Le Tour de Baseball 2012 (Second Draft)

In 1983 I went to my first major league baseball game and saw San Diego Padres. I've been hooked ever since. There was something special about the game. Maybe it was the great San Diego weather, maybe the classic brown and yellow Padres uniforms, maybe it was the greatness of Tony Gwynn. Probably all three. Regardless, That experience led me to an affinity for the great game of baseball. The timelessness of a game not constrained by time. The innocence of the game as depicted in The Sandlot. The poetry of the game as depicted in movies like Field of Dreams and For the Love of The Game. The passion and humor of the game as depicted in movies like Bull Durham and Major League, and the newly minted Moneyball. Yes. All of it. I bought into it all hook line and sinker. And that is what led me to a lifelong goal of seeing a baseball game in every ball park. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to complete my tour.


I am going to call it Le Tour de Baseball 2012 (I hope that doesn't bring any copyright infringement lawyers my way). A baseball purist might question my take off on Le Tour de France so here me out. My Mom is not a huge sports fan. Not by any stretch of the imagination, but while I was loving in London in 2007 I told her that I was going to be a race marshall during the first stage of the Le Tour (the stage in London). She was intrigued by that and thought if she watched the coverage on Versus she might get to see her son on TV. Yeah, right, like that would actually happen. But although she didn't get to see me on TV, she found that she really enjoyed watching the race. And I think she developed a fondness for Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett. Regardless, we now have a tradition. During Le Tour, we watch every stage and then chat in the evening about the day's events.  Every day. And we both thoroughly enjoy it. So, since my sabbatical is going to run mid-Jun to the beginning of August, I'll miss watching and talking to her about the 2012 Tour. So I'm creating my own: Le Tour de Baseball 2012.


15 Stages made up of 13 regular season games and hopefully the All Star game in KC.
45 Days
9300 miles across
29 states.


Yes, 45 days is a long time to drive around the country. And at 42, driving around the country to watch baseball games is as close as I'll every come to the athletic accomplishment of completing Le Tour de France. Yeah, I've completed 4 marathons and a 150 mile bike ride in two days, but I have a feeling this is going to be more grueling. Maybe not the same wear and tear on the body, but grueling indeed. 
And 45 days is a long time to take off work. Well, thanks to Rackspace (my employer), now that I've completed 7 years of service (almost 8), I get a sabbatical. You know, take some time off, un-plug, recharge the batteries. This is my sabbatical. Drive across America to see the ballparks I haven't seen. And When I am done with my journey, I will have seen a game in every current (and a few that don't exist anymore) stadium.


Before I lay out the schedule for my sabbatical, I am going to list the places I've seen already so you know the parks I've already seen.  And so you understand how long I've been committed to this goal. 
Working my way to the start of Le Tour de Baseball, I will attempt to share my thoughts on these stadiums I've been too. 


COMPLETED:

Padres at Jack Murphy

Rangers at The Ballpark in Arlington

Astros at Astrodome

Cubs at Wrigley

White Sox at Comiskey

Giants at Candlestick

Devil Rays at Tropicana

Indians at the Jake

Rockies at Coors Field

Athletics at The Coliseum

Reds at Great American

Brewers at Miller Park

Yankees - Old

Mets - Shea

Nationals at Nationals Park

Phillies at Citizens Bank Park

Orioles at Camden Yards

Yankees - New

Mets - Citi

Red Sox at Fenway

Astros at Minute Maid

Dodgers at Dodger Stadium

Le Tour de Baseball 2012 Draft Schedule:

Stage	Depart		Arrive		Game Day	Team	Opponent
1	San Antonio	15-Jun	Phoenix	17-Jun	18-Jun	Diamondbacks	Mariners
2	Phoenix	19-Jun	San Diego	19-Jun	22-Jun	Padres	Mariners
3	San Diego	23-Jun	Los Angeles	23-Jun	24-Jun	Angles	Dodgers
4	Los Angeles	24-Jun	San Francisco	26-Jun	27-Jun	Giants	Dodgers
5	San Francisco	1-Jul	Seattle	3-Jul	4-Jul	Mariners	Orioles
6	Seattle	5-Jul	St Louis	7-Jul	8-Jul	Cardinals	Marlins
7	St Louis	9-Jul	Kansas City	9-Jul	10-Jul	All Star Game	AL v NL
8	Kansas City	9-Jul	Kansas City	9-Jul	13-Jul	Royals	White Sox
9	Kansas City	14-Jul	Minnesota	14-Jul	15-Jul	Twins	Athletics
10	Minnesota	16-Jul	Detroit	16-Jul	17-Jul	Tigers	Angels
11	Detroit	18-Jul	Toronto	18-Jul	24-Jul	Blue Jays	Athletics
12	Toronto	25-Jul	Pittsburgh	25-Jul	25-Jul	Pirates	Cubs
13	Pittsburgh	26-Jul	Atlanta	27-Jan	27-Jul	Braves	Phillies
14	Atlanta	28-Jul	Miami	29-Jul	29-Jul	Marlins	Padres
15	Miami	30-Jul	San Antonio	1-Aug