I’ve been a big baseball fan for as long as I can remember. Aside from playing the sport my whole life, I’ve also religiously followed Major League Baseball. There’s something about the constant nature of the sport, with games every day for 6 months on end.
I also think the nerdiest thing about me is how much I get into the numbers of baseball. I love how every outcome on the field is quantifiable. I could look at career statistics of a player and tell you exactly how well they performed. Stats are not as obvious of an indicator of success in other sports. For example, you could be an excellent soccer player but never really score goals or even record many assists.
There’s something about baseball that lends itself to fandom and collecting. I used to collect baseball cards as a young kid, and also had a slew of random little baseball figurines that I would display in my room. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve moved on from that stuff, but I have a new quest in mind: visiting every Major League stadium.
Another stadium crossed off! Hello Chase Field pic.twitter.com/cOL81qvxKk
— caroline (@Carolineee_27) April 25, 2023
This is admittedly a tall task, and one that will require a lot of financial commitment. However, there’s something exciting about the prospect of completing this task, and one that I’m eager to pursue. Being an Atlanta Braves fan, I’d ideally like to see them play on the road, but I won’t let this be a deciding factor in gong to a stadium or not.
So far, I’m sitting at only 6 stadiums:
- Rogers Centre in Toronto
- Progressive Field in Cleveland
- PNC Park in Pittsburgh
- T-Mobile Park in Seattle
- Oracle Park in San Francisco
- Chase Field in Phoenix
It’s worth noting that 3 of these 6 parks have changed names since I’ve visited, as the moving and shaking of corporate sponsorships frequently changes stadium names.
I’m happy to say I’ve got two additional trips planned this summer: seeing my Atlanta Braves play at Comerica Park in Detroit in June, and seeing the Angels play at Petco Park in San Diego in July. This will bring my stadium count to 8, just over a quarter of the way through the entire league.
If I see 2 new stadiums a year, I could complete the task in 11 years. Seeing as 2 every year might be tough to do, plus certain teams will inevitably move into new parks, I’m going to set a goal for 15 years.
Coors Field for a Rockies baseball game. Beautiful park. pic.twitter.com/0l1MTcOQUK
— Kurt Copeland (@kurtcopeland) May 4, 2023
You’re probably wondering why I haven’t been to Atlanta if I’m a big Braves fan. To that, I have no good answer, but it remains on the top of my list going forward. Other parks I’m excited to see are Coors Field in Denver and Minute Maid Park in Houston.
I don’t think there’s any trophy or laminated certificate given to those who visit every stadium. Regardless, I’ll feel accomplished to achieve the feat, and will be prime gloating material in conversation with other obsessed baseball fans like me going forward.