Extra Innings: Baseball Artistry and a New Gallery…

Ballpark Extras: The Art of Baseball and Minimalist Ballparks

With this baseball season in full swing, I thought I would finally make a post about art. Yes… art. More specifically, baseball art. Aside from collecting baseball caps from each ballpark, I also possess a small collection of various art pieces having to do with baseball. Like many kids growing up, I had those awesome posters of certain players growing up for both baseball and basketball. The first major art piece I hung in my old room is the five Dodgers who won consecutive Rookie of the Year awards from 1992 to 1996 with an image of Jackie Robinson in the foreground. The reason for that was Jack Roosevelt Robinson won the inaugural RoY award, and now that very award is named after Jackie. Oh, Robinson will figure into this post a little later.

Nowadays, my baseball art consists of actual works that isn’t just a picture of an athlete, but more reflecting my travels, my memories… something that actually means something to me. This post is mostly about a good artist friend of mine who goes by “S. Preston,” although most people call him Preston (I call him Mike). I first stumbled onto his site because he made awesome hockey wallpapers of all things! Working for the Ontario Reign (which is an affiliate of the Kings), I wanted a Kings style background for my phone. But the more I delved into his website, I saw this unbelievable art work that I knew I had to have on my wall. It was a piece depicting ALL thirty ballparks which is called his “Minimalist MLB Ballparks,” a masterpiece that hangs above my desk so I get to see it whenever I’m working on something… like this blog post. I went for the gusto and purchased the biggest size on the website because, I either had to go big or go home…

Beyond the Bases and Travels…

The conclusion of my baseball travels… until next year.

This will become an all-encompassing post about all the ballparks visited in the last three years, but this entire journey has been so incredible and I have met a plethora of fascinating fans from around the country… and Canada. When I started traveling to a few stadiums in 2014, I had no intention of getting to all the stadiums. Well, that is to say, I had no intention at the time. When I made my initial trip to San Diego and Arizona, that’s when a couple friends of mine planted the seed in my head that I should start writing about my travels, at least for them to keep up with me! One of those friends works in the media, and his name is Taylor Blake Ward. You may have heard that name before, but he has worked at Angel Stadium for the past couple seasons. I cannot thank him enough for the support!

JD’s Ballpark Tour; Extra Innings in Iowa

Part ??: Field of Dreams

(AKA: Is this heaven?)
(AKA: No, it’s Iowa.)

Just when you thought my travels around all the ballparks were over… think again! I teased about this long ago, and I finally got around to putting this entire experience into words. You know those places that you’ve seen on the big screen and never thought you’d ever see with your eyes? Those places that only seem like something out of a fantasy world? Perhaps something that came right out of a book? Matt and I got to go to one of those places, and it was truly magnificent.

Ladies and gentlemen, we fulfilled a bucket list item and got to visit the “Field of Dreams” movie site. Not only did we get to visit the site, but we also got to see what it was like on one of their “Ghost Sunday” games that is fun for the family. How would our visit stack up?

Ballpark 32… sorta: Field of Dreams, elevation of about 1000 feet.
The game…: Well, there were these players, see, and they came out of the corn field…

2016 MLB All-Star Week: All-Star Game (Tuesday)

Part IV: The Fan Fest Revisited and the Main Event

(AKA: The Midsummer Classic)
(AKA: Saying goodbye to Big Papi)

All-Star Tuesday was finally here, and it would be an early morning for me while my sister was off having emergency surgery. She said I should go to the game and try to get her something while I was there. This sadly meant I would be flying solo for this day… but I still pressed on and used my free pass for Fan Fest to check out some of the items that I loved, as well as some other areas I felt that I didn’t explore enough. To me, this felt like a free pass. Since I still had an extra Fan Fest ticket that would have otherwise gone to waste, I decided to give it away to a very kind Rockies fan visiting from Colorado. That little act really made his day, and I was glad to provide some joy in a fellow baseball fan’s life. Maybe this would be good karma for the rest of the day?

2016 MLB All-Star Week: Home Run Derby (Monday)

Part III: All-Star Monday… at the Derby

(AKA: Watch Out!)
(AKA: 61 home runs… in one night??)

Buckle up, folks! This one is quite the doozy!

Following the late night at Petco Park Sunday, I was ready to fly solo back down to San Diego for the famed Workout Day and Home Run Derby. Yes, I was very fortunate to attend this incredible event. I managed to arrive at the ballpark just as the gates opened over three hours before the game (gates opened at 2pm for a 5pm event). As soon as the gates opened, there was a flood of people getting down to the left field porch area to take in some batting practice. I still had a pretty decent view from the field level during BP and managed to see incredible feats of power. How far would these balls fly?

 

2016 MLB All-Star Week: Futures and Celebrities (Sunday)

Part II: Let’s Play Two… sort of!

After spending some of Saturday attempting to catch up on sleep and blogging, I was already looking forward to the next couple days in San Diego. I had already obtained lower bowl tickets to the Sunday festivities thanks to MasterCard, so we knew it was going to be a great day. My sister wasn’t feeling quite 100 percent, but she definitely didn’t want to miss this event… and we got a plethora of pictures to show for it.

2016 MLB All-Star Week: Fan Fest (Friday)

PART I: Getting a Taste of All-Star Week

With the week-long break fast approaching, I was able to procure some free tickets for both the MLB Fan Fest, and other events! I will write about those awesome events later in the weekend…

…but for now, this post will cover the bases for the All-Star Fan Fest at the San Diego Convention Center. My sister and I decided to drive down very early on Friday morning so we could try and see EVERYTHING that this great festival has to offer. At the end of the day, we had walked about 10 miles and were quite tired… was it worth it?

The Calm Before the Storm (Before All-Star Week)

Oh, hello there! I bet you’re wondering what’s next after that last post from Saint Louis. While I’m still catching up on previous posts, I thought I would write a quick note before one of the biggest events of the year. First, I would like to thank all the readers out there who have followed along with this blog. Thanks for joining me on my travels and making the last two years very memorable. Because of this blog, I have met so many fellow baseball fans, and even a few fellow bloggers from MLBlogs! I hope to meet many more of you this weekend because….

…it’s All-Star Week in San Diego, California! That’s right, just down the I-15 freeway for me, the Summer Classic is about to take place inside the beautiful Petco Park in downtown San Diego for the first time in that stadium’s history. There has been quite a bit of hype as the All-Star rosters had just been announced. With a bevy of Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox players on both rosters, it should still be a very enjoyable time there as plenty of talented players got the call to play in the All-Star Game. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Corey Seager earning his 1st All-Star selection with the Dodgers. Not only will Seager play in the actual game, but he will take part in the Home Run Derby!

My plans are to be in San Diego as much as possible throughout the weekend. First, I will be at the MLB Fan Fest inside the San Diego Convention Center all day Friday! I very much look forward to meeting some classic players, getting a plethora of picture opportunities, and taking in as much as possible. Also, I will get to visit my buddy, S. Preston, who I will actually talk greatly about on an upcoming blog post! You guys definitely need to check out his All-Star art this weekend if you’re going to Fan Fest.

Saturday will likely be my day off because…

…my plan is to arrive early at Petco for the All-Star Sunday festivities. The two main events on Sunday are the Futures Game, and the Celebrity & Legends softball game. I will simply say that I got some damn good seats for that particular game and will be on field level to see the future of baseball on display. I very much look forward to that game.

On Monday, I will be driving down in the early afternoon because I will actually be attending the Home Run Derby on Monday! I’m even honored just to be inside the park for this one… I am floored that my seat is behind home plate so I will get a great view of what is shaping up to be a fantastic contest. Plus, I get to root on Corey Seager!

Tuesday is the giant question mark right now. I do not have any tickets for the actual All-Star Game yet. I’m still considering purchasing a ticket for that game… and I would really love to go. If anybody reading this somehow attains a spare ticket, please let me know… give me a ring! Okay, you don’t have to call me since I would never post my number here… but feel free to drop me a line on here, I do read your comments!

If you are reading this and do plan on being in San Diego for the weekend, I would love to meet all of you! You will most likely see me going after a couple fly balls before the games, meeting some legends at the Fest, hanging out by the Tony Gwynn statue, or simply trying out some new bizarre food. You will almost certainly see me with my Wheel of Fortune bag! So, please say hello if you’re a reader or a fan. I will be blogging like a mad man all weekend about everything All-Star related, so be sure to follow along! Those posts will be shorter than my usual ballpark tour posts.  As always, I will see you at the ballpark!

-JD

I Consider Myself (One Of) the Luckiest Men…

Yes, I know it has been a LONG time since I’ve posted on here, but now I’ve got a backlog of posts concluding my tour from last season. To be honest, it has felt like a great roller coaster ride since last October. After finishing my quest of attending a game in all 30 MLB parks, real life kept me as busy as possible. First, with me teaching during the regular school year, that took away most of my time. Working for the American Hockey League took up some more of my time, running races took up nearly the rest of my time, and before I knew it, I was completely back logged. Life happens.

One of the things that kept me busy was working for the AHL, specifically for the Ontario Reign at the Citizens Business Bank Arena. Doing the off-ice thing for the ECHL was great, but now with some extra money coming in and a better style of hockey in town, this season has been more than enjoyable. Not only did I get to explore other rinks using my pass (including a trip to Providence, RI), but I got to actually do some color commentary for the Ontario Reign for some road games! That ended up happening out of nowhere, and I have to give my full thanks to Joseph Zakrzewski for the opportunity. As the season wore on, I began tracking some team Corsi stats for the team, and that passion for stats and sports took me to San Jose, San Diego, and even Cleveland during their playoff run. While the Reign ended up getting swept by the eventual Calder Cup champion, Lake Erie Monsters, this was a great ride! Besides, it also helped that one of my closest friends lives out there, and we even attended a couple baseball games together yet again! I will post about that experience soon. But again, I feel so fortunate right now. Working in hockey has brought me so much luck and joy, and I cannot wait until the 2016-17 campaign.

But, with the hockey season now coming to an end and the school year done for the summer, this gives me a great opportunity to put up some of the saved drafts from the past few months. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you guys who still read this! Also, a big thank you to those who have kept reading despite the long absence. You will see some new posts spring up, but they will be back dated to the appropriate year. Just as an FYI, this post will likely disappear fairly soon, but there is also going to be some new pages set up for all my mobile readers! For now, here is some of what to expect:

*A post from St. Louis
*A lengthy post from Kansas City
*A post from the Field of Dreams
*A little something about the conclusion of my travels
*A great post about a good artist friend of mine, and how that affected my travels

*BALLPARK RANKINGS!!

*Weird foods around Major League Baseball

Yes, I already have my rankings set, and that post is long saved…. maybe I shall put that up this week? Again, thank you all for the support and I will see you at the ballpark!

-JD

JD’s 2015 Ballpark Tour; Saint Louis, Missouri

Part XVII: Busch Stadium

(AKA: The Night of Free Food and Free Beer)

(AKA: The Cardinal Way)

This is another special post because I had one of my best friends, Matthew, join me for this final part of my trip, and this was a ballpark he had to visit at least once in his life. Even more lucky, I had gotten a hotel only two blocks away from the stadium and was able to fully prepare for this game. In fact, this is another one of those games were I felt completely ready to see every aspect of a new ballpark. Then again, I had gotten very good at preparing with the other 29 ballparks I had visited.

The game was on a Friday night, and the weather was fairly mild… a perfect day for a ball game. Since the game was against the Miami Marlins, we didn’t have the overly crowded streets like I had seen on TV last season. However, that didn’t matter, many fans still showed up en masse because Busch Stadium really is a gem in the Midwest. Would this place live up to expectations?

Ballpark 31: Busch Stadium, elevation 440 feet
The game: Marlins @ Cardinals on August 14, 2015