You probably have seen the term “stadium chaser” recently, a fan whose goal is to visit all 30 MLB ballparks. I admit that I have chased some ballparks over the years, but I like to include minor league ballparks on my list as well. In fact, years ago I planned three separate, Midwest baseball trips for each of my three daughters when they became ten years old. Oh, the memories we made, much of it placed in a journal for each of them as a keepsake. Most recently, my ten-year-old grandson and I embarked on a trip of our own. Follow us as we build memories together.

The first stop was in Cincinnati, my hometown. Our afternoon tour of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum next to Great American Ballpark was memorable. The Reds are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1976 World Champions. As you enter the front corridor of the museum, you see many displays about the ’76 team as well as its predecessor world champs, the ’75 squad. Featured are stories about the “Great Eight”, the Reds lineup that dominated baseball during this era. Ascending the staircase to the third level, the arrangement of 4,256 baseballs on the walls is striking. That is the total number, of course, of all-time hits by Pete Rose, a record that is doubtful to be broken. On the third floor you can interact with many of the displays – calling a game from the broadcast booth, building your own electronic baseball card, and listening to advice of former players. Jim Maloney, who was my pitching hero as a little boy, made it very simple in his taped recording – always hold the ball the same way and throw it in the zone.

It was soon time to “play ball”, as the Reds took on the Brewers in a night game at GABP. Our seats were six rows behind the Cincinnati dugout, a fabulous view. My grandson loves to get autographs so he snagged the signature of Reds second baseman Matt McLain about fifteen minutes before first pitch. The proximity of our seats to home plate allowed us to see how important William Contreras, Milwaukee’s All-Star catcher, is to the first place Brewers. He is one of the most baseball savvy players in the game. The Brewers took an early 3-0 lead and seemed to put the game away in the seventh inning when Andrew Vaughn hit a bases clearing three-run pinch hit triple. Down 6-1, the Reds began to chip away and trailed just 6-5 going into the bottom of the ninth. With bases loaded and one out, the Reds hit into a double play to end it. It was the story of the game. The Reds had left 18 runners on base. The result didn’t matter though. We loved every minute of the experience.

The next day we rode to Louisville and toured the Louisville Slugger Museum in the afternoon. It was the highlight stop of the trip. Our guide took us and just four others on a “sweet spot tour” through the baseball factory to see firsthand how bats are made. We learned so much. Louisville Slugger bats were the first to be used by MLB players over a hundred years ago. Although Louisville Sluggers have been made at other spots in the country, nowadays every single one of them is made at the Louisville factory. And get this, it takes only 28 seconds now to make one. Players contract with Louisville Slugger on an exclusive basis or sometimes have other manufacturers make their models as well. The “Bat Vault” holds the 3,000 original, player-model bats. Since Babe Ruth was the 43rd player in MLB with a last name beginning with R who had a Louisville Slugger bat, his model is “R43”. I could go on and on about this topic, but perhaps will save it for a future blog. It’s a can’t miss tour for baseball fans.

That evening we took a short walk from our hotel to see a Triple-A game between the Louisville Bats (Reds affiliate) and St. Paul Saints (Twins affiliate) at Louisville Slugger Field. Our tour guide at the museum told us to look for Bats employees with red shirts upon entry into the gate so that my grandson could nab a kids on-field activity at the game. We found one, and she selected him as the first ball delivery guy to the mound prior to first pitch. He was thrilled, but unfortunately the first pitch never happened since the game was called after a two-hour rain delay. We had a blast in any event. My grandson once again did some autograph seeking and secured one for the Saints starting pitcher, Grant Hartwig. The staff entertained the crowd during the rain delay with on top of the dugout dancing and giveaways galore. We received a Bats baseball and jersey launched into the crowd. No game, but a visit to Ehrler’s Ice Cream Parlor (established in 1867) on the way back to the hotel made the evening a success.

Next stop, St. Louis! We arrived early afternoon for a tour of Busch Stadium. Our tour guide took us and about 20 others onto the field for a photo, a visit to the Cardinals dugout, a stop at the Mike Shannon broadcasting booth, and a walk through the Cardinals suites that contain several of the St. Louis world championship trophies. We took a photo in front of the 1982 trophy since I actually attended the series winning Game 7 game 44 years ago. We also visited the Cardinals Hall of Fame museum and listened in on a presentation given by Jeff Suppan, former Cardinals pitcher who was the guest speaker. Suppan was incredibly gracious, signing an autograph for my grandson and discussing pitching with him. His theme was throw strikes, sound familiar?

We waited anxiously for night to fall, as rain storms again threated the start of a Cardinals game vs. the Miami Marlins. Miraculously, the system moved on and first pitch was right on time. Our seats were in the 15th row behind home. Miami was on a hot streak (they led MLB in winning percentage in June) and started one of their aces, Max Meyer. He threw seven shutout innings. We also got to see Otto Lopez for Miami, who leads MLB with a .332 batting average. The Cardinals countered with one of their own top starters, Michael McGreevy, and their star rookie second baseman, JJ Wetherholt. The game was very well played, a pitcher’s duel, going into the eighth inning with no score. Suddenly, we witnessed the grounds crew sprinting onto the field to put the tarpolin on as a downpour came. After a less than 30-minute delay, the teams were back on the field. The storm seemed to turn the tide of the game, as Miami struck for four late inning runs. Another wonderful night at the ballpark.

The next day we took the last leg of our 1,000 mile road trip back to Chicago (with side trips to St. Louis’ famous Arch and the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL, my personal favorite). We talked about all of the fun we had in the past four days, and I asked my grandson the proverbial question, “what was your favorite part of the trip?” My heart was warmed when he simply responded “being with you”. If you’ve never done a baseball trip with one of your loved ones, think about doing one. There’s nothing better – baseball, bonding, and simply being together. I’ve been blessed to have had that feeling many times over.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach