Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

August 30, 2010 - The next stop on our Midwest 2 Tour was in St. Louis. We left Chicago mid-morning and made our way to The Gateway City in time to take a baseball stadium tour at Busch Stadium. The escorted tours that they give at Busch Stadium are pretty nice. You get to make the usual stops - warning track, dugouts, press box, suites, and club areas. What's unusual was that we were able to hit those spots so late in the day on a game day. Normally the team will shut down the field so that was an added bonus.

Here's a photo taken from the field at Busch Stadium. One of the things that you'll notice on your baseball road trips is that the newer stadiums have done a much better job of incorporating their surroundings into the ballpark. Remember the concrete bowls of the 60's and 70's? Or stadiums that were ill-fitting or designed for football? Thankfully they are being replaced with thoughtful stadium designs like Busch Stadium, PNC Park, Progressive Field and Citizens Bank Park.

We are always asked which is our favorite park so let me turn the tables on you. Which park is your favorite? What makes it your favorite? Let us know. It's always interesting to get a fan's perspective!

Topics: stadium tours, St. Louis, Progressive Field, Citizens Bank Park, baseball road trips, PNC Park, Chicago, Busch Stadium

Topics: baseball road trips, baseball trips, MLB tours, sports vacation

July 23, 2010 - Trip in and trip out, the element that we include that always gets rave reviews are the Big League Player Experiences. We always bring in an MLB player to tell baseball stories, field questions from our guests, and to sign autographs and take pictures with the folks on our MLB road trips.

The small group tour we had in the Midwest was no different. Here's a picture of Ron Kittle with some of our travelers before the game at US Cellular Field. This year we visited different sections of the stadium with Ron prior to the gates opening, were able to watch batting practice for the Sox and the Rangers, and were able to talk casually with him about the Sox, his career and baseball in general. And as we've come to know about every event that we have with Ron, we had a great time. Thanks, Kitty!

By the way, if you haven't checked out the baseball artwork including the bat benches that Ron makes, you are really missing out. Click here to go to his site, buy a bat bench, and tell him that we sent ya!

So join us on one of our upcoming baseball road trips so that you can hang with an MLB player and get that much closer to the game that you love!

Topics: White Sox, Rangers, baseball road trips, U.S. Cellular Field, MLB road trips

May 28, 2010 - As much as we fancy ourselves on being great trip planners and including really cool features on our trips, there's always the opportunity for the unexpected to happen, too. And in this case, I'm talking about the unexpected in a really good way.

We always plan to be at the baseball stadiums early so that we can explore the ballparks, take in batting practice, and have the chance of getting a baseball or autograph in the process. Our recent road trip to Atlanta was no different - except for the unexpected.

The event occured during the Reds' batting practice. Several of the players had stopped by to sign autographs for fans around their dugout. One of the local kids in a Braves t-shirt asked Jonny Gomes if he could have his batting gloves. Jonny's off-handed response was, "yeah, right."

Jonny hit the batting cage, took the obligatory jog around the bases, and then headed back towards the dugout and where we were sitting. We're assuming that since my son was wearing a Reds jersey (or it could have been that he just hadn't hounded Jonny or the other players), Jonny walked back over to our section and handed his batting gloves to him. He was thrilled to say the least.

Our hope is always to provide an experience that you'll never forget, gifts for baseball fans, if you will, so we package a lot of fun stuff into our group travel tours. But like Woody Allen said, "95% of life is showing up." Being at the games early gives you a greater chance to get closer to the game that we all love so much. So the next time you head out on one of your baseball road trips, allow time for the unexpected and maybe you'll be given a gift of your own!

Topics: group travel, Atlanta, baseball road trips, baseball trips, baseball stadiums, group tours, Reds

Topics: baseball road trips, baseball vacation package, big league tours, sports vacation, family tours

Topics: Minnesota, baseball road trips, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, baseball vacation package, Twins, Target Field

July 25, 2009 - Final day of one of our baseball road trips. We headed out Wrigley Field, The Friendly Confines, to see the Cubs take on the Cincinnati Reds. Admittedly, growing up a Reds fan, I was pulling for the "other" team but to no avail. The Cubs completed the sweep and sent my Reds packing. Click here to see the box score from the game.

Having been to games at Wrigley both at day and night, it's easy for me to see why they resisted putting lights in for so long. In my opinion, it's so much better to see day games there. The atmosphere is a total party buzz throughout the game and you know it's going to continue on for many more hours in Wrigleyville.

As the second oldest of the MLB baseball stadiums, one can't help but enjoy the charm of the ballpark. One also can't help but notice it's imperfections and crumbling infrastructure, too. When this team is sold, I'm certain that the new owners will need to address the challenges with the old ballpark. Even with its imperfections, it's still an awesome place for family tours.

Topics: baseball road trips, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, Wrigley Field, family tours, Reds, Cubs

July 24, 2009 - At Big League Tours, we like to think that all of the baseball road trips that we create will be memorable. And they are. However, the tour that we've just started might be one of the most memorable of all of our small group tours so far. The reason being? Admittedly, something completely out of our control...

This MLB road trip began yesterday like many of our tours, at the first of a few stadiums that we'll visit in a long weekend. This time we began at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, for an afternoon game between the Sox and the Rays.

The Sox got on the board in a big way during the bottom of the second inning when Josh Fields hit a grand slam off of Scott Kazmir. After Buehrle polished off the Rays in the top of the third, my son pointed out that no Rays had reached base. Then after we thought about it, we realized that he had a perfect game going.

You could since the electricity building in the crowd after every out. When the Sox were set to take the field for the ninth inning, the crowd stood and chanted, "Buehrle...Buehrle...Buehrle..." until he charged onto the field and The Cell erupted with excitement.

If you've followed sports at all the last 24 hours, you've seen the catch that Dewayne Wise made to rob Gabe Kaplar of a home run. Click here to see the box scores and video clips of the game. What an unbelievable way to protect the perfecto. Needless to say, when the Sox recorded the final out sealing only the 18th perfect game in MLB history, the celebration began. The photo above shows Buehrle's teammates mobbing him after the game.

So with a grand slam and perfect game, this sports vacation package is off to a great start!

Topics: White Sox, Rays, baseball road trips, baseball stadiums, big league tours, sports vacation, Chicago, U.S. Cellular Field

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

Topics: baseball road trips, baseball trips, baseball stadiums, group tours, family tours