30 Ballparks...for a friend

A few weeks back, I told you about how I was able to finish my goal of seeing a Major League Baseball game in each of the 30 Ballparks. And what a joyous ride it was.

On Sunday, Paul and I met up with a friend, Dave, who is completing the final leg of his own quest.

The three of us met for the Braves' game on Sunday at Truist Park. For Dave, that was ballpark #28. Sadly, the home team did NOT come away victorious. The Brewers bashed the Braves 9-4.

Still, we had a wonderful time. We showed him around The Battery and Truist Park, snapped a number of photos and told him a bit about how Braves fans enjoy the game in Braves County.  

And now, we are happy to cheer him on as he achieves this milestone. Let's call it celebrating: "30 Ballparks...for a friend."

As Dave left Atlanta and drove to Florida to meet up with other friends to see games in his final two parks, I headed home and thought of the last leg of my own journey a year ago.

PNC Park in Pittsburgh was my 30th ballpark, of course. I achieved that milestone last September, when the Pirates hosted the Athletics. And I set the stage for Pittsburgh by attending games in the three Southern California ballparks last summer - Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego (in that order).

For my friend, it was Atlanta, then Tampa (yesterday, where the visiting Royals defeated the Rays 12-5) and on to a final celebration in Miami today. Just as the Pirates rolled out the red (ahem...black and yellow) carpet for me and Lisa last fall, I hope the Marlins take good care of Dave at today's ballgame. 

I predict they will.

And a bonus for him, as a Texas Rangers' fan, he will watch them play the Marlins in Miami at Loan Depot Park for his 30th.

As we chatted Sunday, I asked Dave what his first park was and, not surprisingly, he said Texas.

Truthfully, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was my first ballpark (1971). I didn't have it on my list of 30, though. I counted Truist Park as my Braves' stop instead of Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. And I have seen more games at Turner Field than any. It is also not on my official list of 30.

Perhaps I should consider a countdown of "retired" ballparks that I've experienced and make a separate list for it. Blog planning in real time. Look for that in a future edition of #CoachJeff!

I didn't ask Dave for his other early ballparks; I should have. He did tell us a story about going to a game in Seattle when he was in grad school. He organized a group outing among his grad school colleagues. 

I also know he did a lot of his ballparks in bunches. He talked about the "Mississippi River" segment, among others. It was a KC/STL/Minneapolis trio with College World Series in Omaha as a bonus stop. Seems like there was also a Chicago-Milwaukee combo somewhere in there, too.

For sure, I know his last three: Atlanta, Tampa, Miami. Here's a big tip of the cap to Dave as he crosses the finish line today.

JG