Confessions Of A Ball Park Chaser – 2015 Edition: Why I Will Attend 220+ MLB Games This Year Part 1

Confessions Of A Ball Park Chaser – 2015 Edition Part 2: Why I will See 220+ MLB Games in 2015

So I finally had my insurance settlement (that I was waiting almost 3 years)  paid out in the summer of 2013.. The 1st thing I did was take a lesser route for my courier job.  I had already bought this website in Nov of 2012.

From June 2013 – February of 2014, I barely made a profit at work, but still had physical lingering of not taking the 6 months off I needed.  The symptoms were a lot more apparent in the summer when it is hotter, and I was staring down a long 6 months of warmer weather.

2013 had been a gong show for me personally, and I only made it 2 games at MLB Parks (Safeco Field and Dodger Stadium).  I was at least happy that this website was flourishing with a growing network of readers, and we had 40 writers work the season with us.

Not adding enough money to my savings account, in order to take off 6 months straight was frustrating.  I needed to come up with something quick.  A new route popped up that was the highest paying profit in the company, and I pounced on the chance. In March of 2014 I embarked on my new quest that required more work than I ever had done in my life.

To give myself some fun for the baseball year in 2014,  I purchased a portion of Mariners Season Tickets to attend games.  The baseball was awesome, and I had fun, but 10 hour days of going to Seattle and back, then working straight through after arriving home, was a lot to do that much in one year.

When the hot month’s hit last season in July and August. , it was the 1st time I had taken on so much work ever at the job (Twice as much than any other year).  I had the 2008 and 2009 summer’s off, I had 2 jobs still in 2010, in 2011 I had a lower paying route, recovering from the accident, the months of June, July and August of 2012 are the only 3 months I failed to turn a profit in the last 90 – with less papers coming back after my 2012 baseball streak.

In 2013, I was paid out my insurance settlement just before the summer started, and I lessened the torque on my body for the next 8 months..

2014’s March to present day stretch has tested me beyond my limits, however I have come back fighting..I have planned going to MLB Parks all year since starting the new route.  It has given me the focus to put off the pain and hurt.  I am not going to lie to you here.  I have taken more painkillers than one you really should on a daily basis, but it is everything I can do to make it to April of this year.  I will be free of the pills for 7 months after.

My baseball park journey has come full circle a decade later.  When I come back from this trip my job status will be uncertain.  The falling Canadian Dollar is not helping my future ballpark planning excursions either.

I have fought off the rental car prices not raising their rates either for the last 8 years  In fact, I have paid less than the previous year for all 8 years I have rented cars.  I have driven over 300 different new cars since Oct.2007.  It has been an incredible experience, and I thank the lord I found this way of life after my 2007 baseball roadtrips.

Since I never traveled away from the PAC NW in 2014 (first time not seeing a road park since 2005), I have accrued plenty of travel perks.  I also had the foresight to buy US money at a rate better than now last summer.  This will help.  The situation with our currency is a bit of a hindrance.  Every cent the Canadian Dollar falls, it will cost me a few hundred more dollars on the season long trip, but it will not curtail my journey..

I am not complaining here.  I can roll with the punches.  The oil prices falling, with cheaper gas also has me driving a lot more of the trip than I had originally planned.

As of right now, I also have decided against going for any world records.  This in itself may be a pioneering trip, but the most important thing to prove is that I will be healthy at the end of it.  I want to show that I can recover health-wise.  I want to raise awareness about concussions.

Like I have said before, I plan on sending my schedule to the Sports Legacy Institute in Boston, MA. I will provide a link to donate money for this fine organization right here.

I am a walking test patient on how you can overcome some of the problems that plague people who have had multiple concussions.  This trip I plan on being as forthcoming and candid as I can.  I will share real emotions  I experience of heading to the ballpark, but also how I am coping with healing myself.

I look forward to meeting up with some of the best Ballpark Chasers and fans on the planet.  The biggest marketing play the MLB has for it, is the 30 cathedrals in which they play this great pastime.

It is my belief that the MLB should put together a new travel division of employment to their organization.  There is endless possibilities that could be opened up by educating people to how it is doesn’t cost and arm and a leg to hit all of the 30 MLB parks as a fan in one calendar year, or even for a lifetime.  There should be specially designed packages and benefits for those who would like to do this.  There is a ton of money being spent on sports and travel..the sport should maximize on their spending.

Baseball could become ahead of the other major sports if it learns how to harness its best weapon, which is the most hardcore fans of all ages, gender or nationality.  The game is for everyone, but a lot of it is best experienced when you can see the sport live in person at the parks.

Whether you want to see 1 new baseball park a year, 10 or all 30 MLB parks, or if it takes you a lifetime, the manicured grass, smell of hotdogs and roar of the crowd is always fun to talk about.

There are many blogs to come on this trip as it comes closer.  I will be seeking sponsorship, putting out a press release, and continue to use the MLB Reports social network to put the word out.  Although this is an option I will do, I am fully prepared to take on this voyage all on my own dime.

I feel this is the most important thing to do in my life right now.  To most it may sound a bit odd, but I have no doubt the events that have happened to me for the last 10 years have me exactly here doing what I am doing.

Going to at least a game a day in the Major Leagues will be a nice way to wrap up my ‘extreme park chasing’ career.  It has been my dream since 2011, when I didn’t win the MLB Fancave contest.

So who is Chuck Booth?  What does he stand for? Why I am going to this many games at all 30 MLB Parks? What do I hope to accomplish?

I am a man who shows up for life everyday.  It took me a long time to get back to my goals, and I want to savor it.  All of the sacrifices, dark and grey days, where I was just trying to make it through the 24 hours without falling apart mentally, will have been worth it.  Even if I have a relapse, and have worse symptoms than I do now, I will at least have tried everything in my realm to become healthy.

My family and friends would tell you – that even though I am not as capable of having a normal life as I was 20 – 25 years ago, that I have made myself a better human being by persevering with whatever I have learned.  That I have taken whatever skill and knowledge to the fullest extent.

I am not a rich man in money.  I am just a humble middle age courier from Ladner, B.C. Canada, with a lot of fire in his belly for the game of baseball, who found an outlet to share his passion for the game in a different way -once I couldn’t play the game anymore.  I have been fortunate to have figured out a way to cobble enough savings to do this odyssey.

I want to inspire others to chase their dreams, just like I have taken the wisdom from so many others have run down their own goals in the past and inspired me.  To test my resolve with physical and mental limits via an avenue that is the biggest reason for who I am today.

The last time I broke my own record (2012) was a pivotal time in my life to prove I could do anything at all all following the car accident.  It resurrected my mind to believe in myself again.  Simply for the human mind can overcome any obstacle enough if the fight is there.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of ex-athletes suffering from physical and mental illness as a result of cumulative head trauma.  It is no different that a lot of other walks of life, but for some reason – not enough attention is placed on people who struggle from these said problems.

Going from a having a totally fine day, to being dizzy and living in a fog within seconds is a harrowing experience.  I am not ranking this against any of the other illnesses in the world, or anything else for that matter, I can only speak from myself in my own personal life occurrences.  In doing so, maybe it will help you understand a person who has similar issues they are dealing with in their life as someone you know.

Many people who have gone through multiple concussions are quite often labelled as being indifferent or angry at the world.  That is not always the case.  For the majority of the time, many of us can be happy as everyone else for stretches in time.  It is when the symptoms start happening, that it takes a great amount of resolve and effort just to thwart off what is plaguing us.

Take the head pain away, and I am as healthy as anyone I know.  I hardly ever get sick, and let alone never really have a sniffle or cold.  I don’t call in to miss a day of work ever for this reason.  Again, there is a ton to be thankful for.

One of the 1st things to go from my home invasion injury over 20 years ago – was a near photographic memory.  I still have great recall for numbers, and the majority of my thinking motor skills function the same way as I always have, except for some rare cases of bad headaches.

My emotional short-term memory is almost non-existent.  It really helps to move forward when you don’t dwell on things that bothered you in recent times.  Yes, not being able to remember the good feelings in the short-term is a drawback there, but that facet is way easier to overcome than the bad.  I hold this ability to move on as a blessing that took out a curse that formed during my childhood.  I at least can start each and every day at peace with myself even before it starts.

When I had a near photographic memory, my brain was overworking all of the time, and I was so emotional about everything good or bad.  There was no leveling out there.

The hard part is when the concussion symptoms override your normal brain – functions and make menial tasks extremely tough to do.  Like having a hard time speaking or writing consecutive sentences.  This is where aggravation really kicks in.  Sure people surrounding you want you to let them know when this is happening, but living in the moment of it makes it difficult to comprehend for anyone else.

Whenever I have been on the mend, it is the mind working creatively and constructively that has seemed to piece it back together.  At my worst time in 2011, I forged ahead with my writing struggles, even though it was clear as day something was wrong. I kept it up until some of my skills returned.

I can honestly say that the last few years have been tough at times for me to convey the message I am not mad, or feel badly towards anyone, and that I am just trying to make it through.  I just need time in solitary to refocus my brain.

Eventually my mind works out of its rut, and I can write to the level based on my 9th grade education. No seriously, I never really attended school after Grade 9, so it is not far off the mark.  I did graduate from high school, but is was without great marks

For those who are English professors or teachers would probably have an easy time believing that last statement.  Here is the thing…. I don’t care if you think my writing grammar and structure sucks.  I write for me because it is very therapeutic and uplifting.  The only one you have to prove anything to in this world is yourself.  The great thing about writing about baseball is that less people care at that kind of thing.

If you like to write than by god do it.. If you love to watch baseball games and make crazy travel plans. than do it.  If it has provided the only time where you have felt you belonged during this recovery period, than I want as much of it as I can potentially stand.

Between this kind of lifestyle and crunching numbers for my handicapping, my mind has enough connectivity to keep sharp.

These are just a few things to look out for.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, but we will get to more later.

I am truly blessed to have this opportunity in 2015.  I turn to baseball to heal me physically, mentally and spiritually yet one more time.  Going to the ballparks seems to have been my cure for the last few years, so I will go there as much as I can in 2015. Whatever happens at the end of it, this will sure to be one hell of a ride.

This is why I will see 220+ games this year.

Confessions Of A Ball Park Chaser – 2015 Edition: Why I Will Attend 220+ MLB Games This Year Part 1

Confessions Of A Ball Park Chaser – 2015 Edition Part 2: Why I will See 220+ MLB Games in 2015

Chuck Booth at Dodger Stadium Opener April.10/2012