The next stop on our tour was Pittsburgh, PA to see the Pirates take on the Cincinnati Reds. We were all very impressed with PNC Park it was even nicer than we had heard. I loved Camden Yards and many parks have been based off of its design including PNC Park. It is very pleasing to the eye, well kept, and fun for all ages.
My only complaint would be when you are in the outfield area it can get a little confusing to where you are supposed to go, but I found my way back to home plate. This was also such a great experience because we were in the fourth row from the visiting team, Cincinnati Reds, dugout. This gave us a great view of the players as the came in and out of the dugout and an amazing view of the entire field. However, being this close to the field along the baseline can be dangerous so we had to be aware at all times. Unfortunately, just like all the games before the home team lost again. I don't know if our group being there put a jinx on all the home teams, but the home team lost again. The Cincinnati Reds took the Pirates for a win 3-1. We were able to see Chris Dickerson, the rookie of the team, first career RBI in the sixth inning. To read more about the games or to see official stats please click here.
think there was an unsold sweatshirt or long-sleeved shirt left in any vending booth in the ballpark. I know that our family came home from this baseball vacation all decked out in Cubs gear!
Milwaukee and back on the same day. It works out great because we don't have to move hotels and deal with getting situated a second time. Plus, it's only a 90 mile bus trip so it's an easy drive. 
would have the roof closed if it was bad outside. But shortly after batting practice, the skies cleared up and the sun came out so they opened the roof. Here's a photo of the roof opening. I didn't time it from start to finish, mainly because I had my face buried in a bratwurst covered with sauerkraut and the secret sauce that they serve at Miller Park, but I'm guessing that it took about 10 minutes to open it up. 
We had a wonderful tour guide who was full of information about the team's history and the field itself. I was unaware that Progressive Field had a memorial area, Heritage Park, similar to the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. This area commemorates some of Cleveland's finest playeres throughout the years ranging from Shoeless Joe Jackson to Cy Young. It was great to experience Heritage Park since I am not very knowledgeable of Cleveland's past. Big League Tours guests were able to experience a suite, batting cages where guests saw Ben Francisco practicing, and dugout seats to just name a few of the big stops. Unfortunately, Cleveland's winning streak ended to Baltimore on Wednesday August 13th. The Indian's put up a good fight but in the end could not hold the Orioles who won 6-1. To see official MLB stats click 
We get to incorporate White Sox, Brewers and Cubs games all while staying in the heart of the Windy City. 
So, we chose for our Big Apple 2 trip a weekend that had something exciting going on at the stadium "Old Timers Day". Since this is the last year at Yankee Stadium it was a touching day for not only Yankee fans but all baseball fans alike. The Yankees invited back some of their former players to the stadium to thank them and congratulate them on all their success as Yankees and in their life. They had players from all different era's come back to the stadium including Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Dave Winfield, and Rickey Henderson to only name a few. It was exciting and touching to see all these greats in one place to celebrate them and the ending of an era at Yankee Stadium. After announcing all the attendees the Yanks that were able to play participated in a few innings against each other. Allowing Big League Tour guests to see some of the best players from Yankee Stadium play. Although, some of them were a little rusty it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we were all glad to be there.
This was our last group tour to New York for the season and it was a bittersweet one at that for all the Yankees Fans. For our first game we went to Yankee Stadium on Friday, August 1 to see the Los Angeles Angels take on the New York Yankees. It was an extrmely close game until the end where the score was zero to zero unti he 9th inning. Then in the 9th when Torii Hunter of the Angels came up to bat against the Yankees closer Mariano Rivera staring each other down Hunter put his wooden bat to the ball and sent it out into center field. Hunter accomplished what no other player on either team was able to do the entire game hitting a nice single RBI sending one of his fellow teammates on their way home allowing the Los Angeles Angels to win the game in the last inning Angels 1, Yankees 0. 
If you've been to Fenway, you know the ritual is to sing Sweet Caroline, the Neal Diamond hit from the 70's, in the middle of the 8th with 37,000 of your closest friends. In most cases, singing any Neal Diamond song would seem corny at best. However, since it's at Fenway, that somehow makes it really cool. It also gets the crowd pumped up and into the game. If you haven't witnessed this in person, it's worth a sports vacation to see it!
National Baseball Hall of Fame. As much as I love being in New York, I always look forward to going to Cooperstown for the submersion in baseball and the slowed down pace of this great little village. 
The stadium tour moved through many different sections of the park including the Right Field Roof Deck, the State Street Pavilion, the Infield Grandstand and, of courses, the Green Monster. 
It's interesting to see the contrast at this park with only 35,000 or so fans in the seats versus most other stadiums that seat 40,000 - 55,000+ fans. You are so close to the action here regardless of where your seat is. The only thing you have to be concerned with is an obstructed view. We've found the best way to avoid that is to sit low enough that the only thing that could possibly block your view is the batter in the on deck circle!
our visit to Boston with a private escorted tour of Fenway. (We were lucky enough to get Kim again. Great job, Kim!) The tour is a great mix of history and facts about the team, the ballpark and baseball in general. 
Monday, June 23, 2008 - Shea Stadium is one place that I don't think will be missed by many when it's gone. Aside from its unattractive appearance on the outside, many of the seats face the wrong direction (center field instead of the pitcher's mound/home plate), even the great seats sit too low so that the people in front of you are blocking some portion of the field, and every two seats you have an aisle or an obnoxious bar next to you. I suppose the bars are supposed to give you the feeling of a "box seat". Instead, it gives you the feeling that you are either watching the game from a cubicle or your own jail cell (which is more likely for many of the Mets' seasons especially last year's melt down in September). 
Because of a slight rain, we made our way through some tunnels to get to the Yankees dugout. While it's always fun to walk on the warning track, it was interesting to see parts of the stadium that I hadn't seen before. We saw the visitors clubhouse and their tunnel to their dugout. We saw pictures throughout the tunnel of Yankees through history. And we made our way through the tunnel from the Yankees clubhouse into the dugout where I shot this photo of the plaque with the famous quote from Joe DiMaggio. 
