This morning I departed on my annual Ballpark Tours\u2019 (BPT) baseball trek, my 27^{th<\/sup> such journey.\u00a0 Ballpark tours has taken me to major and minor league ball parks from Colorado to New York and pretty much all parts in between.\u00a0 (Thank you, \u201ctour master\u201d Julian Loscalzo.) On this year\u2019s trek, I\u2019m joining 35 other baseball fans and fanatics for a week-long bus tour that is taking us to a minor league game in Schaumburg, IL (just outside of Chicago), as well as major league contests in Chicago (Cubs hosting Giants), Cleveland (Indians hosting our Twins), Detroit (Tigers hosting Red Sox), back to Chicago (White Sox entertaining the Angels) and then back to our home base of Saint Paul, MN (with a stop at a craft brewery in Wisconsin on the way home).<\/p>\n}

Before I begin my series of \u201creports from the road,\u201d let me put in an unabashed plug.\u00a0 For BBRT, there is no better baseball touring group than Ballpark Tours \u2013 just the right amount of chaos and discipline; comfortable transportation; great hotels; time in most cities to take in local culture, arts, food and nightlife (I\u2019m planning on the Chicago\u2019s Museum of Science and Industry and Cleveland\u2019s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this trip); and, most important, the comradery \u2013 every year, without fail \u2013 of a great group of fun-loving baseball fans\/friends.\u00a0 How do others feel about Ballpark Tours?\u00a0 On this trip, 35 of our 36 trekkers are repeat participants. How do I feel about BPT?\u00a0 Hey, every morning for the next week I can get up knowing the most important item on my agenda is going to a ball game.\u00a0 How can you beat that? For more on Ballpark Tours (and the upcoming Cuban trip), click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/em> <\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I probably won\u2019t post every day (we do have a busy schedule), but here\u2019s first report from the tour.<\/p>\n

DAY ONE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>We met our bus in Saint Paul\u2019s Midway area at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 5, and the parking lot was filled not just with our luggage, but also with hugs and handshakes, as old baseball- and tour-based friendships were renewed. \u00a0\u00a0We loaded up quickly, with the rowdier trekkers heading for their seats at the back of the bus, and the less animated at the front (there is always a friendly competition between \u201cthe front of the bus\u201d and the \u201cback of the bus\u201d).\u00a0 The departure was toasted with coffee, juice, energy drinks (we\u2019ll need them in the days ahead) \u2013 as well as an assortment of adult beverages.<\/p>\n

The theme for this trip is Rock N\u2019Roll Adventure (commemorative and complimentary T-shirts were handed out before we boarded the bus) and our theme would prove prophetic sooner than even I expected (but I don\u2019t want to get ahead of myself).<\/p>\n

As is Ballpark Tours\u2019 tradition, early in the day, the K-Kwiz \u2013 a baseball trivia contest \u2013 was distributed and each trekker took the microphone and introduced themselves \u2013 usually with a baseball-related story. (Oh, and I shouldn\u2019t forget, participants also described the books they each brought for the on-board baseball book exchange).<\/em> It was during this phase that I began feeling like the Minnie Minoso of BPT \u2013 having been on BPT trips in four consecutive decades, beginning in the 1980s. \u00a0I should note here that Day One would feature other handouts \u2013 including a schedule of our games, hotels and arrival\/departure times; a Ports-O-Call<\/em> guide to restaurants, \u201cwatering holes,\u201d museums, music, public transit, etc. in the cities we will visit; and entry forms for a contest based on predicting the total runs scored in MLB over the weekend. We will leave a paper trail.<\/p>\n

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You never know who’ll show up on a Ballpark Tours trip.<\/p><\/div>\n

Around lunch time, we also had a visit from the \u201cAssistant Pope\u201d (aka Tom Smith) \u2013 who regaled the group with a laugh-provoking monologue worthy of a comedy club and then distributed assorted crackers, deli meats, cheeses and \u201csacred\u201d eel pout (actually pickled herring) throughout the bus. \u00a0We lunched, pack your own, at a rest stop along the highway \u2013 with trekkers unveiling everything from deli sandwiches and beer to an elaborate picnic table buffet of baguettes, lox, assorted cheeses, stuffed olives and Napa Valley wine.<\/p>\n

Then, it was back on the bus, when the Rock N\u2019Roll Adventure began to rock.\u00a0 Thanks to modern technology, the back of the bus began a long-lasting sing-along to 70\u2019s rock \u2013 which included plenty of air guitar and dancing in the aisle of the bus. The moves being thrown down were a bit subdued given the limited space, but the singing was spirited (especially on Rolling Stones and Beatles numbers).<\/p>\n

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Great seats!<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, this is a baseball trip, and \u2013 we arrived in Schaumburg \u2013 for the Schaumburg Boomers\/Southern Illinois Miners games.\u00a0 The Boomers play in the independent Frontier League, so the names won\u2019t be recognizable, but here are a few observations:<\/p>\n

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• A nice park \u2013 I always like the old-style Red Brick \u2013 but it was empty (the over and under on fans was about 300 in a stadium that holds 7,365). It was almost like the tour group had a private showing.<\/li>\n
• The lighting, as in a number of minor league parks, was terrible (although only one fly ball \u2013 a foul pop-up was \u201clost\u201d in the dark).<\/li>\n
• We had great seats, at the edge of the first base dugout \u2013 row six. (However, you could sit pretty much anywhere you wanted.)<\/li>\n
• The ball park was not kind to dead pull hitters \u2013 355-feet down the left field line and 353-feet to the right field corner. One team representative informed me that the dimensions matched Wrigley Field because the mayor of Schaumburg \u201chas a thing for the Cubs.\u201d \u00a0Further digging showed deeper Cubs\u2019 ties.\u00a0 The stadium, which opened in 1999, is built on land purchased in the 1980s \u2013 reportedly as a potential site of a new home for the Cubs (the New Wrigley Field) if the team and the city of Chicago could not come to an agreement on night baseball.<\/em><\/li>\n
• Several small planes from the nearby Schaumberg Airport flew over the stadium during the game, seeming to clear the third-base-side light towers by about fifty-feet.<\/li>\n
• The team\u2019s signature sandwich, the Schaumburger<\/em><\/strong> (a hamburger, topped with pulled pork and cole slaw for eight dollars) was both juicy and tasty. BBRT would recommend it.<\/li>\n
• There will be no Bloody Mary review for Schaumburg Boomers Stadium \u2013 the only adult beverage was beer.<\/li>\n
• There was general agreement among those of us keeping score sheets that the official scorekeeper had lost his or her red “error” pen – two or three errors were scored as base hits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  As for the game itself, Southern Illinois topped Schaumburg 4-1 in a fairly \u201cquiet\u201d contest – that’s what happens when you have 300 fans in the stands. \u00a0But there were a few highlights, at least from the BBRT point of view. Southern Illinois\u2019 leadoff hitter CF Aaron Gates showed great speed, going three-for-four with a pair of well-placed bunt singles down the third base line. Schaumburg\u2019s leadoff hitter 2B Mike Schulze also got on base three times \u2013 via three walks.\u00a0 The stadium organ player was right on top of things, playing Fitz and the Tantrum\u2019s song \u201cThe Walker\u201d<\/em> after Schulze\u2019s last plate appearance. Schaumburg did turn a nifty third-second-first double play (TJ Bennett to Mike Schulze to Willi Martin) in the middle of Southern Illinois\u2019 three-run third inning. (BBRT loves a good double play.) Southern Illinois\u2019 starting pitcher Adam Lopez (who came into the game with a 1.88 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 76 1\/3 innings) showed good stuff \u2013 giving up one run in six innings, with three hits, two walks and six strikeouts.<\/p>\n

  <\/a>Post-game, we checked in to the Hotel Indigo, in Chicago\u2019s Gold Coast neighborhood.\u00a0 Another quality Ballpark Tours lodging choice. All in all, a great first day.<\/p>\n

   <\/p>\n

  More on the tour in the days to come, including BBRT\u2019s take on the changes to Wrigley Field \u2013 video screens, expanded bleachers, concourse\/concession upgrades, etc.<\/p>\n

  I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT \u00a0 \u00a0(Note: Follow me on twitter for notification of new blog posts.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This morning I departed on my annual Ballpark Tours\u2019 (BPT) baseball trek, my 27th such journey.\u00a0 Ballpark tours has taken me to major and minor league ball parks from Colorado to New York and pretty much all parts in between.\u00a0 (Thank you, \u201ctour master\u201d Julian Loscalzo.) On this year\u2019s trek, I\u2019m joining 35 other baseball […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n