I've been a part of this group on Facebook called "Ballpark Chasers" for some time now, and it's been a great resource for me. I've found out a lot about various ballparks I didn't know, and it is really great to share stories and ideas with people who share the same passion as me of trying to see a ballgame in as many stadiums as possible. I recently also came across this article on ESPN that chronicles a few extreme ballpark enthusiasts. I doubt that I will ever be in the same class as any of these people, but it's something to aspire to. Not mentioned in the article is this guy Chuck Booth, who blogs on ballparkchasers.com and holds the world record for fastest to see a ballgame in all 30 stadiums. He did it in 24 days in 2009 and this year is doing the same trip x6 laps. Another similar story came out in Milwaukee this past weekend about a 25-year old Brewer fan who has battled leukemia and a brain stem transplant, and the team is sending him to all 162 Brewer games this season, home and away.
On the surface I might be jealous of all of these people who seemingly get to live the dream without monetary or time restriction, but deep down I am just proud that I can call myself a part of this special fraternity. As of June 29th of this year in Miami, I can once again say that I belong to that elite group of fans who have attended a ballgame in all 30 MLB stadiums. Some people might say that ballpark chasers are just wasting time and money, or that they don't have a life. But who are we to judge what people do in their free time, as long as it's legal? Erik and I have created so many great ballpark memories over the years, and for me it doesn't get much better than sharing a baseball game with friends. We can only hope to continue visiting ballparks as our ballpark brethren, and I continue to feel grateful and lucky that I get to live such a dream with each passing year.
Speaking of which, these articles recently made Erik and I aware that neither of us had any idea how many ballparks we've actually been to. We tallied our results from memory and E came up with 91 parks, and myself 99, including 77 together. I'm so excited that my next ballpark will be my 100th! I have several ideas of which park will put me at the century mark, but it will most certainly be in June sometime before we visit Marlins Park.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.23:
Brewers 7-9 (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Cardinals)
Reds 7-9 (3 v. Giants, 3 v. Astros)
Twins 5-11 (3 v. Red Sox, 3 v. Royals)
2012 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 2
Peter - 5
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.
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