Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

March 1, 2009 - Our 2009 sports tours begin with our East Coast 1 Tour to New York, Cooperstown and Boston. We'll take in a game at the brand new Yankee Stadium. We will then head to Cooperstown and spend the day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame as well as in the village. The next day we'll head to Boston for a private tour of Fenway Park, hang out on Yawkey Way, and take in a Red Sox game.

But the highlight of this tour, and all of our baseball travel tours, will be our Big League Player Experience. This time we will be joined by former Red Sox catcher, Rich Gedman.

Gedman broke into the Big Leagues in September of 1980 when he pinch hit for Carl Yastrzemski. In 1981, Rich was named as The Sporting News Rookie of the Year. He was also named an All Star in 1985 and 1986.

Gedman's career statistics include include a .252 batting average, 88 home runs and 382 RBI's. His Big League career ran until his retirement in 1994.

Check out our website for more details about this and other exciting group travel tours offered by Big League Tours.

Topics: group travel, Boston, baseball travel, big league tours, Yankee Stadium, Cooperstown

Topics: Red Sox, Boston, sports travel and tours, New York, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, hall of fame, Cooperstown

Topics: stadium tours, sports travel and tours, New York, baseball trips, baseball stadiums, ballpark tours, Yankee Stadium

Topics: stadium tours, sports travel and tours, Fenway Park, sports vacation, testimonials, Yankee Stadium, hall of fame, Cooperstown

Topics: Citi Field, baseball tours, baseball stadiums, baseball travel, MLB tours, Yankee Stadium

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

September 14, 2008 - There are families who love baseball, but then there are families who LOVE baseball. Corrin and her mom, Terri, and her step-father, Dave, absolutely love baseball and everything to do with it. Corrin even goes as far as to say, "I loooooove baseball, more than most people do." Dave and Terri reside in the Twin Cities of Minnesota making them avid Twins fans. Corrin originally from there is also a Twins fan but now lives in Chicago where she attends many White Sox and Cubs Games.

They joined Big League Tours on the East Coast 2 trip. On one of our longest MLB roadtrips of the season, they made their way to Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston seeing six stadiums in seven days. They chose this trip because of the number of stadiums offered and the fact that they were going to be able to see Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, and Fenway Park all in one stop. A favorite memory for them was being able to take in the action of a ballgame on the Green Monster.

We dubbed Corrin, Terri, and Dave "the walking family". They took total advantage of every extra second they got in each city. One of their favorite parts about the trip there was ample time in each city to do some site seeing on their own. While in Washington D.C. they walked over four miles doing site seeing and didn't think twice about it. They were a family just having a great time on their vacation making the best of every moment. So, to the families who love baseball, are you ready to join us for one of our sports travel packages? You'll be glad you did!

Topics: Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Green Monster, MLB road trips

Group Tours Brings Families Together
September 8, 2008 - Baseball isn't just for the guys anymore. Two of the most loyal and die hard fans to travel with us were a mother and daughter duo from Texas. Betty and Suzanne decided that they wanted to attend a game at "the house that Ruth built" before the Yankees moved into the new Yankee Stadium. Betty was researching trips and their options and came across our East Coast 1 trip including Fenway Park, Cooperstown, and Yankee Stadium. Things that drew them in were guaranteed stops at three of baseball's most sought after sites. Betty and Suzanne are pictured here with Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Lee, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, joined our guests on a private, escorted tour of Fenway Park. 
 
"The Best part of the trip was getting to make memories with my mom!" states Suzanne. She says that getting to see live baseball in both of these historic places was unforgettable. She recalls the first game at Fenway Park and her mom's reaction. "I wish everyone could have seen her face as she sat down with her scorecard and pencil twenty rows directly behind home plate at Fenway Park. My 63 year old mom was giggling like a 15 year old, and I was doing the same!" I can agree with Suzanne with this statement because I had the opportunity to sit next to them at the Boston game. It has been a great experience working with Big League Tours, but nothing tops seeing the looks on our guests' faces when they sit in their seats and begin to experience what we work so hard to achieve.

Suzanne and Betty achieved their goal of seeing the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium before then end of this year.  They even got to see a Yankee Stadium first where Johnny Damon hit a walk-off game-winning single in the bottom or the ninth. It was the first time a Yankee had ever gone 6-for-6 at Yankee Stadium. Suzanne said, "My mom and I had a wonderful time together. We very rarely get girl time together and thoroughly enjoyed the trip! I'll always remember this time together with her. One of the guys on the tour with us took the trip with his college-age son. He said that it made his heart glad to see a mother and daughter spending time together like this at our age. It gave him hope that he and his son would continue to stay close as they get older, too."

Topics: Red Sox, bucket list, baseball tours, Fenway Park, Yankees, Yankee Stadium

Topics: New York, baseball tours, Yankees, group tours, Yankee Stadium

August 7, 2008 - Big League Tours tries to find important aspects to include in each tour to give our guests the ultimate baseball vacation experience while on our escorted tours. So, we chose for our Big Apple 2 trip a weekend that had something exciting going on at the stadium "Old Timers Day".  Since this is the last year at Yankee Stadium it was a touching day for not only Yankee fans but all baseball fans alike. 

The Yankees invited back some of their former players to the stadium to thank them and congratulate them on all their success as Yankees and in their life.  They had players from all different era's come back to the stadium including Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Dave Winfield, and Rickey Henderson to only name a few.

It was exciting and touching to see all these greats in one place to celebrate them and the ending of an era at Yankee Stadium.  After announcing all the attendees the Yanks that were able to play participated in a few innings against each other.  Allowing Big League Tour guests to see some of the best players from Yankee Stadium play.  Although, some of them were a little rusty it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we were all glad to be there.

Topics: New York, baseball stadiums, big league tours, Yankees, Yankee Stadium