Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

February 23, 2011 - We are so happy to be associated with the Cincinnati Reds ballclub.  They are an absolute first class organization and have been extremely helpful to us.  Big League Tours was pleased to be a part of the Western Tour of the Reds Caravan a few weeks ago where we enjoyed meeting lots of Reds fans, and promoted some of our baseball road trips, including our tour to Chicago to the see the Reds on "The Reds Road Trip." 

The Reds really know how to treat their fans.  Folks from the Reds Hall of Fame, Ticket Sales Dept., and Reds Community Fund joined Hall of Famer Marty Brennaman, Gold Glover Brandon Phillips, Reds Legend Lee May, catching prospect Devon Mesoraco, Asst. GM Bob Miller, and former Reds standout Ryan Freel on the Caravan. Everyone had a great time. 

I also want to mention something that I thought was a true display of class by Brandon Phillips.  At the Castleton Square Mall, in Indianapolis, it became evident that many people who had waited in line for a long time would not make it to the autograph table before the Caravan was scheduled to leave.  Phillips stood up from the table and walked down the line to sign every autograph so no fan was disappointed.  Not only did he sign, he spoke with the fans, took pictures, and in general, was extremely generous to everyone.  To me, that is what makes Brandon Phillips a true superstar.

Thanks to Charley Frank, Executive Director of the Reds Community Fund, for putting us on the Caravan, and to CincinnatiUSA.com and Ed McMasters, for sponsoring the event.  We are already looking forward to next year.

Topics: baseball road trips, big league tours, Chicago, Reds, Cincinnati

February 10, 2011 - We're excited to announce the first of our player appearances for our 2011 baseball road trips. MLB Standout, Buck Martinez, is joining Big League Tours on the opening day of our Midwest Plus Tour in Toronto. 

Buck will be joining us for the portion of our baseball tour that we call our "Big League Player Experience." On this tour package, as on every tour we offer, we bring in former MLB players to share their experiences in and around the game that we all love so much. It's just another way that we help you get inside the game and is always a fan favorite on our MLB Tours.

But this appearance has a special offer associated with it...

Buck has offered to take 12 of our guests up to the radio booth prior to the 12:37 game at the Rogers Centre. As of the point of this posting, a few more guests can still join in this exclusive portion of the tour. So don't hesitate to sign up now for this tour so that you can get one of the 12 special escorted tours of the press area from Buck himself!

Once the game is over, we'll return back to the Renaissance Center, the hotel connected to the Rogers Centre, for a full meet and greet with Buck and all of our guests.

Here is Buck's bio from the Blue Jays website:

Buck Martinez returns for his second season as the Blue Jays play-by-play announcer…
The 62 year old brings with him 42 years of baseball experience, including 20 years as a player, 21 years in broadcasting, and two as a manager… Beginning in 1967 when he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies, Martinez spent 20 years as a catcher in professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and his final six seasons with the Blue Jays… He appeared in the postseason with Kansas City in 1976, batting .333 in the 5-game ALCS against the New York Yankees… Wrote two books about his experiences with the Blue Jays, "From Worst to First" (1985) and "The Last Out" (1986)… Among his 12 seasons associated with the Blue Jays, he served as manager for Toronto in 2001 and part of the 2002 season, compiling a 100-115 record… In 2006, he managed the United States team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic… Martinez' first experience with broadcasting came in 1982, when he covered the American League Championship Series, the World Series and the All-Star Game for the Telemedia Radio Network…. His television broadcast career began in 1987 as a color commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays on TSN… Began working with ESPN radio and television in 1992, and in 1995, Martinez was awarded a Sports EMMY Award for his work on ESPN's coverage of Cal Ripken's 2,131st consecutive game… For the past seven seasons has worked as a television analyst for the Baltimore Orioles and has also served as a co-host of XM Radio's Baseball This Morning show on the MLB Home Plate channel…. Martinez also contributed color commentary for Sunday afternoon games on TBS, as well as for the network's postseason coverage… A California native, Martinez attended Sacramento City College, Sacramento State University, and Central Missouri State University. He and his wife, reside in Clearwater, FL. They have one son, Casey, a 47th round pick by Toronto in the 2000 First Year Player Draft.

Don't miss your chance to on this mid-summer baseball road trip that incudes games at 4 different stadiums plus a day at Niagara Falls. And don't forget, your trip could include an exclusive trip to the radio booth with Buck Martinez!

Topics: Royals, Opening day, Toronto, baseball road trips, big league tours, MLB tours, Brewers

February 2, 2011 - The first of our baseball road trips in 2011 will begin with two days at Augusta National, taking in a practice round and a competitive round of The Masters Tournament. Our guests will be able to walk the hallowed grounds with their favorite pro-golfers in search of the illusive green jacket.

After a free day in Atlanta (can you say golf anyone?), we'll enjoy a couple of baseball games including the Opening Day ceremonies for the Braves as they kick off their first weekend homestand of the year against their Eastern Division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Friday's game is an evening game and Saturday's game is in the afternoon. That's a great way to see Turner Field at different times of the day. We'll have the evening free in Atlanta with plenty of time for dining or entertainment in this great southern city.

By now, you've come to know Big League Tours as the premier provider of baseball vacation packages. Check out all our 2011 tour vacations to see which one suits you the best.

Topics: Opening day, Atlanta, Braves, Turner Field, baseball road trips, Phillies, baseball vacation package, big league tours

January 28, 2011 - Pitchers and catchers can report to Spring Training in a little over two weeks which means that it won't be long until we have Major League Baseball! That also means that it's almost time for MLB road trips!

In December we announced a package that we're offering in partnership with the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund. It's a weekend in Chicago to see the Reds play the Cubs for three games at Wrigley Field. Baseball fans will enjoy the series at Wrigley from great, lower-level seats as well as great hotel accommodations in Chicago, meet & greets with an MLB player, transportation to the stadiums, and a Big League Tours host on the tour.

We'll be out promoting the baseball tour this weekend at a few of the stops for the Reds Caravan. We'll also have information about all of our baseball vacation packages. So whether you're thinking of taking family tours or group travel tours, stop by and chat with us about the 2011 baseball season and see which of our tour vacations are for you.

Topics: baseball tours, baseball vacation package, Wrigley Field, big league tours, sports vacation, Chicago, Reds, MLB road trips, Cubs

Janurary 16, 2010 - Big League Tours is a company that provides world class customer service and trips that you'll remember for the rest of your life. The trip my mom and I went one was very memorable and special. We went on the Texas Tour in July, 2010 to see two Texas Rangers games and two Houston Astro games. The staff of this company was very friendly. They do things that none of the other baseball tours ever do like do a tour each stadium you visit and do a meet & greet with a former player of one of the teams that you're going to see. We did a meet & greet in Arlington with former Ranger legend Jim Sundberg who had a very warm personality and showed us around the ballpark and his office. The biggest highlight of trip happened when Jim Sundberg introduced us to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan who was amazing to meet. Nolan is just a class of his own. The seats at all the games are outstanding and they are lower level and you get a fantastic view of each game you go to. I don't think there will ever be a sports travel company as amazing as Big Leagues and that's what I call one Big League Experience of its own.

Name: Rob
City: Phoenix
State: AZ
Country: USA
Your Trip: Texas Tour

Topics: stadium tours, Rangers, sports travel and tours, baseball stadiums, big league tours

December 6, 2010 - Frankie and I had such a great time on our tour! We are still talking about it! It truly was a 'baseball experience' - you are true to your company mission!! We will take another tour, I'm sure of it. And we are already trying to recruit some friends. We can't say enough wonderful things about our tour director, Martha Ellen. Even though she may have been the youngest 'adult' on this trip, she has no problem bridging the age gap with all the tour participants! She has a wonderful career ahead of her - we just hope its with your company! Once again, we can't say enough great things about our Big League Tour experience!

Name: Theresa and Frankie Fritsch
City: Branchburg
State: New Jersey
Country: USA
Your Trip: Midwest

Topics: baseball tours, big league tours

Topics: baseball tours, baseball vacation package, big league tours, Chicago, Reds, Cubs, Cincinnati

Topics: Washington D.C., San Francisco, Atlanta, Braves, sports travel and tours, baseball tours, big league tours

Topics: sports travel and tours, Cleveland, baseball tours, baseball stadiums

November 26, 2010 - Thanksgiving break is serving as a great chance to catch up on some Food Network shows. One of my favorite shows is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The show is a great way to learn about some local restaurants to visit while we're hosting our baseball vacation packages.

Here's the latest place that we will have to visit: Sam La Grassa's in Boston, Massachusetts. This sandwich shop, which is just a few blocks from our hotel and just off the Freedom Trail, makes sandwiches that are unbelievable. One of the sandwiches that they featured on the show is pictured to the right, a chipotle pastrami grilled sandwich. I can't wait to try it!

If you check out the itineraries for our baseball vacation packages, you'll notice that we give you time to explore the cities that we visit. Why shouldn't we? After all, we feel that getting the flavor of the city is just as important as getting to explore the ballparks that we visit.

We have several tours that will be stopping in Boston this year, giving you a chance to see Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark in America, and stop at local attractions like Sam La Grassa's. You know where we'll be eating!

Topics: Boston, baseball vacation package, Fenway Park