 hours to view over a century of hockey history. The Hall of Fame building was really cool, it is housed in an old bank - most of the displays are below grade, but the main bank building houses the Stanley Cup, the members of the Hall of Fame, and all of the other player trophies. The original Stanley Cup is even inside what used to be the bank's vault. The Hall of Fame's special display this year was a tribute to the Montreal Canadiens' centennial season, and had player equipment and jerseys of great Canadiens, and there was a video playing about some of the great Montreal teams. There was an area dedicated to international play, an area dedicated to hockey legends including Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, the Hall of Records, and a special display dedicated to every team past and present. It was not as extensive as the Baseball Hall of Fame, but still very cool and worth seeing. One of the coolest things for me was seeing all of the equipment players used back in the day. Goalie masks didn't even exist until the invention of the slapshot, and looked very crude and uncomfortable up until about 20 years ago. Seeing some of the protection (or lack thereof) and sticks that the players used gave me a new appreciation for the skill and toughness that hockey requires.

After the Hall of Fame, we of course hit the store, and then we grabbed a bite at a place called St. Louis Wings & Ribs. A general rule of thumb - any place with a city in its title other than the city it's in is probably not going to have very good food. I really wanted to believe that Toronto could make good St. Louis style ribs, but they fell short. At least we got to relax for awhile, and it was the cheapest meal of the trip, so no complaints. We then headed to the arena a little after 6 for the puck drop of 7:30.

The outside of the Air Canada Centre left a little to be desired, and entering the building felt a little like going into a hotel lobby, at least where we went in...there could have been some grand entrance we missed. But the arena itself was pretty decent - nice and chilly like a hockey game should be. We were starting to feel the effects of our week of heavy drinking, even though Canadian beer does not seem to give you a hangover, so we stuck with souvenir sodas (with free refills!). A little side note: in Toronto, beer served in plastic cups comes with a lid, kind of like a sippy-cup. I thought that this was just a Rogers Centre querk, but The Hangar also served beer this way. You feel really stupid drinking beer with a lid, but is actually a good idea if you think about it. And if you're going to pay $9 for a beer, it may as well come with some anti-spill protection.

Our seats were high up and provided a great view of game action, but not so much of the rest of the arena, so I had to take pictures of the arena and all the banners from a lower vantage point. The Maple Leafs have 17 retired player numbers and 13 Stanley cups in their 90-year history, both feats I can barely fathom. Going to watch a hockey game in Toronto is kind of like watching a baseball game in New York, or a football game in Green Bay. No matter how the team is doing, people are very passionate about the team, the games are always a sellout, and all people talk about in the offseason is the team's chances for next year. I always overheard people at the Rogers Centre talking about the Leafs or checking their Blackberries for the Leafs score. It's a little bit harder to cheer for the Leafs these days, as they are pretty horrible, but it was a great experience to be a part of the national sport of Canada.

The Maple Leafs fell again on this night, 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I don't remember the last time I've seen a home hockey team play that bad. They were horrible on defense and on the power play, and they have absolutely no players that shoot the puck decently. I've kind of adopted the Maple Leafs as my favorite NHL team since Milwaukee doesn't have a pro team, so it was hard to watch. I'm sure if they still had Mats Sundin, they might have at least lost 4-3. Lee Stempniak got the Leafs out to an early lead with his 13th goal of the season, but the 'Ning scored 4 unanswered in the final two periods. A lot of the crowd left after Ryan Malone put home his 24th of the year on a centering pass from Cory Murphy.

After the game, we stopped off for one final drink in Toronto, this time at a place near our hostel called Flatiron & Firkin. I think this might be the first time I ever fly home to Milwaukee, and it will be warmer there than the city I was in! Our flights leave 4 hours apart, so Erik will have a significant amount of time to kill at the airport bar. Another great Pete & Erik trip! Our next scheduled Tour 2009 trip is to see a game in the final season of the Metrodome, so stay tuned. 25 days 'til Opening Day!

arena stats and rankings:

aesthetics - 2 (stuffed between expressway and Union Station)
view to ice - 7 (good view to ice from up high, but not of rest of arena)
surrounding area - 7 (downtown, Union Station)
food variety - 6
nachos - 5 (standard corn chips & cheese)
beer - 7 (bonus points for lids, variety of Canadian beer, and different sizes; points subtracted for price)
vendor price - 5 (comparitively to rest of Toronto, not too bad)
ticket price - 1 ($100 for seats 10 rows from the top)
atmosphere - 7 (not as rowdy as I expected, but they were playing the Lightning)
walk to arena - 7 (downtown is nice, but you have to walk through a shady tunnel)
parking proximity - n/a
concourses - 5
team shop - 7

best food - Tim Horton's
most unique arena feature - the suites, entry sequence
best jumbotron feature - expose on youth hockey players
best intermission feature - Maple Leafs Elvis & Superman toss t-shirts into crowd

starting goalies - Karri Ramo (TB) v. Martin Gerber (TOR)
Three Stars of the game - (1) Martin St. Louis - TB, (2) Steven Stamkos - TB, (3) Lee Stempniak - TOR
opponent - Tampa Bay Lightning
attendance - 19209
score - 4-1 L
Admirals score - 3-2 W (3/11)

Tour 2008: Civil Rights Game

All photos of Memphis and the Civil Rights Game available on Flickr.

This past weekend, Erik and I met in Memphis to attend the much-anticipated Civil Rights Game. We spent three days and three nights drinking on Beale Street, touring museums, eating great food, and of course watching ball, and we had a great time. There were a surprisingly large number of people in town for the event, including fans from New York and Chicago, local reporters, and MLB.com camera crews and news anchors.

There was so much to do that we decided to start the weekend a little early. I arrived via automobile from the North, about a 9.5 hr drive through scenic Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. By scenic, I mean not at all scenic. The interesting thing about the drive was that by the time I got to around Carbondale IL, all the farms on either side of the road were all covered in water. The same amount of snow we got in Wisconsin, the Mid-South got in rain, plus all the melted snow from the north came down the river to equal major flooding. The Mississippi River was unbelievably high and dangerously close to the power lines connecting Arkansas and Tennessee.

I arrived at what I expected to be a shady hotel around 5:30 - Econo Lodge, 10 miles east of down town, Waffle House across the street, misspelled words on the display board, broken sign. However, once inside, it actually proved to be pretty nice - it featured amenities such as a fridge, microwave, and front AND rear entry. I unpacked a little and went to pick up Erik at the airport. His flight got in around 7 and I killed time taking back some $8 beers at the not-so-Irish Pub inside the airport. After a happy greeting and making fun of E's new Pete Vuckovich moustache, we were off to Beale Street. Beale St is in the heart of downtown and is generally known as the "Home of the Blues," and we pretty much didnt leave the same 9-block area the entire weekend, nor did we want to, since most of the city looks pretty run-down. Most of the original Beale St was actually razed during the "Urban Renewal" program instituted in 1960s America in an effort to rid city centers of slums. Sadly, a lot of rich cultural neighborhoods and great buildings were lost during this time, but Beale St has since then rebuilt itself as the #1 tourist destination in all of Tennessee. Our first night on Beale we grabbed a quick bite and watched a band we had seen 8 months prior on the ball tour, Delta Highway, at the Juke Joint.

We got a relatively early start to our Friday in an effort to see the Civil Rights Game symposium at the National Civil Rights Museum at 10 AM, but when we arrived we found out it had been moved to 4. So, after taking some illegal photographs inside, we headed towards the Gibson guitar factory, but the tours there were full. Third time's a charm - we finally made it into a museum, the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. It was a pretty outstanding little museum that reminded me a lot of the EMP in Seattle - a long history of music and blues in the Mississippi Delta, featuring the history of radio in Memphis and all the great artists that recorded at the Memphis studios of Sun, Hi, and Stax Records, some of the places where Rock & Roll was first recorded in the 1950s. After the tour we grabbed a bite at B.B. King's where we acquired souvenir glasses, and then we headed back to the CR Museum. We started out walking around the museum slowly, reading every word of the intense history of the Civil Rights Movement. But by the time we got to the "Brown v. the Board of Education" section, we had to speed up a bit in order to make the symposium at 4, so we kind of jetted through the rest and got to walk through the room where MLK was staying the morning he was assassinated.

The symposium was amazing. The actual auditorium was full, but we snuck into a room upstairs where they were showing the live feed onto a projection screen. The discussion was obviously on the status of civil rights in America, more specifically in baseball, and was moderated by Harvard Professor Dr. Charles Ogletree. The panel was comprised of Hank Aaron, the general managers of the Mets and White Sox (who are Dominican and African-American respectively), and children of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Jackie Robinson. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ruby Dee, and one of the daughters from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were also in attendance. I particularly thought that Ambassador Shabazz (daughter of Malcolm X) and Kenny Williams (White Sox GM) were particularly sharp, and every panelist had very interesting things to say on the topic. It lasted about 90 minutes, and afterwards Williams, Omar Minaya (Mets GM) and Martin Luther King III came upstairs and we got to meet them. Mr. Minaya in person seemed like a very vibrant character - when Erik asked if he could get a picture with him, he responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah! Let's do that!" After the symposium, we capped off the evening with BBQ ribs and about 8 hours of drinking, finally stumbling into bed near 4 AM, as bars do not close until 4 on Beale Street on weekends. We saw our second awesome blues band of the weekend at the Juke Joint, the Dr. Feelgood Potts Band, and a pretty good funk/pop cover band at Albert's. Erik took quite a liking to Dr. Feelgood, with his flashy attire, multiple assorted harmonicas, and a crowd-pleasing song called "Tip the Band," which went a little something like this:

If you haven't tipped the band

Why don't you...tip the band

Thank you for the tip

Thanks for not givin' us no lip

Bands do not get paid to play on Beale Street, but rather volunteer to play for the exposure, so the only way they make any money is by passing a tip bucket and selling CDs, one of which we bought (I have now bought a CD at a bar all three times I have gone to Memphis).

We understandably got a late start on Saturday, and finally left the hotel around 1:30 for the 4PM game. After a stop at Hooters for lunch, we entered the park around 3:30, where we shockingly found people scalping tickets to the Civil Rights Game. Upon entering, everyone was given a free souvenir program and a plastic ticket case/holder that you could wear around your neck, kind of like how a backstage pass looks. We then visited the team shop, which had tons of cool Memphis Redbirds (AAA team that also plays at AutoZone Park) stuff but sadly a limited amount of Civil Rights gear, some of which was held over from last year. It had been raining hard all day, but we knew from our ball tour last year that we'd have luck on our side, and sure enough about 5 minutes into the 1st inning, the weather held up, although it was about 15 degrees colder than it was forecasted to be. Our seats were near the right field foulpole and were pretty good. The pregame festivities included three Beacon Awards given to prominent Civil Rights activists, MLK III throwing out the first pitch, and the U of Memphis marching band performing with the Memphis RedHot cheerleading squad. Every half-inning, a MLB profile of a celebrated minority player would be shown, including greats like Satchel Page, Larry Dobie, and Frank Robinson. Despite the stadium being half-empty because of the weather (7717 in attendance), it was a great experience and was neat to be around for such an amazing event celebrating 60+ years of progress in the integration and success of the minority athlete in Major League Baseball. And besides that, I am told I was on TV at least three times. The game itself was a pitchers duel with the Mets eeking it out 3-2. Jose Contreras and John Maine got the starts for their respective teams, and both faired pretty well, going 5.2 and 4 innings each. Contreras' only 2 runs allowed came on a Carlos Beltran homerun in the 4th. The Mets' Scott Schoenweis almost blew the game with a horrible 7th inning, but the Mets ended up re-taking the lead for good in the home half of the inning on an RBI groundout by backup catcher Raul Casanova.

After the game we went out for a couple drinks and saw the Dr. Feelgood Potts Band play the same exact set from the night before, and got to bed around 1:30. The following morning we stopped for a quick breakfast at the Waffle House across the street and parted our separate ways around 10:30 AM. Overall we had a great time and felt honored and lucky to be a part of the weekend's festivities, particularly since today I've been reading that the game might be moved to a regular season game in either KC, Atlanta, or Arlington next year, so we were definitely glad to be in Memphis while the event was still held in that city. Our next planned trip is to the new Nationals Stadium in June, with stops in the Bronx for the last year at Yankee Stadium, and a minor league game in Aberdeen MD. I caught a glimpse of the new park on Sunday Night Baseball last night when I returned home and can't wait to see it in person. Happy Opening Day to everyone!

Day 67: Field of Dreams

All photos of Dyersville and the Field of Dreams available on Flickr.

Today was our final day in Iowa. People make fun of Iowa for having nothing but cornfields and pigs (which is true in most cases), but it was great for me at least to be in this state for four days, because I have now finally feel like I am close to home. After growing up in Wisconsin for most of your life, you certainly develop a certain comfort level for driving through exurban farming and manufacturing towns that wreak of manure and yeast. Even though I hope to move out to one of the 50+ amazing cities we have seen on this tour someday, the Midwest will always be home to me.

Dyersville was really no different than Des Moines, Davenport, or Clinton; just at a bit smaller scale. The Field of Dreams exit is off of US-20, about 20 miles west of Dubuque, and is about three miles off the highway, past several farms and fields. In fact, the Field of Dreams was once a farm and cornfield itself before becoming immortalized in the movie that shares the same name in 1988. Today, it serves as one of the biggest tourist attractions in Iowa. The lot is simple - the field kept intact from the movie, the adjacent house where Kevin Costner's character lived, and two souvenir stands. Admission is free, and Erik and I spent the better part of an hour playing catch, running the bases, and taking many action photos. I planned on getting a picture of myself sliding, but when I noticed the infield dirt was about 50% gravel, I thought better of it. This did not deter Erik one bit, and now he as a couple souvenir scars and a dirt-covered t-shirt to remember his experience - I, however, settled for a $4 baseball. After working up a good sweat, we talked to a nice lady who ran one of the souvenir stands, who was obviously lonely from working there by herself all day every day in a hot trailer.

We left the Field of Dreams around 3 PM and finished our drive to Minneapolis, where we'll be staying with a friend of Erik's for a few nights. Tomorrow we'll probably both be incredibly sore, but we will try to tough it out and make it to the Minnesota State Fair!

Day 26: Tropicana Field & Ted Williams Museum

All photos from Tropicana Field are available on Flickr.
After a fitful night at a Tampa area truck stop, we awoke about 9 AM and finished the drive to Tropicana Field. Along the way we crossed over Tampa Bay and longed to jump in since neither Peter nor I have showered in 2 days. Upon our arrival at 'The Trop' we were very please to find free parking in the team lot. We set up our fundraising table along the main walkway to the stadium and Rays' fans were happy to contribute, but we were told to move along by team security after about 20 minutes. We raise only $4 for the Saint Petersburg Habitat affiliate. Fortunately, we will be returning to the area on Saturday to catch a Dunedin Blue Jays game and they have given us permission to fundraise inside their stadium.

We then entered Tropicana Field with plenty of time to look around. After taking a few pictures of the rotunda, we immediately headed for the Team Shop. I found my helmet right away but Peter could not find either a souvenir baseball or any 10 Year Anniversary merchandise. Next, we headed over to the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame. The home of one of baseball's newest teams seemed an odd place to house the museum of one of baseball's greats who played his entire career in Boston and managed in Washington. The museum is here because Ted Williams enjoyed the fishing in Florida so much that he established his museum near one of his favorite fishing spots. Since no one was making the trip to rural Florida, the museum was moved to Saint Petersburg when The Trop opened. The museum is mostly photos of Ted Williams with other great players but there are some unique pieces. For example, the museum houses the silver bowl presented to Ted Williams by the Red Sox for winning the 1946 AL pennant and several trophies from Williams' Triple Crowns.

We then grabbed some food and headed towards the game. We had purchased $8 upper deck tickets but with the Devil Rays' usual spare attendance coupled with a 12:05 start time, we felt comfortable grabbing seats 25 rows up in the first section down the first baseline. Today marked the 2nd of 8 times that Peter and I will see the Angels play on this trip and they performed a bit better than they did last time, when they were shutout by the Yankees. I had never heard of the Devil Rays starter before and was expecting a lopsided victory by the Angels. Andy Sonnanstine acquitted himself very well though, holding the Angels to 3 runs over 7 innings with a high 80s fastball and other junk. The Rays, however, gave him no support. The twice had the bases load, once with only one out, and failed to score. Carl Crawford was the only Ray who earned his paycheck today, gathering 3 hits.

Afterwards, we hopped back into Old Yeller and drove the 3 hours to Miami where we got a cheap hotel for the next couple of nights. Tomorrow, well be watching baseball in a football stadium - Woo Hoo!

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 3
views from park - 0 (Dome)
view to field - 6 (even the expensive seats felt far away)
surrounding area - 2 (nothing but parking lots)
food variety - 7
nachos - 6 (4 different sizes)
beer - 6
vendor price - 8
ticket price - 6
atmosphere - 4
walk to park - 5
parking price/proximity - 10
concourses - 5 (the concourse for the infield grandstand is above the one for the outfield)
team shop - 5 (more Red Sox gear than Rays, and How do you not sell souvenir baseballs?)

best food - Sting 'Em Dogs - chilli-cheese dog
most unique stadium feature - Ray tank in centerfield
best jumbotron feature - incredibly difficult Rays' cap shuffle
best between-inning feature - Pepsi products race

field dimensions - 315/404/322
starters - Kelvim Escobar (LAA) v. Andy Sonnanstine (TB)
opponent - Los Angeles Angels
time of game - 2:41
attendance - 18,163
score - 3-0 L
Brewers score that day - 10-1 W

Day 18: Yogi Berra Stadium & Museum

All photos of Yogi Berra Museum & Stadium available on Flickr.

We were faced with another early start today as the New Jersey Jackals were hosting a day game and we had to be on the road by 5 AM. After a quick stop along the New York throughway to post yesterday's entry, we set out towards the Bronx to deposit all the money we have raised thus far. Since there was no place to park near the bank, I hopped out and made the deposit while Peter did laps around the block in Old Yeller. The teller was not very thrilled when a pulled the big wad of singles out of the cup we've been using to store it. When they finally got it counted it added up to over $425. We then ran into construction and the terrible New York City traffic on the way to Upper Montclair, NJ and arrived just before first pitch and did not have the opportunity to fundraise.

After paying a ridiculous $7.75 for reserved bleachers, we descended into Yogi Berra Stadium. It's pretty nice, all the seats are very close to the field. Also, food prices are very reasonable. I got a popcorn chicken value meal, including fries and a small soda, for $7.50. The Jackals were hosting Camp Day, the reason for the 12:05 start, and the stands were packed with young children in a rainbow of shirt colors. In fact, we were probably the only adults there who were not chaperones. Now, usually Peter and I love independent baseball. This game, however, was dreadful. The Can-Am league did not live up to the standards of the American Association or the Frontier League. A few of the lowlights were the Jackals first baseman, Sandy Madera, falling down twice and pitcher Demetrius Banks who gave up 7 runs in the 6th inning and this morning is no longer on the roster. Honestly, the players didn't even look like they wanted to be there. They waved at balls and made half-hearted attempts in the batters box and on the base paths.

After the conclusion of the bloodbath, we went next door to the Yogi Berra museum. The museum was the reason we planned a side trip to small-town New Jersey in the first place and was very rewarding. We talked to a couple of nice old guys who run the place, told them about the tour, and since the museum was closing in an hour they let us in for free. It's a fairly small space and the first half is devoted to a history of the catcher position and catcher's equipment. The second half has a lot of neat Yogi Berra artifacts, including his 10 World Championship rings, and the bronzed glove he used to catch Don Larson's World Series perfect game. The were also some items from the new ESPN mini-Series "The Bronx is Burning" in which Yogi is a minor character. These were neat to see since Peter and I caught the series opener on Monday night after the Home Run Derby and look forward to watching it the next 7 weeks. The museum definitely saved this side trip from being a bust.

We then headed up to Boston to stay at Peter's girlfriend Mary's place in suburban Beverly for the evening. It wasn't too bad of a drive despite everyone in the state of Connecticut being on the road at once. Tomorrow is another exciting day, walking around Boston with Mary and then we have bleacher seats for the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Fenway Pahk.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 2
views from park - 2
view to field - 10
surrounding area - 5 (montclair state university)
food variety - 8
nachos - n/a (too hot for nachos!)
beer - 8 (good price & variety)
vendor price - 6
ticket price - 2 (ridiculously high for independent league)
atmosphere - 9 (it was kids day)
walk to park - 1
parking price/proximity - 10
concourses - 3
team shop - 9

best food - Jack Burger
most unique stadium feature - adjacent Yogi Berra Museum
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - a PR guy hoses down the crowd as relief from the heat

field dimensions - 308/398/308
starters -
opponent - Sussex Skyhawks
time of game - 3:30
attendance - 8000
score - 15-8 L
Brewers score that day - off

Days 16-17: Cooperstown

All photos of Cooperstown and Hall of Fame available on Flickr.

With the All-Star break upon us, Peter and I suddenly found ourselves without a game to watch. We, therefore, had planned to spend a couple of days in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. After taking the time to catch up on some sleep at Frank's house in Rhinebeck, we hit the road about 2:30 on Monday and arrived in Cooperstown just after 4 PM. We parked Old Yeller on Main St and spent some time checking out the souvenir shops and looking for a place to spend the night. We finally found a reasonably priced motel about a 20 minute drive north from Cooperstown and headed there to settle in. After a quick nap, we returned to Cooperstown to look at the shops some more and to get a bite to eat, some drinks, and watch the Home Run Derby. The highlight of the night was definitely when we were watching the Derby at the local pub and we almost saw a fight between an elderly local couple and a couple of up-state New Yorkers who were apparently invading their turf.

As you would expect, Cooperstown has a ton of baseball souvenir shops. Each one has shelves and shelves of autographed balls and jerseys. Everything in the entire town is baseball themed, actually - everything from the local general store to motels (a great place for me to retire in rural New York). In addition, Cooperstown is an excellent place to find retro gear. I picked up an old San Diego Padres brown and yellow batting helmet and orange Astros one, too. Cooperstown is also the home of Doubleday Field, where the Hall of Fame Game is played every year. It's a nice little park with a very small grandstand but expansive seating down the foul lines. Plus the outfield fence is just in front of people's backyards, allowing some residents of Cooperstown to take in free ball. We were fortunate enough to catch a couple innings of a Little League game there, then Peter hit the Double Day Field batting cages.

Then Tuesday came the big day - the Hall of Fame. Peter and I got there as close to opening as we could because we knew we would potentially need to spend all day there reading every plaque and absorbing 175+ years of baseball history. The museum is split up into two parts. There is the museum portion, which is three floors of exhibits, the history of the game, player artifacts, and artwork/media. The other part is of Great Hall, which houses the bronze plaques of all the Hall of Famers, with the original five of 1936 on display in the center - Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Cristy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Ty Cobb, who received the most votes. This year's class includes Cal Ripken Jr and Tony Gwynn, who will be inducted in a couple weeks. Over 16,000 people have donned a uniform in the Major Leagues, and we were fortunate enough to be around that elite 1% that actually made it to the Hall for a couple hours.

We then explored the museum portion of the Hall of Fame. It was not unlike any other history museum, but it obviously held special meaning to us, being huge baseball fans. We learned that this city was chosen as the site of the Hall because it was where Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball over 200 years ago. The museum featured a chronological look at how the game has evolved all the way up to this year, and then a section dedicated to player paraphernalia that has been collected and donated throughout the history of the museum, including a special room dedicated to arguably the greatest player who ever lived, Babe Ruth. We spent a good four hours wandering through the museum in awe, and perhaps stalling a bit so we could postpone throwing down lots of money in the gift shop at the end of our journey. We refrained from our urges and concluded the tour feeling lucky once again that we got to make this a stop on our national tour. We then hit the shops on Main Street again, enjoyed some helmet sundaes, and each took some cuts in the batting cages. Curve Ball I hit very well but Fastball bats are afraid. Also, the knuckleball is incredibly difficult to hit.

The evening concluded with a classic Erik & Peter evening - buying some cheap beer at the grocery store, laying around the motel, drinking, and watching ball. The National League unfortunately lost again, but it did not deter from our experience. Tomorrow it's off to northern New Jersey to visit the Yogi Berra Museum and a local Can-Am League team, and it's finally back to civilization on Thursday; seeing a tall building will certainly be a sight for sore eyes.

Day 4: Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum

All photos of Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum available on Flickr.

Today we spent the day seeing what downtown Louisville had to offer. The day of course started with the purpose of this whole 2-day excursion to Kentucky: the Louisville Slugger bat factory. Erik and I got there around noon and toured the factory and got to see where and how bats were made, everything from souvenir bats to major league bats. There are over 1000 combinations of make, model, color, weight, and balance to choose from, and each player has a specific bat made just for him. It was fun to walk through the factory watching the old guys who have clearly worked there all their lives engraving the bats and running the lathes. It's not done by hand like it used to be, and it only takes about 30 seconds to wittle a bat from a log to a bat today. The best two facts on the tour were when the tour guide said that twice a week a turkey farmer stops by the factory and hauls away the waste - over 37,000 pounds of sawdust - and when the tour guide showed us the back wall where there were over 18,000 metal plates with past and present players' signatures that are used to engrave their bats! At the end of the tour, we got a free mini-bat, a little "cog" sawed off the end of a Derek Jeter bat, and a free T-shirt for taking a survey. Erik and I then hit up the museum portion of the building, the batting cages, the store, and Erik purchased a personalized bat with his signature on it for $70. Thanks to mom for getting me a pink Bill Hall bat for graduation, because I for sure would have dished out the cash for a bat myself.

This took a few hours and we decided to hit up a little sammich shop next door that turned out to be delicious. I believe I stated on the blog yesterday that the best ballpark food was the nachos, but we soon found out from this restaurant that the Louisville specialty was fried bologna, which was also served at the ballpark last night. It was a little mom-and-pop restaurant named after the lady's beagle called Boomer's. It was very personal and the food was excellent. We then spent the rest of the day walking around downtown and riding the 25-cent trolley to a place called "4th Street Live," which is a portion of 4th street that is covered and pedestrian-only, lined with bars. We of course stopped here for a drink. Our day concluded with a quick drive through the University of Louisville and subsequently past Churchill Downs.

Tomorrow it is off to Evansville, Indiana to catch the independent-league Otters, where we have free seats awaiting us. It is close enough away that it should be our first opportunity for us to put a dent in my four bags of charcoal in the trunk and tailgate.