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28 May 2008

Upcoming ballpark trip

Circumstances have allowed me to move my planned trip to Nationals Park from August to June. Along with DC, I'll be traveling north to take in games at Baltimore's Camden Yards, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, Yankee Stadium, and Fenway Park. If time allows, I'll be heading with some friends to Cooperstown as well. The trip is planned for June 19-29.

Here's the tentative schedule I've planned:
  • June 19: Nationals Park tour; Pirates vs. Orioles @ Camden Yards
  • June 20: Angels vs. Phillies @ Citizens Bank Park
  • June 22: Reds vs. Yankees @ Yankee Stadium
  • June 23: Baseball Hall of Fame
  • June 25: Diamondbacks vs. Red Sox @ Fenway Park + tour
  • June 27: Orioles vs. Nationals @ Nationals Park
I've been to all of the cities before and all of the ballparks except for DC and Philly, but not in a quasi-academic capacity. If possible, I'll try to get inside looks at both the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField. I'm not taking in a game at Shea, I figure once is enough.

Any suggestions for other baseball/sports-related places or events? FWIW I'm trying to cram in the NBA Draft (June 26) into the trip. I went to the 2003 (Lebron James) draft, and it was great pageantry. I'd love to do the NFL draft at some point too.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since you are clearly a baseball fan, and will be visiting Cooperstown on your trip, please visit savethefamegame.com to learn how you can help save a baseball and American tradition that has existed since 1940.

And please tell as many people as you know how they can help, too.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Have fun. I would love to have that itinerary, except that that would mean missing the A's-Gnats series, which is what I look forward to each year.

Make an entry(ies) on how each park compares in different catigories with the coliseum and with cisco.

Anonymous said...

I would make a detour to PNC Park (the Pirates have a homestand from June 20th-29th as you are probably aware). I realize you haven't seen Citizen's Bank Park, but PNC is not only a superior park, but more closely resembles Cisco Field. I have driven from Camden to PNC in a day and it's not too bad.

Have a great time! I'm hoping to get back there sometime this summer as well (I have in-laws in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and they are highly tolerant of my "stadium fetish").

Marine Layer said...

I don't doubt that you're right about PNC's superiority, but I already went to PNC in its inaugural year. Somewhere in my attic is a giveaway PNC Park mousepad!

Besides, if I did go to PNC I'd only be a couple of hours from Canton, which means I'd have to go to the Pro Football HoF. My brothers would kill me if I went there without them.

gojohn10 said...

If you're going to philly and your an A's fan, might as well check out the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society Museum. I've never seen it myself but I've always wanted to check it out. Hopefully the A's new ballpark will have a museum itself and embrace the Philly past!

Anonymous said...

I work not far from Yankee Stadium. One of the nice things people have found out is when they ride the #4 train, as it goes out of the 161st Street station toward 167th Street you get to have a peek into the new stadium from the outfield side of the building. It's a very nice sight and gives you an idea of how huge the building is.

However, since they've already started building the scoreboard I'm afraid that view will no longer be available by the time you get there. Here's a video shot by someone who was at a game two months ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJboSTvHt1M&feature=related

Check from 3:00 to 3:53. Amazing!

If you do squeeze in the Shea visit, the #7 is the best way to get there. They've built a new staircase entrance at the subway station, making it easier for people to get off without having to walk around the tracks.