Hello and welcome to 2026 and the 20th year of this blog! I can't believe this hasn't been flagged by the internet gestapo yet and/or that Blogger.com still exists, but here I am. This is always one of my favorite weeks of the entire year - football is mercifully over, spring training is right around the corner, and the announcement of our annual Tour trip to myself and the 5 other people that read this. Erik and I decided it was appropriate for 2026 to celebrate America's pastime in the birthplace of our nation - Philadelphia - during the USA's Semiquincentennial year. There are a lot of appalling things going on in our country right now that make it hard to be a citizen at times, but as Mark Twain famously said, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." It would be stubborn and short-sighted to pass up this opportunity, and we'll be proud to be in Philly for America's 250th birthday.
I was originally hoping that we could journey to Philadelphia over Independence Day and also sneak in a World Cup match, but alas, Erik was not available that weekend. We then quickly pivoted to the All-Star Game the following weekend, which Citizens Bank Park is appropriately hosting. We plan to attend basically every event surrounding All-Star Week except for the ASG itself - MLB Amateur Draft, Futures Game, MLBx, All-Star Village, All-Star Workout Day, and the Homerun Derby. Erik and I did technically go to the Futures Game together when it was in Minneapolis in 2014, but he had to work the rest of the festivities when he was employed by the Twins, so this will be a first of sorts for us. We will also not be going to the hotbed region of baseball that is Eastern Pennsylvania without fitting in a minor league game or two, and we've got a few options for those. Erik has been a trooper the last four years of our trips with torturous cross-country flights, so I'm sure he is quietly very excited about not having to wake up at dawn to fly 6 hours this year. I am also happy about not needing a rental car this year, which is usually one of the biggest headaches of our travels. As is always the case, this will be months of planning and anticipation for something that goes by in the blink of an eye, but I can't wait!
Whereas Tour Erik 2026 will be all about celebrating the United States, Tour Molly 2026 will be going international for the first time. My goal is to drive Molly up to Thunder Bay, Ontario for our daddy-daughter trip this year. I'll probably break up the trip with a stop in Duluth since Thunder Bay is 6 hours away, but we've got our passports ready and I am super excited for this trip as well. I always cherish our special time together, especially as she gets older and gets more and more of her Dad's attitude with each passing day.
Aside from the two major trips, I've also got the usual Town Ball and local collegiate schedules to scour, as well as what I'm assuming will be a poorly attended embarrassment of a Twins home opener. Pitchers & Catchers report in just 2 days, play ball!!
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.