Jerrad Anderson
The best food-
Every
ballpark had its unique food, something to help it identify with the city’s
heritage, residents and team. But when looking back on all 30 teams and their
ballparks, a couple stand out.
Seattle-they had a variety of foods including BBQ brisket
sandwich, street style tacos and for you beer drinkers(I am not one)a variety
of beers on tap and local microbrewery options.
Pittsburgh-If I could say one thing about Pittsburgh, it’s
get yourself a Primanti Brothers sandwich at the game. Roast Beef, fries
coleslaw, such a welcome change from a hot dog.
Baltimore-Camden Yards has smartly incorporated outside
office space and restaurants into the ballpark. I love the BBQ sandwich and
they have a gluten free option and plenty of horseradish sauce. There is also seafood, which I love.
The best fans
That’s a tough one. I would describe the best
fans as ones who actually care about the players and their team, care about the
game and still manage to be kind to those who are at the ballpark for the first
time.
Philadelphia gets high marks for the knowledge of the game,
and for abililty to stick around in the extra innings.
St. Louis-They love their baseball and nobody turns out more
on a Friday night then Cardinals fans. They remember Bob Gibson, Stan Musial
all the way to Ozzie Smith and Adam Wainwright.
Atlanta-This scale may be tilted but the fact that this stadium was the only
one that pulled off wave gets high marks in my book. And the fact that
a sellout came to pay tribute to Chipper Jones, says a lot about how much the
Braves fans miss the glory days of the 90’s.
Tyler Goodpaster
Which was your
favorite park to visit?
Favorite park to visit definitely goes to Fenway Park.
Growing up in Chicago, as a Cubs fan, I was always accustomed to Wrigley Field being
one of the true gems in baseball for its history. Going to Fenway Park
reignited that historic spirit with childlike enthusiasm and giddiness once
entering it’s walls. It is such an intimate place to watch a game. It is much
smaller in real life. The fans are passionate and love their baseball. I love
the green monster and I love how they, unlike the Cubs, have updated Fenway to
improve the fan experience and generate more revenue. What really made it cool
is when I told one of the information desk attendants that it was my first time at
the park, she gave me a Red Sox Nation wristband and a button.
Renee Lewis Flask
What's one piece of
advice you'd give to anyone considering their own 30with30?
One piece of advice? I
could give lots, but being the absolute best shape that you can be to handle
the long nights, early morning, food changes, time changes, jet lag is super
important. Don’t forget to bring every kind of medicine you can for any kind of
illness so that you are prepared. Renee, it’s hard to give ONE great piece of
advice, I’ll have to give several in my book. :)
Cassie Maddox
Would you do it again
if given the chance?
Cassie, boy that is a tough one. It’s such a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that I don’t know if it deserves to be repeated in my
lifetime. I would have to say no, not because I didn’t love it, but because
trying to replicate it just wouldn’t be as much fun.There were so many experiences that can't be replicated, I say just let the memories stand alone.
Mandy Seeley
How do we achieve
world peace?
Mandy, in order to achieve world peace we must first…….you
know what…..this is a baseball blog…please forward your questions to the Dhali
Lama
Kyle McCright
Any suggestions or
advice for me since you have seen them all? Also what was your top 5 favorite
stadiums?
First the top five stadiums in order go like this.
1. Fenway
Park in Boston
2. PNC Park in Pittsburgh
3. Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City
4.
Angels Stadium in Anaheim
5. Miller Park in Milwaukee.
In regards to any suggestions that I could make, just plan
ahead. make sure that if you get in early to the city, you get a nap in. Also make sure
that if you are trying to save money, buy snacks and food outside the park,
they are always cheaper. A long list of suggestions, will have to be in my book.
Jon McBride
1.
How
the heck did you pay for all of this?This is a long and well thought out
question so I will answer it with a long thought out answer. First off, I have
always tried to live frugally and was fortunate and blessed enough to have the
funds available to go on this trip. Funny enough Jon McBride, I paid for this
trip by myself. Looking back maybe I should have monetized it more or asked for
sponsors. It no doubt was a costly but fun, exciting and once-in-a-lifetime
endeavor. Before I even purchased tickets, I put together a draft schedule and
flight schedule to see how much it would cost, and made projections from there.
To make sure that my budget didn’t get too out of hand, I tried to set an ideal
baseline number and then a drop dead figure that if I went over, would require
me to stop the trip. Thankfully, I hit right on the drop dead number at the end
of the trip. I would like to say that I was truly blessed with the generosity
of strangers, allowing me to stay at their home, use their transportation and,
in rare circumstances, eat their food.
2.
Ballpark ... how much did it actually cost?Well as far as ballparks, the cost of tickets
for two can range wildly depending on the day, crowd, and team. I found that the
most effective and cheapest way to purchase tickets was through StubHub. 9
times out of 10 the tickets were at or below face value, with the price of
handling fees and taxes included in the price of the ticket. Now, that is not to
say that scalpers weren't around. A ticket could usually be purchased well below face value
after the start of a game. For two tickets to all 30 ballparks, I paid just
over $
1100.
3.
What things were most surprising that you didn't anticipate?
The most surprising thing was the amount of
time it takes to ride public transportation in large cities, especially the
subway. What appears to be a 30 minute ride will turn into an hour because of
all the stops. My advice to be safe, is calculate how long it would take to get
to your destination by car, and then add another half an hour. Of course, there
are always the train or bus schedules.
4.
What was the coolest city that you didn't expect to be cool?Quite frankly one of the coolest cities
that I didn’t expect to be cool would have to be New York. I had no desire to
be in New York, partly because of bias for Chicago but also the potential chaos
it could create getting across the urban jungle. New York has its own
mentality, like being in it's own country. I love the fact that on almost every
corner you can usually grab something to eat.
Getting through the subway is always interesting because street performers take
their act right inside the car. But, I thought it was cool that just about anywhere
you wanted to go, New York had the transportation to get you there.
5.
How many second dates did you get out of this?As far as second dates, I’m sure if you
surveyed the women, almost every one of them would say yes, or I at least would
like to think that. LOL….It’s tough when I’m traveling around the country to
make it around for second dates.
Terri Reddout
1.
Did
each ballpark have it's own "personality"?Terri-many of the ballparks were
similar in taste and measurement but not much else. Obviously an example that
comes to mind is Fenway Park and the ability to keep the green monster in left
field while totally refurbishing the entire facility. The new Yankee Stadium and a museum inside the stadium, which is an excellent idea. There are a lot of cool things inside.
Having said that, many of the parks are
new, so I think they are still trying to find their identity and personality. A
lot of the personality though for new ballparks seems to surround having a
giant video scoreboard in the outfield somewhere. As a side note, the video
scoreboard crew almost without exception, would never replay a controversial
play on the scoreboard. Maybe an agreement between MLB and its umpires to cut
back on fan critcism.
2. Were there any interesting customs
at any of the ballparks?
Many, soo many…Boston Red Sox
fans always sang Sweet Caroline by
Neil Diamond after the 7
th inning stretch, which you can see in the movie “Fever Pitch” with Drew Berrymore
and Jimmy Fallon.
In Yankee Stadium,
the right field bleachers before the game, have a roll call announcing a
players name till the Yankee player recognizes the crowd or tips his cap. And of course in Wrigley
Field in Chicago, it’s the 7
th inning stretch, sung by a celebrity announcer. I think one of the
coolest customs is the hot dog shoot at PNC Park in Pittsburgh where the mascot takes an air
cannon and shots wrapped hot dogs into the stands. CLASSIC
3. Were your dates baseball fans or
just looking for a way to get notoriety?Ha ha I think the dates were just
looking for a good time. I don’t think notoriety ever played into their
equation. Heck I don’t think it even played into my equation. I also remember
two prominent men in the LDS church having a conversation. The much more
learned and experienced leader said to the younger “you will have a lot of
great things said about you, don’t believe any of them.” I tried to just be low
key and not toot my own horn too much, and just try and be a gentleman and be myself.
4. What was the strangest thing you saw inside a ballpark?
The strangest thing I saw inside
the ballpark??…I think it would be probably be the bathrooms at Wrigley Field, if
you are a male. Using the facilities to “relieve” yourself could be the most
akward 30 seconds of your life. The men’s bathrooms consistent of a communal,
urinal trough. Men while going to the bathroom must look upward at the ceiling
to avoid the gaze of another man doing the exact same thing across the trough. That, is the
strangest and most uncomfortable thing I have ever been a part of.
5. How many dates worked hard to get your face and t-shirt up on the
scoreboard?
Terri, sadly you were the only one
who worked O.T. to get my shirt up on the scoreboard for thousands to see in Seattle. But,
I did almost catch a home run ball and made it on T.V.
