2015 MLB Trip Sponsors: Man Fish Brewery, Megabus.com, MLB Reports, National Car Rental, MLB Ball Park Pass-Port.

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Chuck Booth’s 2015 MLB Park Historical Road Trip

The GOAL: 183 Straight Days (every single day at least 1 gm) Of ALL 30 MLB Parks Trip In 2015 (221 Games) view full year schedule.

The CAUSE:  To Raise Money for Concussion Awareness (via Sports Legacy Institute. donate money here) Through Inspiring Others.

It was a week in which I had many scares for weather causing me to miss a game I had on the schedule.

Lets go to the Thursday Sept 10th in Philly, that did become a postponed affair. Luckily for yours truly – they rescheduled the game for the next night at Citizens Bank Park.  It did cause me to take a game off the list in Baltimore at Camden, but was a no-brainer considering CBP is the closest park to home base in Sicklerville, N.J.

I then drove to Baltimore on Saturday. This was met with a 3 hour and 2 minute rain delay, even though it never started really raining until 90 minutes into this stoppage.  It is one of my pet peeves about the MLB right now.  Preemptive delays are bogus…and happening at an alarming rate.  I can even understand if the month weren’t September.  But really, with 40 man rosters, and ample pitchers, you delay the start of the game because you think it is going to start pouring.  Play the damn game until the rain persists fellas.

My cohorts Roger (Left) and Dan Ratzenberger (Right) waited patiently along with me at Camden Yards, as we endured a 3 hour and 2 minute rain delay, followed by an official game there, before a 100 mile journey to Citizens Bank Ball Park. When we arrived there, we were aided by the tarp being on the field there. That contest never started until 7:50 – and we saw every pitch. You bet we were happy. To have both of those games be official when it could have been a sweet fat zero instead..

Anyways, this put my streak of making every game on my schedule in great jeopardy.  I needed to have the Royals and Orioles game go official, then trek up 100 miles to CBP.

I was fortunate the game became official at Camden Yards at 5:35 PM.  I made it into the parking lot at Citizens Bank Ball Park at 7:30 PM, and arrived to what was another delay.  That tilt began at 7:50 PM, and I watched every solitary pitch!

I was extremely fortunate in this whole ordeal because my game listed on my itinerary or the first 5 months was for me to attend Yankee Stadium on Thursday Sept.10.  Now, those guys made up the game as part of a day-night single admission doubleheader in the Bronx.  This would have caused me to stray fro my given schedule to keep my games up.  I would have still gone to the Philadelphia doubleheader on Friday regardless, however I would have kept my Camden Yards/CBP Saturday schedule – and missed out on the Yankees game on Thursday Sept.10 – that was rescheduled for Sept.12/2015.

Here is my night on Thursday, Sept.10 in real time PM hours.

5:45:  I arrived at the Park after traveling via Megabus from Washington and taking the Subway trains.

7:05:  The game starts in a rain delay…

7;07:  I check in with the Ballpark APP.  I win 2 tickets for a future game.

7:10:  I pick up my free ticket vouchers and cash them in or Fridays game at CBP. I post them on Stubhub.

7:12: Tickets I posted were sold within 2 minutes.  $31 in my pocket..

7:15:  I realized I cancelled my Megabus to Baltimore (I initially was going to drive to Baltimore on Friday Sept.11, but thought I had a $1 bus trip bought.  I was wrong)  That’s okay..I applied a $23 credit I had from other trips cancelled – and had my transportation to Maryland taken care of the next day.

9:15:  The Phillies cancelled the game – and announced the makeup on Friday, Sept.11, 2015 (the next day).  I fist-pumped and then realized I had work to do… and almost regretted selling those Friday tickets so quick, but it would work out fine for me.  I had to try to spend my Megabus $23 bus ride (as I would not be traveling to Maryland on Friday now.)  Megabus has a policy that you can’t transfer bus trips within 24 hours, but potentially there is a flaw in the system if you book the trip within 24 hours of the initial booking.  I thought it was worth a try.  I orchestrated a bus ride from Chicago to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday, Sept.20, 2015.  I had to buy transportation towards Detroit via bus or air anyway.  The bid was accepted, and I had to fork just $13 – instead of $35. I was happy to not have eaten $23.  Again, there would have been nothing I could have done, as I did not think the Phillies would have Friday as a designated day for the makeup match.  I was even told Saturday would be the day by an usher.  I am glad she was wrong.

9:25:  I realized the Stubhub tickets I had purchased for the Sept.10, 2015 game enabled me a $29.91 refund.  I sold the 2nd ticket for a small loss, but that was all erased – and I was fully reimbursed.  The next night I would gain admission for the single ticket working for the doubleheader – from a guy on the street for just $10.  I also acquired a Cabrini Hat as a giveaway in the process.

9:30:  From my phone – I placed my Sept.11 ticket to Camden Yards for sale.  It would later sell for the same price I paid for it.  A hoodie O’s Sweater was all the crave for that one.

9:35:  I took transport home up $60 in the day, and would not lose my game at all for the end total.

12:00 AM FRI – I was able to sleep in with having a game at home base the following day.

Between this say and Saturday’s incredible “Hoodini Act” of making the doubleheader, I have still made every game I have had on the schedule for every given day. Sure I have severely tweaked it.  But with only 2 cancellations that were made up, I have made every contest I had scheduled for.  The only half exception is the cancellation of my April 29th doubleheader at Camden Yards.   This doesn’t count though – as nobody in the public was permitted to view it.

After a long weekend of more maneuvering.. I have added another 2 games to my list.  Sept.27 will now have a Great American Ballpark and Wrigley Field doubleheader, while Thu Oct.1, 2015 will now feature my original doubleheader schedule of Great American Ballpark and US Cellular Field being played on the same day.  I moved my only game at Turner Field to Friday Oct.2.

It looks like I may end my whole trip in either Chicago or Minnesota.  But then again, I am sitting on flight credits, different booked tickets.  I am also holding out hope for a game 163 featuring the Yankees, Cubs, Twins or even the Indians needing to make up the game they lost with Detroit over the weekend, by playing a day after the regular season was supposed to end.  I may be able to raise my final total to 224 games.

I thought long and hard about doing a Rogers Centre and Comerica doubleheader on Sat Sept.26… But it looks to costly, and even though I have a NEXUS ‘(trusted traveler) pass at the border, there is too much that could go wrong, so I nixed it in the end.  The other games I added were more cost effective and I have someone to help share the cost of the days.

If I can go the next 3 weeks making every single game, it looks like 223 games would be the final total.

Trip Stats as of Sept.13, 2015:

Projected budget – $22500, I am plus $400 as of right now where I thought I would be financially, and up four projected games.)

Hot Dogs eaten – 106.

Pretzels inhaled – 100.

Beers Consumed – 97.

Energy Drinks – 171 (including coffee).

Miles traveled thus far by all modes (75500 Miles). 

Interviews TV, Radio, Internet, Podcast, Newsprint – 86 total interviews (82 since June.01.)

Home team record is now astoundingly good at 110 – 84 (.571 win %).  Not bad when you consider that CBP in Philadelphia has the most games watched so far.

Games Per Park Breakdown – 193

CBP – 31 (Philadelphia) – Finished on the year.

Nats Park – 26 (Washington) – 3 games left here

Camden Yards – 21 (Baltimore) – 4 games left here

Yankee Stadium – 20 (The Bronx) – 1 game left here – Sept.24, 2015

Wrigley Field – 12 (Chicago) – 4 games left here

Safeco Field – 14 (Seattle) – Finished on the year

Miller Park – 5 (Milwaukee, WI) – 4 games left here

US Cellular Field – 5 (Chicago, IL) – 4 games left here

Fenway Park – 6 (Boston, MA) – Finished on the year

Citi Field – 6 (Flushing Meadows, NY) – 1 game left here – Sept.14, 2015

Chase Field – 6 (Phoenix, AZ) – Finished on the year.

Comerica Park – 1 (Detroit, MI) – 4 games left on the year.

PNC Park – 4 (Pittsburgh, PA) – 2 games left on the year.

AT @ T Park – 5 (San Francisco, CA) – Finished for the year.

Busch Stadium – 4 (St. Louis, MO) – Finished for the year.

Great American Ball Park – 2 (Cincinnati, OH) – 2 more games scheduled here.

Angel Stadium – 3 (Anaheim, CA) – Finished on the year.

Minute Maid Park – 3 (Houston, TX) – Finished on the year.

Globe Life Park – 3 (Arlington, TX) – Finished on the year.

Coors Field – 3 (Denver, CO) – Finished on the year.

O.co Coliseum – 2 (Oakland, CA) – Finished on the year.

Kauffman Stadium – 2 (Kansas City, MO) – Finished on the year.

Progressive Field – 2 (Cleveland, OH) – Finished on the year.

Marlins Park – 2 (Miami, FL) – Finished on the year.

Tropicana Field- 1 (Tampa Bay, FL) – 1 game left on Sept.16, 2015

Petco Park – 1 (San Diego, CA) – Finished on the year.

Target Field – 1 (Minneapolis, MN) – Finished on the year, but may have a game here still.

Rogers Center – 1, (Toronto, Ont, Canada) – Finished on the year.

Dodger Stadium – 1 (Aug.30, Jake Arrieta no hitter) Los Angeles, CA.  Finished on the year…

30th park still yet to see – Turner Field (Oct.2) Atlanta, GA

Makes 193 Games in 162 Days through Sept 13, 2015 – featuring 37 Doubleheaders, 1 missed and 1 madeup doubleheader, and two outright misses (Apr.07, that was cancelled and rescheduled for July.07, 2015, in which I attended anyways, and a game that was scheduled for Sept.10 (CBP in Philly, was madeup as part of a doubleheader the next day, in which I also attended.). There was also a four day break for the ALL – Star Break).  I have 30 Games Left in 21 Days..

2015 Trip schedule.4

June Interview on Fox 10.

Interview on CSN Philly during the month of July.