[cjgiannini]

So this is one of my 2 baseball projects for the year. (my hobby project is to open 1 pack of cards every day)

Back in 2008 I went to all 30 MLB ballparks during the season and I decided last year to do it again this season as a sort of graduation present/early 40th birthday present to myself. But this time I've added 10 Spring Training stadiums (which I already completed last week; pics will be up soon) and at least 10 minor league stadiums around the country. 

As I go from park to park I'll post some pics and talk about what I liked or didn't like about each place.

Completed

March 23: Surprise Stadium - Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers
March 24: Camelback Ranch - San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago White Sox
March 25: Hohokam Stadium - Milwaukee Brewers vs. Oakland Athletics
March 25: Peoria Sports Complex - Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners
March 26: Scottsdale Stadium - Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants
March 26: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick - Texas Rangers vs. Colorado Rockies
March 27: Tempe Diablo Stadium - San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Angels
March 27: Sloan Park - Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago Cubs
March 28: American Family Fields of Phoenix - San Francisco Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers
March 28: Goodyear Ballpark - Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds

April 9: Oracle Park - Florida Marlins @ San Francisco Giants
April 17: Excite Ballpark (Class-A) - Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado) @ San Jose Giants (San Francisco)
April 21: Citi Field - San Francisco Giants @ New York Mets
April 22: Frawley Stadium - Hickory Crawdads (Texas) @ Wilmington Blue Rocks (Washington)
April 23: Nationals Park - San Francisco Giants @ Washington Nationals
April 25: Globe Life Field - Houston Astros @ Texas Rangers
April 26: Rio Grande Credit Union Field (Triple-A) - Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco) @ Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado)
May 4: Ring.com Coliseum - Tampa bay Rays @ Oakland A's
May 8: Banner Island Ballpark - San Jose Giants (San Francisco) @ Stockton Ports (Oakland)
May 13: Busch Stadium - San Francisco Giants @ St. Louis Cardinals
May 14: Guaranteed Rate Field - New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox
May 15: Comerica Park - Baltimore Orioles @ Detroit Tigers
May 16: Rogers Centre - Seattle Mariners @ Toronto Blue Jays
May 18: Progressive Field - Cincinnati Reds @ Cleveland Guardians
May 19: Minute Maid Park - Texas Rangers @ Houston Astros

Coming Up Soon

June 17: PNC Park - San Francisco Giants @ Pittsburgh Pirates
June 19: FNB Field - Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco) @ Harrisburg Senators (Washington)
June 20: Tropicana Field - New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
June 21: Marlins Park - Colorado Rockies @ Miami Marlins
June 22 & 23: Truist Park - San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves
June 24: Regions Field - Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels) @ Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)

[zeprock]

Awesome endeavor! Looking forward to the pictures and seeing you live out my dream.

[mmahoney]

That's going to be a lot of baseball games...and packs of cards.

[Phillies_Joe]

Awesome project! Hope each game has something that will hold a remembrance of that particular game. Note that in your thread so we can live it with you. Enjoy!

If you don't mind, how are you able to accomplish visiting these different venues?

[kerryandbeth]

I have been to 4. Feeling depressed now...thanks a lot!

[mizzouman_2000@hotmai]

Sounds like fun. If you find yourself in Illinois, there's a pretty nice stadium for the Peoria Chiefs (St Louis Cardinals A / High A club).

[cjgiannini]

Awesome project!  Hope each game has something that will hold a remembrance of that particular game.  Note that in your thread so we can live it with you.  Enjoy!

If you don't mind, how are you able to accomplish visiting these different venues?

If you're asking about cost, I've saved up a lot of vacation time and airline points, but even then it's not cheap.

[cjgiannini]

Here's some pictures from the first few Spring Training games I went to.

Surprise Stadium - A joint Rangers/Royals facility. This was the only Cactus League stadium I had not been to previously. It's the most remote stadium in AZ relative to central Phoenix, but it's pretty decent. There's a fair amount of shaded area and the seats have good sightlines.

[cjgiannini]

Camelback Ranch - Unlike most stadiums where home plate faces north, here it faces south, so the sun is in front of you. As a result there's almost no shade in the seats. They do have an open concourse which allows for views of the game and most people were standing in the concourse during the game as temps were approaching 90. I really like the Frank Thomas and Tommy Lasorda giant bobbleheads.

[cjgiannini]

Hohokam Stadium - Oakland Athletics. This was previously the Cubs stadium until 2014. Hohokam is one of the most kid-friendly Cactus League stadiums with a kid-zone area and a large lawn area. It also has some of the better food options.





Rollie Fingers is a fixture at Spring Training. He's been there every year I've been there.