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Family Travel and "Dot Dogs"

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Fri, Mar 08, 2024 @ 10:25 AM
 
IMG_7493The other day my toddler was adamantly asking for a “dot dog” (hot dog) for breakfast. I’m pretty sure it was just a vehicle for the ketchup he was actually interested in, but hey, they’re all beef so it’s fine, right? ;-)

It got me thinking about baseball season, summertime, and of course, having a hot dog at a game. Baseball travel has been a part of our family for a long time. (Two decades officially… many more unofficially.) And it’s already become one of our favorite activities with our son.

As I reflect on the journeys our family has embarked on, the moments spent traveling withIMG_0606-Nov-27-2023-03-27-08-2383-PM-2 my husband, parents, siblings, cousins, and grandpa hold a special place in my mind. The restaurants we've dined at, the sights we've explored, the sheer excitement of 15 year old me meeting Nick Jonas after a Reds game, and countless other cherished memories flood my mind.

The experiences we've had and the sights we've witnessed have truly been fantastic, but it's the moments in-between that truly make our trips unforgettable. Whether it's the hilarious stories shared at the airport, something unexpected on the bustling streets of NYC, or the waffle breakfast that kickstarts our day, these are the details that stay with us forever.

 IMG_9098When you stop to think about it, embarking on a journey with your beloved companions can serve as the "in-between" in the midst of a hectic life. Stepping away from the mundane routine to purposefully bond together makes life sweet!

When planning your travel for 2024, I urge you to take a trip that will leave a lasting impact. Savoring a "dot dog" with your loved ones, even if it's merely for the ketchup. Consider carving out some precious "in-between" moments to connect with those you hold dear, forging memories that will endure a lifetime.

Guest Feature: Eileen F.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Mon, Nov 06, 2023 @ 11:13 AM

If you've been following us for some time, you've probably come across Eileen in our photos! She has been an avid traveler with us for many years, so celebrating her incredible achievement of visiting 30 stadiums this summer filled us with absolute joy! Let's hear what Eileen had to share about her extraordinary journey with us:

"Hi, my name is Eileen F. and I highly recommend Big League Tours!! I am from Boston and grewIMG_3300 up loving baseball and the Red Sox!  I just love the ambience of the stadiums. I decided I wanted to see all 30 stadiums. I looked online and Big League Tours popped up. I chose the East coast tour for my first tour in 2015. It absolutely met all my expectations!  The host was personable, knowledgeable and made you feel at ease. The accommodations were excellent, the seats were premium and the transportation in between stadiums was great. I met a couple from California on that tour and we decided to go on future tours together and we did except 1 year.

IMG_9120-1I continued my adventure with tours in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023!! You also have extra time to sightsee in the city you are visiting. The great thing about Big League Tours is each tour you either get an experience with a key player, speaker or a tour of the stadium. I completed my 30th stadium May 2023 at Oakland Coliseum!! The host, Glenn, presented me with a ball and case. All the people on the tour signed the ball!!  I was ecstatic!! We also got a group picture that made it extra special!!
 
You will not be disappointed with Big League Tours!! I have so many great memories and will treasure them forever."

Eileen, thank you for choosing Big League Tours all of these seasons and letting us be a small part of your accomplishment! We are grateful for you. Congratulations!! 

Guest Feature: Bob D.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Tue, Oct 24, 2023 @ 03:24 PM

At Big League Tours, there's nothing we love more than celebrating our guests' incredible achievement of visiting all 30 MLB stadiums. It was an absolute honor to celebrate with Bob this summer. Let's dive into his unforgettable journey with us:

"My first Big League Tour was the Southwest Tour in July 2021, which started in Phoenix, then Denver, then Arlington and finished in Houston. Our tour host did a fantastic job. Hotels were centrally located and travel between cities was seamless. Prior to that, I had been to 18 of the current Major League stadiums. Living in New Jersey allowed me to see most of the stadiums in the Northeast over the years. (As a side note I have also been to 10 stadiums that no longer exist.)
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With 8 stadiums to go, my next tour was a partial West Coast Tour in June 2022 which took San Francisco and Seattle off the list. Tour leader Tia was excellent, and Glenn joined us in Seattle. Once again hotel and travel were first class.

In September, I took a day trip to Cincinnati. My next tour was the Southeast Tour in May 2023, starting in Miami, on to Tampa, then Atlanta. As I have come to expect, Nathan, the tour host did an awesome job, and as always, hotel and travel were carefully planed.

For my final two stadiums, I was on a partial Midwest Tour in July 2023. I went to games at both Chicago stadiums, (even though I had already visited both) then Milwaukee, St. Louis (prior visit) and then number 30, Kansas City. The big guy himself, Glenn, was our tour host. Hotels and travel were great, as always. 
IMG_1344The attention to detail is what separates Big League Tours from other tours. The tour hosts are knowledgeable and fun to be with. I really enjoyed my time in Chicago. The Palmer House hotel was in a great location and just a beautiful property, and meeting with Ron Kittle was thoroughly enjoyable.

The main reason I would recommend Big league Tours is the personal attention paid to clients to help them enjoy the experience. That and the excellent seat locations in each ballpark! 
I would like to mention that traveling with a group of people who meet as strangers with a shared interest become friends by the end of the tour."

Congratulations, Bob! We will always be grateful that you chose Big League Tours and allowed us to be a small part of achieving your bucket list dream!

Guest Feature: Cecil & Pat N.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Mon, Oct 16, 2023 @ 08:37 PM

We love getting to share the experiences of our guests who have completed their goal of visiting all 30 MLB stadiums! Cecil and Pat N. completed their baseball bucket list this past summer. Here’s what they had to say about traveling with Big League Tours: 

“Cecil and I started traveling with Big League Tours in 2018 with the East Coast tour, visiting Nash4 Boston's Fenway Park, the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the Mets’ at Citi Field/Shay Stadium, and the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.  In 2019 we did the Midwest tour to watch the Chicago Cubs and the White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers; in 2021 we participated in the West Coast tour; in 2022 we went on the Mideast tour to visit Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburg Pirates, and Toronto Blue Jays; in 2023 we did the Southeast tour visiting Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves and later the Midwest tour visiting Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.  We visited a couple stadiums on our own over the years due to our own schedules, to make all 30 stadiums.

Nash2What makes Big League Tours different from other travel experiences is the ultimate convenience in going from one stadium to the next, not having to book the excellent seats at each stadium and great hotels in which to stay that Big League Tours provides, and getting to meet and talk with several outstanding baseball representatives on the tours, such as Ron Kittle.  Each tour director that escorted us had a wonderful sense of humor, was an outstanding planner seeing after all his charges, and going out of the way to make each trip memorable for everyone.

Nash3Some of our favorite experiences were visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and catching a foul ball in Milwaukee, and Truist Park in Atlanta.

The main reason that we would recommend Big League Tours is that they are a very professional outfit that coordinates everything perfectly and are extremely helpful always.” 

Congratulations, Cecil and Pat! We’re honored to be a small part of your accomplishment. Thank you for choosing Big League Tours! 

 

Guest Feature: Larry & Robin B.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Mon, Oct 09, 2023 @ 08:20 PM

At Big League Tours, we’re honored to be a part of our guests accomplishing a major goal. Just last month, Larry and Robin B. completed their “quest” of visiting all 30 MLB stadiums! Check out what they had to say about their experience here: 

IMG-6614“We had been working on our quest to visit all 30 MLB stadiums for a few years.  We decided the best way to see the Mideast stadiums was on a tour. We seriously looked at two companies and decided to go with Big League Tours.  We went on the Mideast Tour in June 2022.

It was so nice to just show up in Cincinnati and have everything taken care of!  We stayed in nice hotels within walking distance of all the stadiums.  Our seats were all field level behind home plate! Our tour host, Nathan, wasIMG-1481 friendly, patient, calm, and, organized.  This tour really spoiled us going forward attending games!

When it came time to visit the Southeast stadiums, we decided once again to go with Big League Tours in May 2023.  Once again, Nathan was our tour host and we had a flawless experience!  (We even won Nathan’s baseball trivia contest!)

On both tours we enjoyed meeting and talking baseball with other fans.

We completed our Quest in September 2023 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

We so enjoyed our trips with Big League Tours, we have signed up for what we are calling our 'Extra Innings Tour' to New York, Boston, and Cooperstown in May 2024. Big League Tours was a fun and important part of our Quest!”
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Larry and Robin, thank you for letting us be apart of your baseball adventure! It’s our pleasure to meet folks like you and help make your dreams a reality. Congratulations! 

Guest Feature: John R.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Wed, Oct 20, 2021 @ 03:02 PM
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If we have been connected for any time, you’ve likely been on a tour with John R. or you have seen some photos with him on our site. John has been a continued guest on Big League Tours for many years. We caught up with him after our touring season where he shared some things about the tours he took in 2021.

John joined both the Southwest and the East Coast Tours this year. This wasn’t John’s first East Coast Tour. He shared, “I must admit, I’ve taken the Eastern tour at least three times, twice going to the site of the Hall of Fame. I love it because you get to see some of the original storied franchises, as well as the Nationals and the Mets.”

IMG_1173John also recounted his time visiting Yankee Stadium in August, where Big League Tours had secured a suite for our guests. “I’ve never been in a suite before, especially one at Yankee Stadium, between home plate and first base. They bring you all the food you can eat, included in the price of the tickets. Now I don’t expect to get this opportunity again, so I wasn’t going to waste it. While watching the game in comfortable chairs, I went through three submarine halves, two salads, two chicken strips, three chocolate cookies and two brownies. And that’s just what I can remember. The subs had the softest, best tasting bread I’ve ever eaten.”

John might take the East Coast Tour again, but in 2022 he’ll be taking the Midwest Tour. After visiting Milwaukee and Minneapolis, he will have visited every stadium at least once. John closed his statements by saying, “Thank you, Big League Tours, for providing me quality experiences over the years, well worth the money.”  

We’re thankful for the opportunity to host you, John! Thank you for continuously choosing Big League Tours. 

"Our Dream of 30 Major League Baseball Parks Came True!"

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Wed, Oct 13, 2021 @ 09:45 AM

The 2021 tour season was extra special. Partially because we FINALLY got to go to MLB games, but also because we celebrated guests visiting their 30th stadium. Sandy C. and Jill R. marked #30 off their list this past August. Here's what they had to say about their experience: 

"Growing up baseball was always a part of life. We grew up 60 miles north of Cincinnati and after attending games there over the years, we decided to branch out by going to a Chicago Cubs game. After that, it became the thing to do in the summer – go to a new city & see a new ballpark. After doing a total of eighteen cities on our own and with friends, it was time seek professional help. This brings us to our decision to travel with Big League Tours. Looking into where we wanted to go next was overwhelming. The logistics were mind boggling - the driving, the hotels, the tickets, the scheduling. We started looking into tours that would take us where we wanted to go. The biggest thing about BLT that stood out was the endorsement of Major League Baseball. Once we saw the endorsement, the itineraries that they presented, along with the hotels, transportation and the seat locations for the games, it was a no brainer.

Our first trip was in May of 2018 as the Southern California part of the West Coast trip that20180512_175645 included three more cities after our parks. We started in San Diego meeting our group in the hotel lobby and walking to the park. It was a small group with nice people from various parts of the country and two from Canada. We did a stadium tour that day and had great seats at the game. The next day it was Dodger Stadium, another tour and again great seats. Our last game of that trip was at the Angels game on Sunday. At the Angels game, we had seats in the shade in club level area with in-seat service. We stayed at top notch hotels & our tickets were in the lower seating bowl with the exception of Sunday. Our tour host, arranged for anyone in the group to go to a local Italian place for dinner on Sunday night and was very helpful with information on how to get to the airport when we left the trip on Monday, as the group was continuing on with the rest of the trip. It was so nice to leave the planning and arrangements to someone else, we started looking into the 2019 trips as soon as they were available.

When making the arrangements for a 2019 BLT trip, we encountered some issues and sent an email to them. Within 15 minutes, our email was answered on a Saturday night which was very impressive. Great customer service!!

Our next BLT trip was the Southeast Trip in 2019 with another small group including a couple from Australia. We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Miami with a balcony and great view of the cruise ships docking and Miami Beach across the bay. Once again, great seats at the ballpark. Next we traveled to Tampa Bay. The day of the game we were introduced to Dante Bichette, the former major league player. He gave us insight as to what it was like for him to play in the majors and also what it was like to raise a future major leaguer with his son Bo being in AAA baseball at that time. We took individual and group photos with him and he signed our Big League Tour name badges. We then took the trolley to the ballpark and sat 5 rows from the dugout. We saw the stingrays in the outfield tank and saw a fly ball hit the roof of the stadium and drop for a single. In Atlanta, we stayed within walking distance to IMG_5168the park and took in another stadium tour. In true Atlanta fashion, it was a hot Sunday game. Our seats were on the Infiniti club level, with access to the indoor, air-conditioned food court, complete with TVs to keep track of the game. Our tour host, Martha Ellen did a great job making sure there were no bumps along the way and making sure everybody had their picture taken at all the ballparks.


After setting out 2020 for Covid-19, we signed up for the 2021 Southwest Tour. Again it was a nice sized group and there were a few familiar faces from the 2019 tour plus our tour host was another familiar face, Martha Ellen. We started in Phoenix within walking distance to the park. Our seats that night were in the player family section where we actually sat next to the mother of the Diamondbacks starting pitcher and behind the fiancé of the closer. It was interesting to talk with them and see how they view the game with it being their family member on the field. Next we were flown to Denver on July 3rd. From a rooftop lounge at our hotel we were able to watch the Rockies Independence Day fireworks! Sunday took us to the Rockies game against St. Louis.

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The next morning it was up early to fly to Dallas. The airport was quite busy, but Martha Ellen, made it as smooth as possible by getting us checked in as a group. We attended the Texas Rangers game that night, making sure to get our picture taken with the bigger-than-life Nolan Ryan statue outside the ballpark. We also did a stadium tour before the game and were able to watch batting practice. Next day we were on a motor coach to Houston with a stop at Buc-ee’s Convenience Store known for being the biggest type of convenience store in the US. We have to say it was a one of the highlights of the trip. Never had we seen such a huge place with so many different types of items. In Houston, we were seated with the entire group for the evening. Glenn was there for the game and presented our tour host Martha Ellen with a signed baseball, by the group, for attending a game at her 30th stadium.

We were down to our last stadium for our goal of all 30 stadiums. With an email to Bronte, and a quick response we were able to join the Midwest tour in St. Louis and then traveled to our #30 Kansas City with the group. This group was another nice size with some people who had also been on the Southwest Tour the previous month. St. Louis is a great baseball town and we really enjoyed the stadium tour, as well as their Hall of Fame and just walking around the area outside the ballpark. The game on Sunday was hot, but once again our game-day seats were in Red Bird Club Level, with access to the indoor, air conditioned food court, complete with TVs to keep track of the game and the weather, also a great place to sit during a 2-hour rain/storm delay! Kansas City Royals was our #30 and a big deal for us.  Our seats were in the 5th row from the field right behind the 4-row Crown Club in-seat service section, lined up with the home on-deck circle, looking down the left field foul line. These were the best seats we have ever sat in at an MLB park – Thank you BLT!!!  The game went into extra innings (11) before the Yankees won 8-6. The fact that it was 95 degrees with a heat index over 105 degrees also added to the memory.

In our minds, having been on four tours and to twelve stadiums, the only way to see Major League baseball parks is to travel with Big League Tours. Thanks to Big League Tours our dream of 30 Major League Baseball parks came true! We couldn’t have done it without you!"

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Congratulations, Sandy and Jill!! We are so glad to have played a little part in your accomplishment. Thank you for choosing Big League Tours!

Guest Feature: Dianne C.

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Fri, Oct 08, 2021 @ 01:34 PM
At Big League Tours, we have the privilege of getting to host returning guests for several tours over many years. This is most certainly the case for Dianne C., who has traveled with Big League Tours for 11 years!

This year, Dianne joined the Atlantic Beltway Tour, which visited Washington DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. This was her 9th tour. Even though Dianne has completed visiting all 30 stadiums, (with the exception of the new Globe Life Field) in 2019, she still continues to travel with Big League Tours. She will be visiting the West Coast with us in 2022.

Dianne shared, "Two of my favorite things are baseball and travel, and Big League Tours gives me a wonderful opportunity to do both. Seats at the games are always great and accommodations are excellent. I always meet friendly people on the tour who love baseball as much as I do. Among  these people are the hosts, who are always helpful, knowledgeable, and efficient. I look forward every summer to my baseball tour. "

IMG_1299Dianne also shared there was a tour when she got to meet Nolan Ryan! (A fun surprise to those on this tour several years ago.) 
 
We've loved getting to know Dianne over the years and look forward to hosting her on tour #10 in 2022. Thank you for your continued dedication to traveling and choosing Big League Tours these last 11 years, Dianne! 

Baseball Bucket List: "The dream became a reality and the reality seemed like a dream."

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Thu, Oct 07, 2021 @ 08:29 AM

One of the best parts of hosting baseball tours is getting to celebrate with guests visiting their 30th stadium. This past summer, Joe J. and Mellony C. got to mark visiting all 30 MLB stadiums off their bucket list. Joe shared stories from traveling with Big League Tours. 

"When I was 14 years old I went to my first pro baseball game in Seattle.  I remember the excitement of the crowd, doing the wave, the cheering and the smell of all the food.  That game was a luxury for me since I lived 3 hours away and never really made it to the city.  Back then I made it a goal, call it a bucket list item, to one day visit every MLB team and live that same experience at every stadium.

A little over 30 years later I finally decided to pursue my dream.  Living on the West Coast and knowing California pretty well, my wife Mellony and I planned a trip starting in San Diego.  It was quite a bit of work planning out all the details.  What hotel to stay, routes to take, trying to coordinate game times with rush hour traffic.  Parking was often a chore not being familiar with area layouts.  Tickets… Some stadiums we had to settle for what we could get which was sometimes far from the action.  While it was fun, it was also more of a chore than chasing a dream.

The next season I was looking over team schedules and how to visit a few different stadiums in areas I have no idea how I’m going to get to, where to stay, etc.  I ran into the Big League Tours website during my searches.  At first I thought it was a good idea, but then thought I could just keep doing the scheduling myself.  A few days later along with more frustration I was back to the Big League Tour website with a little different thought process.  Mellony and I talked it over and thought let’s give it a try just to see how it goes and if it was worth it.

The tour we chose started in Cleveland.  The itinerary stated to meet in the hotel lobby at a certain time to meet the tour guide and the rest of the group.   At the meeting we were given our tickets for the game that evening and told to head over at our own convenience anytime when the gates opened.  The hotel was about half a block from the stadium which gave us plenty of time to explore all around.  Our seats were right behind the dugout on the first base side.  Everything about the first day went great and without a hitch.

The next morning we met up again in the lobby and boarded a nice coach to head to Pittsburgh.  There might have been about 15 of us so there was plenty of room which made for a very comfortable ride of just a few hours.  We arrived in Pittsburgh and found our hotel was about 100 yards from the stadium.  We had our tickets in hand and had most of the day to explore the downtown area.  Again, our seats were prime and we had that fantastic view of the city skyline and bridges which made PNC park my favorite stadium.

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Our next visit was Cincinnati, then up to Detroit and lastly Chicago to watch the Cubs atWrigley.  In Chicago, we stayed right downtown and had an extra day to just explore.  I can’t explain how fun that was.  Since we were downtown we couldn’t just walk to the game, our guide explained how the L train worked and as a group we all made it as if we took the L train for years.  

That entire trip was very fun and headache free.  You just show up to the first hotel and the rest is in their hands.  We agreed to try another tour the next season.

My wife and I have now taken 5 tours with Big League Tours and visited 21 stadiums over the past 5 years (not counting the no-fans pandemic year).

In each city we stayed right next to the stadium or had transportation provided to and from the stadium.  If I said the seats were great, that would be an understatement.  At sold out Fenway, we sat about 10 rows directly behind home plate.  Same with a packed Yankee stadium.  On the really hot days we would have seats in the terrace level where the A/C was on right behind us. 

Just the fact of not having to do all the planning and coordinating on these tours was more than worth it.  Were there issues?  Of course something always seems to come up now and then, but they were handled in a very timely manner and soon to be forgotten about.  That’s what’s great about having a tour guide.

Our last tour was probably our most anticipated (at least for me).  It started in St. Louis.  If there was ever a baseball town it’s got to be St. Louis.  We took a tour of Busch Stadium and got to see some great areas of the park.  The game was one of the best times I’ve had at a ballpark.  

CDFEDF23-C49A-49DB-B754-A734851C122BThe next day we were at Kansas City.  We sat in the Diamond Club and just a couple rows back from home plate.  You couldn’t ask for better seats…..except…. We took a break from the heat (it was 97 with heat index of over 105) and stood at one of the ‘standing tables’ behind the last row in our section.  We were invited by a Diamond Club hostess to fill one of her tables that remained empty just a few rows in front of where we stood.  Of course we couldn’t pass that up.  She later told us whose table we were sitting at.  It was the Owner of the Royals table.  He would sit there when not in his suite.  WOW!! Just wow.  What an experience.


Last stop was to see the Twins.  A quick flight and we were able to finally reach our goal of visiting all 30 stadiums with a visit to Minnesota in Aug, 2021. 

The dream became a reality and the reality seemed like a dream.

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Thank you Big League Tours." 

 

It's an honor to be a part of our guests completing such a great accomplishment.Congratulations to Joe and Mellony! It's been a joy to be along side you on this journey.

 

Pass It On: Sports Stadiums Asking Fans For Their "Vaccine Passports"

Posted by Bronte Eaker on Thu, May 06, 2021 @ 02:30 PM

With the MLB season in full swing, there's been information released about requirements for attending some of the stadiums. It's almost certain these requirements will change over the next few months, but this is a great place to start. Check out the full article from CBS News here. 

"Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, are among a longer list of sports spaces that now require digital vaccine verifications. The arenas are doing so because of health safety protocols from their respective states. Those teams and others have been using an app called Health Pass from technology company Clear for COVID-19 screening. In some cases, showing your status on Health Pass could be the difference between watching a game in person or at home. 

"'Guests holding valid game tickets who cannot present proof of either a negative COVID-19 test within the required timeframes or proof of a COVID-19 full vaccination will not be allowed inside Yankee Stadium,' the New York Yankees said in a statement posted on the team website Friday. 'Guests may utilize Health Pass by Clear to confirm your COVID-19 test results for the event.'"

Patrons looking to enter an arena can show a recently taken negative COVID-19 test or proof that they've taken the vaccine."

We'll keep you updated on any new information and regulations as we hear them. We've heard from so many of you that you're fully vaccinated and ready to go. (So are we!!) We're looking forward to the season and see you out on the road!