Three weeks ago I official started my full-time job as an engineer. Although I am excited to be working, it comes at a cost: I am no longer able to continuously travel the country just to visit MLB ballparks. This does not mean I am giving up my goal of attending all 30 MLB ballparks this season; I just need to be a little more strategic in planning my trips. In order to avoid using my valuable PTO (personal time off), I have chosen to take hit the last 7 MLB ballparks on weekends.
Although planning the large trips at the beginning of the summer was difficult, planning the weekend trips has not been an easy task either. After matching ballparks to possible weekends based on the MLB schedule, I devised the following schedule:
July 26-28: Colorado Rockies
This trip is was relatively easy to plan because my grandmother lives in the Denver area. Additionally, my brother who is working in New Mexico this summer was able to get this weekend off. The two things that worry me about this trip are rain (since Coors Field is open air) and possible airplane delays.
August 2-4: Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins
This was by far the most difficult trip to plan of the whole tour. Tampa and Miami are relatively close to one another but not really close to any other teams. Consequently, I had to identify a weekend when both teams were at home. Furthermore, planning how I would get from one Tampa to Miami (or vice versa) was a major challenge. I ultimately decided to rent a car that I am able to pick up in Tampa and return in Miami. Luckily, a rainout will not be an issue on this trip because both Tropicana Field and Marlins Park have roofs.
August 23-25: Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland and Cincinnati are about 3 and 5 hour drives respectively from the Detroit area. This makes it is easy to drive through Ohio and see both teams play on one weekend.
September 20-22: Pittsburgh Pirates
As of now I am planning on driving to PNC Park for this late September weekend but that may change. The threat of a rainout is very frightening because there won't be enough time to schedule a makeup trip. I guess the probability of all 3 weekend games being rained out are slim to none. With how great the Pirates are playing this year, this ticket could get a little expensive.
September 27-29: Seattle Mariners
On the last weekend of the season, I will be flying across the country to see the Seattle Mariners. Safeco Field has a retractable roof so a rainout is not possible. A couple of friends from college now live in Seattle so I will be able to stay with them, saving me from having to rent a car. Additionally, a friend from high school is also considering flying out to Seattle with me.
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