2025

Wow, has this blog been around a long time. Look at this format too. What a world. I sit in March 2026 preparing for the baseball season and trying to purge my inbox of things that are expired and I see these three emails from the 2025 baseball season that continue to haunt me. I just need to take 20 minutes and pound out what baseball looked like last year. So here we go. 

Game #1 Target Field - May 24th - Memorial Day weekend. Molly decides that she needs a full service baseball experience with those kids of hers. Baseball games seem to have gotten crazy expensive in recent years. That could be to my age, the growth of my family, or actually just fucking true. It's resulted in me going less and less over the years as these blog entries illustrate. Regardless it was time. I went through analysis paralysis on where to sit for a few days then just bit the bullet (need to look that saying up). Got 4 legends club (Now Thrivent Club) seats on the 3B side and it was the move. I'd sat there before, but maybe I just forgot. The perch is so nice. Not too high that you feel far from the game, not too low so that you can see EVERYTHING. Concessions were so easy AND , but it was $15 bud light day so I had one. Twins played the Royals. Something called Zebby was the Twins SP. The Twins have been crazy hot of late though. Stadium was respectably full for a holiday weekend and the Twins won on a walkoff bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th. Reminded why I was a baseball fan and wondered why I don't do that more. 

I took no photos at this event or at least I save no photos of this event to is all word for you here

Game #2 American Family Field - Me Vinny and Joey - Boys Trip! Staying at the Fairfield less than a mile away. Nice to walk there. Can't remember when I've last been to a baseball game that had a legit tailgate scene, God Bless you Wisconsin. Roof was open at American Family Field. I've probably been here at least 3 times before and I'm not sure the roof has ever been open before. Still feels like you're inside, but the light is better when it's open. Explored all the kids baseball activities which were nice as Joey was losing interest by the 4th inning. Amazed that this place feels kinda old now. Last time I was here was at least 20 years ago and it just isn't as open, nor does it have the modern amenities of the new joints. They're trying too add community spaces in the OF which is really all they can do. We made it six innings before Joey turned into a pumkin. Brewers lost to the Padres 2-0. Joey WAS excited that the Brewers had a player named Joey Ortiz #3. Shortstop. 

Here are the photos I have of that game

Game #3 - Target Field - July 10th - Had to go because it was the Cubs. Me and Vinny rolled in on very hot school night. Got Legends club again cause we're bougie now. I remember that the Cubs were in first place and rolling everyone was getting PCA fever at the time and Shota Imanaga pitched. Lots of Cubs fans as you would expect and they one 8-1. This is probably the most I have been into baseball in the last several years and it has been largely because Vinny is becoming a fan. that's a new type of fun and probably why some people enjoy being a parent.

This is the only picture I have from that game: 

That's all 2025. Sorry to do you so quick and dirty like this, but that's the level of priority you're getting right now. On to the new year. 

2024

As we continue to a a growing distraction from myself and baseball given the way life has grown over the years it doesn't seem to ever be fully leaving me. I regularly meet people who are interested in the stadium quest and I regularly find myself day dreaming about going back to places that I have already been because of memories made. In 2024 I went to exactly TWO baseball games. 

#1 was a visit to a NEW PARK! Not a new team, but a new park for me. I had a trip to Alpharetta, GA for work and my team decided one of our evening activities was to be a base ball game. To my delight your Chicago Cubs were playing those Atlanta Braves and it was quite the happy accident. 

So we left Alpharetta around 5:30 PM to travel to this Park and it's Atlanta, I get it...But we traveled a total of about 20 miles and it took us ONE time hour. Whatever. We then parked in what we thought was a pretty legit parking location as it cost $50 American dollars. We then discovered it was a 1 mile walk to the field. I don't mind the walk, but fro $50 I would have expected something better at that price point. After submitting my expense report for parking we hiked the mile over the business complexes and freeway and entered a pretty excellent modern game day experience. Plenty of bars and restaurants sounding the field and little transition from that to actually entering the stadium. That was unique. 

Inside the park was chalked full of all the modern eminities. They has a 'Sandlot' experience for kids to play and to prey on the memories of aging GenX demographic. There was an also a kids climbing wall for some reason. Anyway, Busy place for a random Wednesday night in May, think it was nearly a sell out. There was also a rather impression Braves history/hall of fame walk through underneath the concourse. Chipper Jones, you say...We sat middle level just behind home plate. Great seats. Very loud, but what isn't these days.

The Game? Well I can tell you Chris Sale Pitched. Ronald Acuna had very brightly colored sox and that the cubs lost. Overall I thought this stadium was fantastic, but I am not sure I would want it to be MY home stadium as the logistics of getting to and fro would be too much for me to go to many games. As if I go to a lot of games any more.

#2 was more run of the mill ALTHOUGH, it was the 1st game me and Joe ever went to by ourselves. So that was awesome. Chad wasn't going to use his legends clubs sits because he had recently fathered another child. So we got his seats last minute and went. All I remember is that the Twins played the Brewers, Joey got lemonade, and we left early. I think it was probably the least amount of time and money I'd ever spent at a baseball game in my adult life. Keep in mind this was the Summer of unemployment for me so everything was a little bit of a strange time, but hey, me and Joey IN THE BOOKS!

2023

2023 was another year where I didn't travel for baseball, well kinda. It was a year of family and kids and work. The casualty being the once constant obsession to travel the country seeing stadiums and games. Such is life I suppose. What I did was still enjoyable. As I recall it I went to 3 games in total, which is a far cry from what this blog used to be about. 

Number one was game #1 of the 2023 season, the home opener at that. April 7th. Afternoon tilt against the hated Astros. It was a Sunny day and but boy howdy was it cold. Winter jackets, hats, and hand warmers. We got someone to pick the kids up from School and stayed the whole way through. It went extras. Twins won it in a walk off in the 10th. A story book beginning to the season which was fun. All the fans a twitter. Wish I could carelessly root for this team like 20 years ago, but they have continued to have a formula to be competitive with out being relevant every October. I'm thinking about softening my scrutiny and just enjoying the journey in the future, but that's a skill I've not yet mastered. 

Number two was a Mother's Day game between the Twins and the Cubs at Target Field. Very grateful to have seen the cubs in town. We had decent seats on the 3rd base side trending toward outfield. Was something of an oops as it was real thought for Joe to see. Forgot that he was small. Still a great game, great weather. First time we'd 'enjoyed' a game as a family probably. Twins lost and we were sorta bummed as we still carry Cubs Fan Memberships after our Chicago stint and the World Series experience. No shade on the Twins, still root for them at every opportunity they try. Anyway, great day...and I apparently didn't get a photo. 

My 2023 baseball journey was highlighted by a Boyz trip to Dyersville, IA to visit the field and its dreams. This was a trip to give Molly a break after my constant work travel and it held up. It was manicured, cared for, understated, and awesome. Vinny stayed up late with me the night before and watch a chunk of the movie and I really treasured the experience. Probably the first time I'd watched the movie as a dad and it had new meaning. Not going to fully convert this blog into a parenting forum, so I'll stop there. If you ever enjoyed that movie and have the opportunity I highly recommend stopping by Dyersville. It's one of those quietly awesome things that people have created and preserved. Totes worth appreciating. 

My 2nd and last baseball game of 2023 was a Twins v Pirates game on a late August night. Molly and Joe had gone to WI for some family stuff and some of my dearest friends loved attending Jimmy Buffet night at Target field. If you know me, you know Jimmy has always been a thing for me (thanks to my dad). I hate committing to plans, but eventually bought some tickets and met a gaggle of friends I've had the pleasure of doing life with for 20+ years. It was a hot night and the Jimmy Buffet spirit was in the air. While I obstained form much of the 'buzz' that every one was getting, I very much enjoyed watching Vin go full party mode and embrace extrovert attitude. He and MarkyJ got on the Jumbotron a couple of times and it was a RIOT. Another memory I'll never forget. Great Night. Pirates won...

2022

Baseball has entered a new level of importance in my life, let's call it what it is, a lower one.... It's almost Nostalgic at this point ass opposed to the passion it once was. Call it age, call it family, I don't know, but I'm sitting here staring the 2024 MLB season in the face and realize I haven't cataloged 2022? That's just bush league. Luckily my phone has my back. Here is what I got for 2022 baseball. 

1. Vinny's Kindergarten had an outing to a very cold game in April which was kind of a trick, maybe it was cheap or something but this was NOT a day you want to spend at the park. Very wintery conditions, hand warmers, coats, hats, gloves, the nine. We sat in our seats for only moments. Then retreated to the old 'Captain's Deck' with a couple of kids from his class. It was a nice time down there cause they could run around and burn calories. No idea who they played or who won. We DEFINATELY left early. Remember paying something unworldly like $17 for a beer after tip. Enter the new world I suppose....

2.  St. Paul Saints game in June as a fairwell to two good friends relocating out of MN. Excellent intimate stadium that I really recommend. Super fun Summer night with old friends. The kind of night that doesn't come around much anymore and I was very grateful for this. Not really the place or time, but the candy really did a number on me socially and it was hard getting back into the swing of being a member of outings and social events again. I can recall this one being one game as a stepping stone for feeling normal again. 

Saints went up like 7 runs in the first inning and it was never a game, which was great as it freed everyone up to catch up and chat. One of the underrated parts of baseball I think, its ability to be passive entertain as much as active entertainment. It can be the back drop or the focus of your attention. 

3. Boyz Day Baseball - One sunny/hot/late Summer afternoon Mom needed a break so I saddled up the Boyz and did a spur of the moment trip to Target field for our 2nd and final MLB game of 2022. Again, did NOT capture who played (getting sloppy), but it was the first time I'd taken the boys and they weren't BABIES, they were KIDS. We had fun, messed around, got all kinds of snacks. Really enjoyed this one as a dad. Want my kids to like/love baseball like I have. Want them to see the ballpark as a fun place to be with friends and family. We stayed for about 6 innings and bounced. Strategically not making the stay and get bored because I was hoping the good vibes, grow good memories, and baseball is happy place for them like it is for me. The photo of the the kids here I thought was a perfect depiction of their personalities at this time in their lives. I could break this down, but I'm just going to leave it at that. They are my favorites.

2021

2nd year in a row I only attended 1 baseball game. Oh how life has changed. I am curious to see how historians, Hollywood, and story tellers will remember the pandemic for us. Curious if it will match up with the memories of all of us that lived through it. I continue to be amazed from time to time about how different the world, or maybe it's just how different I was. Don't ever expect to fully comprehend how much existence has changed for me and mine at least in mind set alone. 

Anyway, So 2020 was aborted, but we got some vaxes and 2021 season started up on schedule pretty much. We were leery and stayed away from places, people, things early on in 2021. I think I was done and vaxed in April/May and all the news started to get better. The baseball season of 2021 WAS the threaded needed between Covid 1.0 or whatever it's called and 'The Delta Variant'. I again got to 1 game. This time it was a reunion of epic proportions at Wrigley field with a fine cast of characters. My oldest friend MarkyJ, Old roommate Tom, Old Coworker Snedz, and Mark's step brother (who I'd not seen in 10 plus years) and partner. 

We sat right field bleachers. It was hot, cubs played the Diamond Backs. It was literally days before the Cubs blew up the team trading Rizzo, Bryant, Baez and others. It was both memorable for that but also just being at a game again, and that many people again for the first time in over a year and half was just bizarre. The other thing that made it memorable was it was my first time witnessing 'The Beer Cup Snake'.  Every half inning the degenerates collected as many cups as the could get, hoisted their creation over their should and chanted 'Left Field Sucks!' again and again. #Merica. It was an epic day, one that a persons happiness should be measured by. I was and am extremely grateful for it. 

2020

I'm not going to say one fucking thing about COVID in this post, but you'll figure it all out. I only went to one baseball game in 2020 and it wasn't even a real one. Molly and I slapped the kids in an airplane in late Feb 2020 and went down to the Valley for an escape from MN winter and a Cubs Spring training game at Sloan Park. Saw Cubs v Rockies on Feb 25, 2020. Thought the park was a very legit park for a spring facility. Parking was a bit of a cluster, but once inside you had an intimate, but well 'amenitied' building. Open concourse in the outfield that had some vendors and such. Fergie Jenkins was there trying to cling to his notoriety pushing a book or something. Pretty sad site really as no one was really interested. We got seats in their outfield lawn which is really the way to go if you're trying entertain small kids at a baseball game. 

Anyway, I don't know who won, but Lester pitched the first couple innings and I was excited to see him. In hind sight I feel rather fortunate to have gotten to see that game in 2020 as the season was iced for fans. Overall it was an excellent experience. I would definitely go back AND get the lawn seats again.

2019 Year in Review

In my first year after completing the MLB stadium tour I left myself wondering what I would do. Would I prioritize getting to the new stadiums that have been built since I visited? Would I take the initiative to complete Molly's journey (3 remaining)? Or would I do absolutely nothing in the name of children and business. As expected the latter won out. I did however have a successful season touring the country through business and personal travel that afforded me the opportunity to get to several parks I'd been so fortunate to visit in the past. For prosperity's sake here is a review of my baseballing in the year of our lord, 2019:

1. The obvious Minnesota Twins - Only attended two games at old reliable Target field this year. One game in early April with Vinny. It was Master's Sunday and Tiger was in the middle of his charge for the gold jacket, green jacket, who gives a shit. It was cold so we bundled up and got some seats on the first base side against the Tigers. Jordan Zimmerman was pitching for the kitties and my friend Adam was in Jordan's players seats so we had some extra motivation to go. Twins beat JZ up pretty good and we left early. V did however get a foul ball from an usher. I spent 30 years going to games in hopes of foul balls and in Vinny's short life he's already got 2. Doesn't seem fair, but at the end of the day I'm thrilled by this.

Other game was with my pal CorE on a Friday night vs. the out of town 'I don't remembers'. We sat in 'Catch' dead center field all inclusive area which was great as you sat at a rail and had a personal TV where we were as much entertained by the NBA Western Conference Finals as we were the game. I don't remember who one, but I do remember that I had at least 2 beers. Anyway, Catch is a cool deal and a hell of an add to that stadium

2. Your Chicago Cubs - This was not the Cubs year for sure, but attending Wrigley Field with Vinny was and is a life highlight for me. He and I flew down on Friday in June. Took the train in from Midway and got stuck on the redline for like 45 minutes for a medical emergency. To say he loved riding the train is the understatement of the century. I got us some good seats on the 3rd base side knowing that he was unlikely to last long I wanted to maximize his attention span by getting him close to the game. Well after about $60s in concessions and 2 innings he had enough. It was really hot and just too much, but that didn't matter we blew out of there and hit the town seeing nearly every Chicago site appropriate for a 3.5 year old in whirlwind fashion. One of, if not the, greatest weekend of my life to date.

3. The Los Angeles Dodgers - As we are want to do, Molly and I snuck away from our child filled lives in mid august and headed west. Spending a night in Pasadena before road tripping into Vegas. Took in Dodgers v Brewers in Chavez Ravine. This stadium is SUCH a pain in the ass to get in and out of. The sound system is still terrible, but it has so much charm, I love it. The one thing that struck me this time that didn't the past two times I'd been there was the overwhelming aroma of garlic fries. It was everywhere. Is this new, how had I missed this in previous treks? Also I recall spending $48 for 2 coors lights and two slices of pizza. Bonkers, but I think that might just be me getting old and thinking cost of living adjustments should have froze in 2002. Dodgers won. They REALLY need to come up with a better ride sharing solution for this place, it's a nightmare. All Star game there next year, would really like to try and find my way to that some how.

4. The Baltimore Orioles - Leveraged a DC trip to have a boon doggle with good ole MarkyJ. He crashed my snooty DC hotel for a couple days then we took the train up to Baltimore for a night game vs Pirates I believe. We got a hotel right next to the stadium and just as we walking out to the game this huge storm front was blowing in. We had high levels of confidence the game was going to be delayed so we hopped some scooters and scooted for our lives. What seemed like hurricane level winds eventually drove into an Irish Pub where hunkered down until it was over. Maybe an hour or so later we scooted back to the game that already began and the box office was closed. They were still accepting cash payment for standing room only tickets which seemed pretty dumb, but whatever. Went inside and there were MAYBE 5,000 people there...We booped around this excellent park visiting the warehouse shops and Boog BBQ. O's blew it open in the 7th at which time Mark declared it time to go to the casino where he won like $700 and stupid bets in Mark like fashion. Great Stadium. Great Night.

5. NLCS Champion Washington Nationals - Who saw this coming by the way!? Attended this game on one of my famous DC trips. Took a scooter to the game which is WAY faster than the rider share/train option. Wanted to get to a game here this year as I usually do, but when I saw the pitching match up was Scherzer v DeGrom I made it a priority. Hung out in their tailgate area down the road from the park for the first time. That was way better than I remembered. There was a band and reasonably priced concessions compared to the stadium. Would definately do that again. Got a decent seat behind home plate and hung out for 5 innings or so, I wanted to get back to the hotel for Federer's US Open match. RFed lost and the Nats actually won in pretty epic fashion. Sports fail on my part.

Not sure what 2020 will hold for Baseballing, but I'm confident if I am half as fortunate as I have been in this and previous years I will enjoy it immensely. 2019 Baseball Out...