A few years ago, I decided to combine my love of baseball with my love of travel and try to see my favorite team, the Washington Nationals, in all the ballparks I had yet to visit. And last year, I finally coaxed my baseball-tolerating girlfriend to come along with me. There are 30 major league teams in 26 cities, 18 states and 2 countries. Turns out baseball tourism is a really good way to see the country.
The obvious first step is to pick out your trip. While I love baseball, I’m not all that excited to watch a regular season game between two teams I don’t follow, so I always plan for a Nationals game. This is also a good idea if you have a companion that doesn’t entirely share your enthusiasm – at least they will have some connection with what is going on.
Teams usually take road trips that involve playing two or three series in a row that are relatively close (geographically) to each other, so you can pick out a road trip that gets you games in multiple cities. For example, we just finished a trip to California where we saw the Nationals in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles over the course of nine days. If going for a short trip, look for a Friday night game followed by a Saturday afternoon game. You can get to two games for one night’s hotel stay.
When you go to an away game, here are some tips to make it more enjoyable
Wear your team’s logo with pride. If you don’t have a shirt, at very least find a cheap hat somewhere before you leave town. We always get into conversations with the home town fans, who are generally very interested in why we are there and love to share stories of their team and their town. We even got invited into Kansas City tailgate party while walking from our car to the stadium.
Walk to the game whenever possible. As you feed off the energy of a crowd going heading to the event, your excitement grows too. The walk over the bridge to Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and into the party atmosphere outside the stadium is one of my favorite baseball experiences, and buzz outside traveled with everyone into the game. We would have missed that had we drove and parked in their lots.
Get to the game early. We take a lap around the outside of the stadium when possible, as most teams have statues and plaques celebrating their history. We also take a lap of the lower concourse of the stadium, which is where you normally find the best food and beer options. Some stadiums are laid out to give you a view of the city’s landmarks, such as St Louis with the Gateway Arch. By walking the inside you can get a view from all angles.
If you go really early, you can catch batting practice. Gates normally open up two hours before the game starts, though if you go in you will wind up missing festivities outside. The away team generally takes batting practice last and players will often sign autographs afterwards. It is much easier to get your team’s autographs at an away game, when you aren’t competing against the home crowd. If you do want autographs, make sure you bring a sharpie and something they can sign.
Finally, plan ahead for the food you want and maybe bring your own in. Most stadiums let you bring in one factory-sealed water bottle and food for one person, so I bring a sub, chips and maybe some cookies. In my experience, most of the “exciting” food comes from stands with restaurants in the city, like Shake Shack in DC. Save your money and just go to the restaurant if you want that food – it will be much better there anyway. But do a few quick searches to see if there is any iconic must-have food. It would be a shame to leave Dodger Stadium without a grilled Dodger dog in your belly.
So put on your gear and get out there. And if you hit DC, let me know and I’ll give you the scoop on our stadium (like avoid the chili nachos)
