I’ve been a big baseball fan my whole life, but as a kid that passion was generally spent during little league games or on the hometown Red Sox. I became a true fan of the sport after graduating high school, when my father and I went on an 8-day, 7-stadium road trip. It was much harder to plan back then; I had to check the schedules on MLB.com and figure out which dates worked, then check Mapquest to see which cities were within driving distance. Now, you can just punch in where you’d like to visit and an algorithm can figure it out for you. It was a fun challenge though, and we ended up seeing the Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Orioles, Nationals, and Indians (now Guardians) in their home ballparks.
Ever since, I’ve wanted to visit all 30 stadiums. Whenever Misha and I go on a trip to a city with a major league team, I drag her along as well. I’d checked off half the league heading into this trip, including three teams that have since moved into new stadiums. Once we had an idea of our departure from Guatemala, I immediately started planning. My good friend Jake, also a big baseball fan (but sadly a Yankee lover), expressed an interest in the trip, so off we went.
I’m going to split this into two separate posts: this one for the ballpark experience, and the next for the cities and beer. When it comes to ballpark traditions, I always get a hot dog and buy a mini bat from the gift shop. Needless to say, I had my fill of franks after the week was out.
Stop 1: The Great American Ballpark, Home of the Cincinnati Reds
The Great American Ballpark sits on the banks of the Ohio River. We actually parked in Kentucky, crossing the bridge into Ohio with a nice view of the park and city. As it was late September, there was a big Oktoberfest event going on in the park along the river, which gave us a little FOMO considering we were driving to the next stop immediately after the game. The Reds weren’t very competitive in 2024, so we got cheap tickets and sat in the 400 level behind home plate. I ate two different hot dogs, neither of which was very good. The unique food here is Skyline Chili, which can be served on a hot dog or nachos. In either case, the plate is topped with so much cheese and chili you can’t see what’s underneath. If we knew we’d be in spitting distance of a bathroom for the rest of the night, maybe we would’ve tried it but, given the 6-hour postgame drive, we erred on the side of caution. The park had a classic feel to it, but the atmosphere was tainted by the poor play of the team. We did get to see Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes pitch five innings, and he is every bit as good as advertised.
Stop 2: Target Field, Home of the Minnesota Twins
Minneapolis is an awesome town. We were lucky to catch up with my old friend from college, who hooked us up with some great seats in the section behind first base. Target Field opened in 2010 and still feels brand new. The concourse is very easy to navigate with a lot of clean looks at the field. Unfortunately, the team was in the midst of an epic September collapse, and the fans were despondent. Target Field has a lot of cool options for food, but since we had dinner before the game, I opted to stick with the $1 hot dog. It was as good as you’d expect a $1 dog to be, but I thought it was cool they even offered an option so cheap.
Stop 3: Guaranteed Rate Field (formerly Comiskey Park), Home of the Chicago White Sox
This was a funny one. Anyone who followed the 2024 baseball season knows that the Chicago White Sox set the record for the most losses in baseball history. By the end of the Twins game, we were scoreboard-watching to see If the White Sox would win, because if they did, then we would have a chance to see them break the loss record the following night. The team was so bad that they closed the entire upper deck of the stadium, and there were still tons of empty seats. We sat along the right field line by the foul pole. The stadium is well constructed, and you can see almost the entire field of play from anywhere. Fans who have visited Fenway Park or Wrigley Field will certainly understand that not all stadiums have this luxury. The game ended up going to extra innings, and the White Sox actually won. Well, we had the following afternoon off, so back we went. Just like the night before, it felt like even the White Sox fans wanted the team to lose just to say they witnessed history. For this game, we bounced around the park, sitting in five different places throughout the game, ending up right behind home plate. The White Sox won a second time, and our chance at seeing history was alas missed. The hot dog you MUST try at this park is the Comiskey Dog. It’s loaded up with a pickle, tomato, hot peppers, and mustard and is the best hot dog I’ve ever had.
Stop 4: American Family Field (formerly Miller Park), Home of the Milwaukee Brewers
This was my second favorite stop on the tour. First, a ton of downtown bars have free shuttle service to the park with any purchase. The park is 10-15 minutes outside the city proper and pops up out of the trees along the highway. While it’s easy to get to, it also isn’t within walking distance of anything. We sat directly behind the visitor bullpen and had great views of any play to right field. For this game, I had just enough beers in me to order a hot dog with American cheese, cheese curds, and mustard. When in Rome. This was the only game we saw featuring two playoff teams, and you could tell by their play. Milwaukee looked strong in the game we saw but would eventually get bounced by the Mets in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Stop 5: Wrigley Field, Home of the Chicago Cubs
It should come as no surprise to baseball fans that this was my favorite stadium. It has an incredible atmosphere that only Fenway can replicate. We didn’t spend too much time wandering around the park, but it seemed like the seating plan is better designed at Wrigley than at Fenway, though not without its obstructed views. It happened to be the very last appearance for Kyle Hendricks in a Cubs uniform, a longtime Cubs pitcher who won a World Series with the team in 2016 but struggled much of this season. He pitched a beautiful game, and the fans did a wonderful job celebrating him. We sat in the 400s above first base on a very windy day. It was funny being that high up and seeing the wind kill any play to the outfield. A ball would look like a home run off the bat, then end up a lazy out to the fielders. For food, the hot dog was top notch, and the cheeseburger was much better than you’d expect a ballpark sandwich to be. Neither was particularly expensive either. If you visit Chicago during baseball season, I can’t recommend Wrigley Field enough.
Stop 6: Comerica Park, Home of the Detroit Tigers
Our last stop on the tour was Detroit. We didn’t spend any time in the city aside from the game since we drove from Kalamazoo the morning of and immediately left for Rochester, New York after the game. This was the last game of the regular season, and the Tigers had already clinched their spot in the playoffs. They played the White Sox, so we were hoping that, even if we missed the record-breaking loss, at least we’d see the White Sox lose their final game of the season. They did not, meaning we saw the worst team in baseball history go 3-0…go figure. The stadium had a carnival atmosphere shaped by a Merry-Go-Round and Ferris Wheel, and was adorned with tiger statues everywhere you look. We sat in the bleachers along the third base line with a beautiful view of the city. The atmosphere was great, a packed house full of avid Tigers fans cheering on one of the hottest teams in baseball. The hot dogs were solid, but by that time I was pretty sick of them, as you might expect.
The stadium tour was a fantastic trip. I’m already looking forward to doing a west coast version next time I’m in the US for a few weeks during baseball season. It was also cool to do this at the very end of the season. The games that featured playoff teams had more electric atmospheres because of the importance of the games, but the ones that didn’t were also fun because the ticket prices were cheaper. I’d happily go back to any of these stadiums, and would do the whole trip over again given the chance.
Beer and Diplomacy 