Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

August 30, 2010 - The final destination point for our Midwest 2 Tour was Kansas City. We drove over from St. Louis in the morning and stopped at Kauffman Stadium (or The K) for an afternoon game. The Angels were visiting the Royals on an incredibly hot afternoon ballgame that had us looking for shade, visiting the fountains, and making our way to the ice cream shop in left center.

This was my first trip to The K. I certainly liked it. It was easy to get to and park, easy to get around in, had great site lines and lots of fan and family activities in the outfield sections. I have heard people describe The K as the best minor league ballpark in the Major Leagues. I can understand that now. It did have a "small" feel to it, which wasn't bad at all, but it didn't feel like any other stadium that I have visited in the bigs.

One thing that was a real disappointment to me was that, being in Kansas City, I expected there to be pit barbeque stands inside the ballpark. Why wouldn't you, right? If Baltimore can have Boog Powell's and Philly can have Bull's Barbeque, wouldn't you expect KC to incorporate something of its city's heritage?

The real treat for me, I would have to say, was to see Zach Greinke pitch for the first time. I couldn't believe with all the baseball road trips that I have been on that I hadn't seen him pitch. Funny how the schedules work out but it seems like every time I see the Yankees, Andy Pettite is on the mound. We must be on the same rotation... Anyway, back to Zach... He didn't pitch that well the day we saw him but it was still great to watch him work in person. He was also up against Jared Weaver who was pitching well in the June heat. Check out the box scores on the Royals website.

Topics: Kansas City, Royals, St. Louis, baseball road trips, Baltimore, Yankees, Angels

December 17, 2009 - We'll begin one of our most popular tour vacations at our hotel in Midtown Manhattan. We'll head out to tour Yankee Stadium early afternoon and then head back that evening to see the Yankees play the Astros. Saturday we'll trek up to Cooperstown for the day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We'll grab dinner in Cooperstown and then head to Boston. Sunday, we'll take in the Phillies and Red Sox and, if the schedule allows, we'll take a stadium tour of Fenway Park.

The hotel is provided Sunday night after the Red Sox game as part of the package. You also have the option of coming into New York City early or staying later in Boston so let us customize your sports travel packages for you.

This baseball vacation package promises to be a great time. For more details on this baseball tour and our other MLB Tours, visit BigLeagueTours.com.

Topics: Red Sox, Boston, Phillies, baseball tours, Fenway Park, big league tours, MLB tours, Yankees, Yankee Stadium, hall of fame, Cooperstown

December 17, 2009 - East Coast 1 is the granddaddy of our baseball vacation packages. The tour package includes 6 games in 6 different baseball stadiums, a free day to explore New York City, a day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a player appearance, and baseball stadium tours at some of baseball's most hallowed halls.

We'll begin in Baltimore, making the hotel there our home base for a few days. We'll have a kickoff reception at the hotel on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, we'll head to Nationals Park for an afternoon game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Nationals. Monday, we'll drive up to Philadelphia to see the Padres and Phillies. Tuesday, we'll take a stadium tour of Orioles Park and see the Yankees and Orioles play.

On Wednesday, we'll board the motor coach and head up to New York City, our home base for the next three nights. We'll go to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Padres. Thursday, you'll have the day on your own to shop 5th Avenue, take escorted tours of the city's sites, or to stroll through Central Park.

Friday we'll tour Yankee Stadium and see the Yankees play the Astros. Saturday we'll trek up to Cooperstown for the day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We'll grab dinner in Cooperstown and then head to Boston. Sunday, we'll take in the Phillies and Red Sox and, if the schedule allows, we'll take a stadium tour of Fenway Park.

The hotel is provided Sunday night after the Red Sox game as part of the package. You also have the option of coming into Baltimore early or staying later in Boston so let us customize your sports vacations for you.

This premier sports travel package promises to be a great time. For more details on this baseball tour and our other MLB Tours, visit BigLeagueTours.com.

Topics: stadium tours, Citi Field, Orioles, sports travel and tours, New York, Baltimore, Fenway Park, big league tours, MLB tours, sports vacation, Yankees, Nationals Park, Reds, hall of fame, Cooperstown, Mets, Oriole Park

Topics: baseball tours, baseball travel, MLB tours, Yankees

Topics: baseball tours, big league tours, sports vacation, Yankees, Yankee Stadium, Twins

Topics: Citi Field, baseball road trips, baseball games, baseball stadiums, big league tours, Yankees, Yankee Stadium

May 7, 2009 - New York City
This is my favorite time of year. The baseball season is now in full swing, the weather gets to be a little more predictable, and teams are already jockeying within their divisions - a perfect timefor a baseball road trip!

Today our East Coast 1 Tour began in New York City with a stadium tour of the Yankees' new home. What an impressive place! The tour starts in their museum that's inside the stadium. The museum has autographed baseballs from many of the Yankees players throughout history, stories about the different eras of the team, and interesting information about the stadium.

Here's a picture of one of my favorite items from the tour. As a catcher growing up in the 70's, I idolized catchers in the big leagues. Thurman Munson was one of the guys I loved to watch. We learned last year when we were in the Yankees clubhouse on one of our group tours that the Yankees had preserved Munson's locker since the day he died. No one had used it since. His locker was moved in tact to the new Yankee Stadium and is what you see pictured to the left.

Whether you are a Yankee fan or not, this baseball stadium needs to be on your "must see" list for one of your upcoming sports vacations. The team is such a storied franchise and they've presented their history well in the new venue.

Topics: baseball road trips, New York, sports vacation, Yankees, group tours, Yankee Stadium

March 27, 2009 - Big League Tours is headed to Seattle in August to see the Yankees take on Junior, Ichiro and rest of the Seattle Mariners. While it's always fun to visit Seattle or take in a series wherever the Yankees are playing (love 'em or hate 'em), one of the highlights of this MLB tour is that we're being joined by Dave Henderson, former outfielder for the Mariners, Red Sox, Giants and A's.

Here's a clip of his biography from baseballlibrary.com:

The Red Sox acquired Henderson during the 1986 pennant drive. He hit a two-out, two-run homer for Boston in the top of the ninth inning of Game Five of the 1986 LCS with the California Angels one strike away from their first World Series appearance. The game was won on Henderson's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and also featured a home run by Bobby Grich that popped out of Henderson's glove and over the outfield wall.

Traded to the Giants on September 1, 1987 to make room for rookie Ellis Burks, Henderson helped the Giants to a division title and then signed as a free agent with Oakland that winter. The centerfielder posted career-high totals of 24 homers, 38 doubles, 100 runs, 94 RBI, and a .304 batting average, (51 points above his previous career average) for the AL champion 1988 A's. In the 1989 WS, he hit home runs in consecutive innings in Game Three after just missing one in the first inning (a double off the railing).

Henderson was the Mariners' first pick in the 1977 free-agent draft. At the time of his trade to Boston, Henderson was Seattle's career leader in home runs and was tied for the team lead in extra-base hits. He is the nephew of Joe Henderson, a pitcher with the White Sox and Reds in the 1970s.

Join us on this Seattle Tour for what promises to be one of our great baseball vacation packages for the year. You can learn more about this and our other MLB Tours by visiting our website, bigleaguetours.com.

Topics: Mariners, Red Sox, Seattle, big league tours, Yankees

Will Your Sports Vacations Include CC Sabathia in 2009?

November 17, 2008 - As most of you know CC Sabathia, a free-agent, is up for grabs for the 2009 season.  Free-agent season opened on Friday with the biggest stories being the Yankees and Brewers both planning bids for Sabathia.  Milwaukee recently offered $100 million for five years to Sabathia, but the Yankees offered a $140 million for six years, a record offer for a pitcher. 

Many people feel the Yanks have plainly overbid. The Yankees are also planning to bid on A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.  Are the Brewers still in the running for Sabathia or will they lose him to the Yankees? Either way, CC is a lot of fun to watch in action. So whichever team he chooses, make sure that they are on one of your baseball road trips for 2009!

Topics: baseball road trips, big league tours, MLB tours, sports vacation, Yankees, Brewers

Taking A Look Back At Yankee Stadium
September 23, 2008 - 2008 marks the end of an era for Yankee Stadium, but with an ending there is always a new beginning and that is exactly where 2009 will be taking the Yankees.  For many people Yankee Stadium was one of the top stadiums to see before it was gone and many are just as excited to see the new stadium.

Here are some memorable moments from Yankee Stadium:

April 18, 1923:  The first game at the Stadium attracts a crowd of 74,200 and is appropriately christened by Babe Ruth with a three-run home run in the third inning of the Yankees' 4-1 victory over the Red Sox.

Sept. 30, 1927:  With a drive off the Washington Senators' Tom Zachary, Babe Ruth becomes the first player to hit 60 home runs in a season, a record that will stand for 34 years.

Nov. 12, 1928:  At halftime of a scoreless game, Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne delivers his famous "Win one for the Gipper!" speech, and the Fighting Irish respond with a 12-6 victory over Army.

July 4, 1939: Lou Gehrig, forced into retirement due to ALS, delivers an impromptu, moving speech as he bids farewell to fans with comments such as "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth," and "I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

May 15, 1941: Joe DiMaggio begins his 56-game hitting streak with a 1-for-4 game in a 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Nov. 9, 1946: In what many football historians consider the greatest college game ever played, Notre Dame and Army, both undefeated, duel to a scoreless tie and share the national championship, although the Irish are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Army's last-minute drive is thwarted by Notre Dame's Johnny Lujack, who tackles Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard at the 11-yard-line.

June 13, 1948: Babe Ruth puts on uniform No. 3 for the last time in ceremonies marking the Stadium's silver anniversary, which would be his final public appearance.

Aug. 17, 1948: One day after his death at the age of 53, Babe Ruth's body lay in state at the main entrance of the Stadium where more than 100,000 mourners pay respects.

Oct. 5, 1953: Billy Martin singles home Hank Bauer from second base for the winning run in a Game 6 triumph over the Dodgers that completes the Yankees' fifth consecutive World Series championship.

Dec. 28, 1958:  Often referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played," the Baltimore Colts come from behind to defeat the football Giants, 23-17, for the NFL championship. Steve Myrha's field goal ties the score with seven seconds remaining in regulation, and quarterback Johnny Unitas directs a scoring drive in OT culminating in Alan Ameche's touchdown run.

Oct. 4, 1965: Pope Paul VI, the first Pontiff to visit the United States, celebrates Mass before a crowd of more than 80,000. Pope John Paul II also said Mass at the Stadium during his U.S. tour in 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI came to the Stadium this past April.

May 14, 1967: Mickey Mantle's hits his 500th career home run, off the Baltimore Orioles' Stu Miller.

Oct. 18, 1977: Reggie Jackson puts the finishing touches on the Yankees' World Series victory over the Dodgers with three home runs on three pitches from three pitchers - Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough - in Game 6.

June 21, 1990: A rally is held at the Stadium in honor of Nelson Mandela after his release from prison following the end of apartheid in South Africa.

May 17, 1998: David Wells pitches a perfect game, 4-0, against the Minnesota Twins.

Jul. 8, 2000: Chuck Knoblauch's three-run homer highlights a four-run fifth inning as the Yankees go on to a 4-2 victory over the Mets in the second of two cross-borough games on this date. Earlier, the Yankees beat the Mets by the same score at Shea Stadium.

Aug. 4, 2007: Alex Rodriguez hits his 500th career home run, off the Royals' Kyle Davies in the Yankees' 16-8 victory. A-Rod, at 32 years, 8 days, becomes the youngest player to reach the plateau, breaking the previous mark of Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 337 days) when he got to 500 Sept. 24, 1940.

If you have some memories you would like to share with Big League Tours, hit the comment button at the end of this blog.

Topics: New York, baseball travel, MLB tours, Yankees, Yankee Stadium