Saturday July 21st, 2012

Matt Lupica (Guest MLB Blogger): 

Hello baseball fans!

If there’s one thing that can be said about baseball, it’s that it really separates itself from the other major sports because it features venues that differ greatly from one another. If you are like me, then you appreciate every little caveat, feature, gimmick and statistic about each individual Major League ballpark. That said, attention to every detail is something I pride myself on and with baseball as my true passion, it was a no-brainer when it came to authoring what I feel is the most in-depth book regarding all thirty current stadiums. I introduce you to The Baseball Stadium Insider.

 

My love for baseball began in fifth grade when my class was assigned a project on a historical figure. Looking down the list of names, I noticed one that stood out more than any others: Roberto Clemente. The rest was history. My love for baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates and everything about the game was officially born.

 

The idea for the book originated when my ninth grade English class viewed the legendary movie Field of Dreams. As I watched, it inspired me to want to do something special and unique and the original idea was to, upon graduating high school, visit all the ballparks and write a book about the experience. While that didn’t come to fruition, I still thought that if I could channel my energy towards authoring a read that baseball — and ballpark fans — could easily pick up and learn everything they ever wanted to know about the stadiums, then not all would be lost.

 

Over the course of the next thirteen years, I researched, prodded, called teams and checked just about every fact I could find regarding them. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned and as a result, the 450-page guide turned into a project that had to be finished. I broke the book down into five sections: An introduction of each ballpark and how it came to be built, a comprehensive dissection of every aspect inside the park, a detailed look at the retired numbers and why the men honored had that special distinction, a recount of the greatest games and lastly, information including stadium firsts. Although it took years of diligent research, it was well worth it. 

 

From the largest privately-funded waterfalls in the world at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, to the first-ever bonfire pit at Target Field in Minnesota, that’s just a small sample of what The Baseball Stadium Insider is all about.

 

It should be noted that ballpark books have indeed been written before The Baseball Stadium Insider’s inception, but they have been tailored towards being more of a city guide than anything. This book differentiates itself by focusing solely on the current ballparks and everything inside them. That simply means that it does not include information on restaurants and hotels nearby that could be outdated in no time. 

 

I encourage you to view the link below, which is a review of the book conducted by Los Angeles Daily News writer Tom Hoffarth. And feel free to drop me a line regarding it and your thoughts and comments. I can be reached at thebaseballstadiuminsider@yahoo.com. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy taking yourself out to the ballpark this summer!

Matt Lupica

Review by Los Angeles Daily News:

http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2012/04/the-book-xxxxx-1.html

Information on ordering The Baseball Stadium Insider:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-baseball-stadium-insider-matt-lupica/1111377890?ean=9781462083688&itm=1&usri=the+baseball+stadium+insider

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