3 Great West Coast Baseball Tour Options for 2012

Posted by Doug Lawson on Tue, Apr 10, 2012 @ 01:47 PM
For the first time, Big League Tours is offering 3 different versions of our West Coast Tours.  You, our fans, asked for more West Coast options and we obliged with our full West Coast- Touch 'em All Out West Tour; the Baseball on the Bay Tour; and the Southern California Tour.  At every stop, we'll be staying in first class hotels, sitting in great lower level seats, and doing it up the Big League Tours way. 

The BLT Group with Legend Vida Blue Each tour features
our exclusive Big League Tours Player Experience where our guests get to interact with a former major leaguer.  Check out this video to learn more about our Player Experience- Big League Player Experience Video.

Also for the first time, we've added in-tour flights.  We want to make sure our guests spend more time enjoying the great cities we visit and not spend countless hours on a bus like they would with other baseball tour companies.  So, we're flying from Seattle to San Fran, San Fran to LA, and San Diego to Phoenix.  It's all included in the tour price and we'll take care of the details.  Check out our videos about Sensible Itineraries and Tour Flexibility by clicking these links- Sensible Itineraries Video    Tour Flexibility Video 

Want to see all the details or download a brochure for our West Coast tours? Just click on the tour page links below:

Full West Coast Tour- Touch 'em All Out West

Baseball on the Bay Tour

Southern California Tour

Topics: baseball vacations, baseball road trips, baseball trips, baseball games, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, baseball vacation package, big league tours

2012 Hall of Fame Tour Baseball Vacations

Posted by Doug Lawson on Wed, Feb 29, 2012 @ 03:35 PM
Big League Tours group taking stadium tour of Fenway ParkJoin Big League Tours on one of four Hall of Fame Tours this season.  The Hall of Fame Tours feature three of the most popular destinations in baseball- Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, plus a game at Citi Field.  

There's no other way to enjoy the games at Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field than by sitting in lower level seats.  Big League Tours is the only tour provider that guarantees seats in the lower level 

Grand Hall at Yankee StadiumGuests will stay in some of the finest hotels in each of the cities.  For example, our groups have stayed exclusively at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown Manhattan while in New York.  Our travelers rave about the level of service, location, and comfort of the Grand Hyatt.  It's connected to Grand Central Station, so getting around the city when there's free time is extremely convenient. 

As with every Big League Tours luxury tour package, The Hall of Fame Tours feature our exclusive Major League Player Experience.  Our guests will have the opportunity to spend time with a former major league player.  This isn't just an autograph session.  Our group members get time to talk with the player, ask questions about his playing days, and get insights in the game that can only come from someone who has played at the highest level.  The MLB Player Experience is always a highlight of a Big League Tours baseball vaca tion. 

Get all the info on our Hall of Fame Tours by clicking the links below: 

Hall of Fame Tour 1- May 14-19   BOOKINGS CLOSE TODAY 

Hall of Fame Tour 2- June 4-8
 

Hall of Fame Tour 3- June 23-28 

Hall of Fame Tour 4- July 16-21
 

HALL OF FAME TOUR PROMOTION 
Yawkey Way Store
Book any of the Hall of Fame Tours by March 16, 2012 and get a $150* gift certificate to use at the Yawkey Way Store across the street fr om Fenway Park. No trip to Fenway is complete without a visit to the Yawkey Way and the massive Yawkey Way Store. 

*No prior sales.  One certificate per room booked.  Not valid with any other offers or discounts.
 
 

Topics: baseball vacations, Luxury baseball, baseball trips, baseball tours, baseball vacation package, Fenway Park, big league tours, Yankee Stadium

Ron Kittle Joins Big League Tours at US Cellular Field

Posted by Glenn Dunlap on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 @ 01:21 PM

Ron Kittle- Ron was best known for his homerun power at the plate. He hit seven rooftop homeruns while playing for the White Sox! From 1982 through 1991, he played for the Chicago White Sox (1982-86, 1989, 1991), New York Yankees (1986-87), Cleveland Indians (1988) and Baltimore Orioles (1990). But, right from the start, his career was anything but easy.

“In 1976 I signed with the L.A. Dodgers at a tryout camp in La Porte, IN at Ken Schreiber Field. I arrived at Vero Beach, Florida for my first spring training and then went on to the Midwest League where in my first official game and first at bat, I hit a double and then scored on a single. After sliding across home plate, a late throw came in and the catcher landed on my neck as I was getting up. I crushed 3 vertebrae and broke my neck…this was the beginning of an injury plagued career.” (Taken from Ron's website, RonKittle.com.)

Ron Kittle at US Cellular Field with Big League Tours guestsAfter recovering from the neck injury and working in the steel mills in Indiana, Ron was able to overcome amazing odds to return to baseball. He ultimately was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1983 and had a very productive 10 year career.

Ron's appearance with Big League Tours coincides with two of our baseball trips, the Midwest Tour 1 and the Chicago/Milwaukee Tour. Take a look at those tours and sign up now to see some great baseball, fun stadiums, and to meet slugger Ron Kittle at US Cellular Field prior to the White Sox game on July 3rd against the Rangers.

About the Big League Player Experiences - Get inside the game like never before when you meet up with Big League ballplayers on each of our baseball road trips. Players like Vida Blue, Bill Lee, Dave Parker and Tom Browning have joined us on our tours. Join us on a Big League Tours and you'll see what our guests tell us is the favorite part of their experience. See more about the Player Experiences.

Topics: White Sox, baseball tours, Chicago, U.S. Cellular Field

Big League Tours Announces 2012 Baseball Tour Packages

Posted by Glenn Dunlap on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 @ 09:31 PM
(INDIANAPOLIS—January 23, 2012)- Big League Tours, the luxuryBig League Tours guests on a private stadium tour of Fenway Park baseball travel company, is excited to announce its baseball vacation packages for the 2012 baseball season. Big League Tours helps fans get closer to the game by securing lower level seats, arranging stadium tours and player experiences, and providing first-class hotel accommodations. Flexible itineraries allow fans to experience the best of the best in the greatest baseball cities across the nation.

2012 season tours reach east to west beginning May 14th, and will run throughout the summer. This year’s tours include: Baseball fans interested in reserving spots for any of the baseball trips can call (866) 619-1748, email info@bigleaguetours.com, or visit www.bigleaguetours.com for package information and applications. Fans can also sign up online for special offers and trip updates and be the first to receive information about next season’s baseball tours.  

About Big League Tours
Big League Tours was founded in 2006 by Glenn Dunlap to help fans of all ages experience baseball from a new perspective- from inside the game. Unlike other tours companies, Big League Tours not only takes care of the buses and games for a baseball tour, but also provides all the extras to turn tours into true sports vacations loaded with unique baseball-related events. For more information, contact Big League Tours at www.bigleaguetours.com.

Topics: stadium tours, baseball trips, baseball tours, baseball vacation package, MLB road trips, hall of fame

Guest Blog: Will Chambers on Great American Ball Park

Posted by Big League Tours on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 10:00 AM

Great American Ball Park provides Reds fans and visitors one of the great baseball experiences in the game. Despite the Reds rich history (baseball’s first ever team) this is not a nostalgic feel type venue. Those are reserved for stops at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. And kudos goes out to those who planned this park for not trying to make it have that feel. What they did is give the city of Cincinnati an intimate setting to watch their beloved Redlegs.

Great American Ball Park - view from the press box while on a stadium tourAs a person who grew up in the area going to Riverfront Stadium and GABP, there are a few great ways to watch baseball here, even for a Cubs fan like me. I’ll give you my favorite way to watch the game:

There are a number of seating options, including the ultra-premium “Diamond Club” seat section behind the batter’s box. My favorite spot is the club area. They call it the “4192” club after Pete Rose’s record-breaking hit mark. It's a great vantage point and I’m a fan of the elevated view and the club area goes up the first base line on the second level, right on top of the Reds dugout it seems. Inside it is comfortable with ice-cold Freon blowing and great food being served up. Some of which are Cincinnati favorites, LaRosa’s Pizza and Montgomery Inn barbeque as well as a pasta bar and several other stations. One thing to be sure to get: a Big Red Smokey. A hot-dog on steroids. It’s a smoked sausage that eats like a dog without quite the spice you get from a mett. There’s also an option to get one infused with cheddar cheese; a superior hot-dog.

Be sure to keep an eye on the scoreboard located above the bleachers in left (the lower level bleachers in left field leave you with a blocked view of the scoreboard and an area I would avoid FYI) to see two things: the scoreboard stumper and the Mr. Red Race. The stumper is never too difficult and the Mr. Red Race is the tradition at a Reds game.Will Chambers

Lastly, you must go to the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum located just outside the front gate at GABP. This is widely considered the best Hall of Fame and Museum for a team in all of baseball. It features the largest collection of Reds collectibles, artifacts and memorabilia in the world. Two floors and 16,000 square feet of Reds heaven. It’s a must for any baseball fan.

After you’ve taken it all in, finish it off with a sundae from United Dairy Farmers. Your Cincinnati visit is done.

Will Chambers is a local sportscaster and journalist covering Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. His duties include feature sports columnist for Cincinnati Profile magazine and lead play-by-play announcer for Georgetown College, among others. He is a Cincinnati native who currently resides in Kentucky. You can check out his work at IHigh.com.

Topics: stadium tours, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, Reds, Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

Opening Day Is Finally Here!!

Posted by Big League Tours on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 @ 05:30 PM

April 2010 (Repost) - I know that ESPN bills last night's game as opening day but the purest in me just can't except that "made Group in Orioles dugout on a private stadium tourfor TV" hype. Admittedly, I watched the game last night but still believe that the season doesn't officially open until today. Opening Day, after all, should be comprised of day games, shouldn't it? Parades, presentations, fanfare, too. If it was up to me, Opening Day would be a national holiday.

Today's the day that every team is tied for first and believes that they have a chance to stay in the hunt this year. Today's the day that we realize that we will have professional baseball played everyday until the first of November. Today's the day that summer begins in my book.

So enjoy the day today. Catch your team's opener. And get ready for another summer of baseball and taking baseball travel tours to see your team all summer long!

Topics: Opening day, baseball games, baseball tours, big league tours

Twin Cities Getting Pumped about Target Field

Posted by Big League Tours on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 @ 05:00 PM
One of our greatest joys is to visit baseball stadiums in their inaugural seasons. We've been able to do this for the new Busch Stadium, Nationals Park, Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. This year, we're heading up to Target Field in the Twin Cities on one of our early MLB tours to see the Twins in their brand new ballpark. Columnist Rick Shefchik writes today on TwinCities.com about the increase in demand to visit Minnesota on group travel tours this year.

Here are a few excerpts:

Frank Miles of Jacksonville, Ala., is a stadium counter. A 76-year-old baseball fanatic, Miles has been in every major league ballpark — except Target Field.

Like hundreds of other baseball stadium tourists around the country, Miles will check Target Field, the brand-new Twins ballpark, off his list this summer. He loves the old classics like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, but he likes the new ones, too, including recently opened PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Citi Field in New York.

"I've seen 'em all, every major league ballpark — all the new ones, except this one," Miles said. "I've not heard much about it, but I'll be there this year on a tour." 

Glenn Dunlap, owner of Big League Tours in Indianapolis, said he'll be bringing a group into Minneapolis this summer for the first time in his company's five years of operation.

"The Metrodome was not much of an attraction," said Dunlap of the Twins' former home. "We didn't have a lot of demand from baseball fans to come up to the Metrodome."

Increased tourism to Minneapolis for Twins games is bound to have a positive effect on surrounding businesses. As Dunlap points out, baseball is only part of the lure for ballpark tourists. They like to come early, stay late and thoroughly explore what the ballpark and the city have to offer.

"People are interested in the walleye-on-a-stick and the s'mores they're offering there (at Target Field)," Dunlap said. "State Fair food — that's great. It's part of what people enjoy about visiting different stadiums — the influences on local food and what's in and around the park.

"Target could be a great park. The part that makes a ballpark interesting is what the city does around it. Look at a Coors Field, right in the heart of Denver. That was in a district they've since built up around it, and it has become a great destination spot for the city."

Conversely, Dunlap said, Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., is in an area that needs to be developed.

"They've got a long way to go before people will go hang out there," Dunlap said. "It's what's around Target Field, what's welcoming to baseball fans, not just Twins fans.

Want to visit the new Target Field on one of our baseball vacation packages? Click here for details about this tour and all of our sports travel packages. You'll be glad you did!

Topics: Minnesota, baseball tours, Twins, Target Field, Minneapolis, MLB road trips

East Coast Here We Come

Posted by Big League Tours on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 @ 04:10 PM
June 12, 2011 - Our group arrived in Philadelphia on Friday from their respective homes to start the longest of our MLB tours for the season, our East Coast Tour. This is the granddaddy of all trips with games in Philly, Baltimore, DC, both teams New York, and Boston. We'll also have a free day in DC to explore the nation'sThe Liberty Bell after the Polanco grand slam capitol and we'll make a trek to the birthplace of baseball, Cooperstown, New York.

A few of our guests arrived early enough to take in the game on Friday night (because six games in 8 days isn't quite enough!!). So we shuffled out of our downtown Philadelphia hotel to Citizens Bank Park to see the Phillies host the Cubs.

The game seemed like the Phillies were going to runaway with it quite easily, especially after Placido Polanco hit a grand slam to make the score 7-0 and light up the liberty bell in center field.

But the Cubs made the game interesting by scoring five runs in the seventh and giving the Phillies fans reason to get even roudier. Ultimately the Phillies held on for the win. (Box score and wrap up here.)

As with all the baseball tours I host, I'll keep checking in from the road to let you know how things are going. Should be fun!

Topics: Washington D.C., Boston, Citizens Bank Park, Baltimore, baseball trips, Phillies, baseball tours, baseball travel, Yankees, Yankee Stadium, Cubs

Other Baseball Tours vs. Big League Tours

Posted by Glenn Dunlap on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 04:30 PM

We received a short email today about our baseball trips from a prospective customer, who we'll call BP. BP's response to an email from us said,

"I think by looking at other tour groups, you guys are a bit too expensive."

It's great to get feedback like this. And if BP is thinking this, others might be thinking it as well. Here was the response I sent to BP:

Thanks for giving us your feedback. I'm curious to know why you feel that we're too expensive? It's true, our baseball tours do cost more than the other guys but the things Big League Tours guest with Bill "Spaceman" Leeincluded in our tours are quite different. For instance, consider the seats at the ballgames. We don't buy group tickets that place you four rows from the top out by the foul poles. Instead, on our tours you'll sit in lower level seats, most of the time between the bases.

Also consider the hotels. When we have a tour to New York, for instance, we stay in the heart of Manhattan. Other tour groups stay in New Jersey or Connecticut. The price difference is quite significant but so is the experience. You can walk to Times Square (and many other attractions) on our tour but you'll be listening to jets landing on their tours.

There are other differences, too, including special stadium access, our player meet and greets, and the care we take in developing our itineraries that allow you to experience the cities we visit. Click here to see some testimonials from our customers and customers from other tour providers.

We know that other tour operators are good at what they do. And if you aren't concerned about where you sit at the games, where you stay, or how much time you spend on a bus, then I'm sure you'll be happy traveling with them. However, we think there's an experience level that's much different on our tours that's worth the difference in price. And if it's an experience that you are looking for, we hope that you'll consider joining us!!

I hope my response helps and welcome your thoughts and questions.

Catch you later!

Glenn

I really hope that I answered BP's concerns and possibly some that you might have had as well.

Topics: tour operator, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, baseball vacation package, testimonials

2012 Baseball Tour Packages Brochures

Posted by Doug Lawson on Thu, Jan 05, 2012 @ 01:11 PM

Get a 2012 Tour Brochure

We are pleased to announce that we now have brochures available for 10 of our 2012 baseball vacation packages.  All you have to do is click on the link to the tour below, then press the "get a tour brochure" button on the tour page.  Just fill out the short form and you will receive a printable brochure right away.  The brochure has all the up to date information and some items not yet listed on our website.  Feel free to forward the brochure to your friends and family so they can join you in the Big Leagues with Big League Tours.  Here's the link to the baseball tour pages that have brochures:

Chicago/Milwaukee

Baseball on the Bay

Hall of Fame Tour 1

Big Apple Tour

Hall of Fame Tour 2

Midwest Tour 1

Hall of Fame Tour 3

Midwest Tour 2

Southern California

Hall of Fame Tour 4

Topics: baseball vacations, baseball road trips, baseball tours, baseball travel, baseball vacation package, big league tours, hall of fame