Last year, August 1 2023, I was gleefully sitting in Yankee Stadium watching the Tampa Bay Rays dismantle the hometown Yankees. One year ago, wow it seems like just yesterday, I was (playfully and respectfully) chatting it up with disgusted Yankee fans mired in a seemingly lost season. Last week, July 23rd to be exact, I was sitting in Somerset, NJ chatting it up with elated Yankee fans who had immense hope and promise with Judge and Soto racking up video game like numbers in the 2024 season. Just to be clear, the distance from the Bronx to Somerset, NJ is about 55 miles, which on a good day takes about 18 hours to complete. But, in the past year, I didn’t just travel from the Bronx to NJ. I traveled a whole lot more. Follow me as I recount my fun filled 365 days of baseball detours, fields, games, and photos. For the month of August, I want to share with you what I experienced, starting with…

The Northwestern most point of my travels took me to two baseball fields separated by just 3 miles – the University of Puget Sound Loggers Field and the Tacoma Rainiers Cheney Stadium. Interestingly enough, the Cheney Family was instrumental in both team’s fields and history. Ben Cheney has a plaque at Loggers Field and a statue behind home plate at Cheney Stadium. Cheney Stadium has an incredible view, over the right field bleachers, of Mount Rainier which is situated nearly 60 miles southeast of the Tacoma area ball fields.

The Southwestern point of my travels included several trips to Phoenix this Winter. I arrived pre-Spring Training and went back several weeks later in the thick of Spring Training. In all, I visited the Cactus League homes of the Dodgers, A’s, Giants, Cubs, Brewers, Angels, Royals, White Sox, Rangers, and Diamondbacks. I went to the Padres complex one night, but was turned away because the Savannah Bananas were playing that night. The facilities were incredible, the fields looked amazing, and the experience was just so awesome. I got into and saw 5 Spring Training Cactus League games.

The Western most point of my baseball experience was my trip to Los Angeles, CA. I actually went to Dodger Stadium from the airport (LAX), but it was closed. The LAD were on the road, I mean they were all most likely home at their personal residences or off on some cool vacation spot. I did get to visit a number of local university baseball fields that were really special. USC, Whittier College, and Rio Hondo College fields were just amazing.

The Midwestern part of the country, well let’s just say I have a lot of catching up to do. My one main trip to the Midwest was to Indianapolis, IN. I did visit the Indianapolis 500 Speedway Race Track and their gift shop. I also visited the former home of Bush Stadium, now a Stadium Lofts property. The movie “8 Men Out” was filmed at that site. And I was able to get into see where the Indianapolis Indians call home – Victory Field.

Stay tuned this month as I travel back in time via my photos – through Arkansas, Georgia, then up through the Carolinas, Maryland, and into my new home state of Virginia. I am so psyched to show you the nearly 100 fields I have visited and all the goofy mascots I met and the incredible experiences I had as a baseball fan traveling this great country. 365 days of baseball, wow did it go by in a blink of a Tanner Houck fastball!!!