Tips From an Expert
The fans who travel with us on our baseball travel tours are typically die-hard fans who want to experience as much as they can in each city, stadium and game that they can. So we incorporate arriving to the baseball stadiums early, giving our guests time to explore the neighborhoods or the park itself.

Another thing that fans love to do is catch batting practice. It's a great time to get some autographs from players and possibly to snag some balls, either hit by batters or thrown into the stands by players warming up.

I love seeing the excitement on the face of our travelers when they show me the ball that they snagged or the autograph that they received from a player. I know this will be a MLB road trip that they won't forget!

For those of you really interested in snagging a baseball at a game, here's a video about a guy who, at the time, had snagged at least one baseball in over 450 consecutive games.

Visiting One of MLB's Best - Wrigley Field
August 10, 2008 - One of the most common requests for baseball trips is to offer a baseball vacation package that includes Wrigley Field. And for good reason. Although it's crumbling around you (literally) as you watch the game, it's still a fantastic place for baseball. This was the first time that my wife and daughters had joined one of our group tours to Wrigley and they loved it.

The Cubs loved it, too. The game was originally scheduled to be played in the afternoon but was moved to an evening game so that it could be covered on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. After the sun went down and the winds picked up, I don't 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!

Some of our group headed out to Wrigley early in the day but here's a picture of part of our group outside the ballpark. The Cubs went on to beat the Cardinals pretty handily by a score of 6-2. Click here to check out the box score from the game.

Taking Baseball Travel Tours to Miller Park
August 9, 2008 - Whenever we book any of our MLB Tours to include Chicago and Milwaukee, we plan it to stay in Chicago the whole time and to take a bus up to 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.

This escorted tour took us up to Miller Park with plenty of time to take in the sites of the stadium, batting practice, and of course, the tailgaters outside the stadium. Brewers fans know how to tailgate! We actually drove through a little rain on our trip up to the stadium. We didn't mind because we knew they 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.

If you haven't been to Miller Park, you should consider adding it to your list of sports vacations stops to be made. You'll be glad that you did. Bring the farmer's golf set, beer, brats and a grill and you'll fit right in! Maybe Bernie will let you go down his slide!

August 8, 2008 - Many of our baseball trips have incorporated the Reds playing somewhere on the road which has suited me fine since I've been a lifelong fan of the Redlegs. Now keep in mind that I grew up during the Big Red Machine era - coming of age as a baseball fan when Cincinnati fielded one of the greatest teams in baseball. In fact, one could argue that most, if not all, of the position players for the '75 Reds should be in the Hall of Fame - or would be if they played on any other team. (Compare Dave Concepcion's lifetime stats to Ozzie Smith's and tell me Davey doesn't deserve to be in Cooperstown...)

So having grown up a Reds fan rooting for a player named Griffey, it has been enjoyable to watch Junior come home to Cincinnati and spend 10 years playing as a Red. Knowing that we had the Reds on our schedule for August, I expected that I would be watching Ken Griffey, Jr. adding to his home run count. But I didn't expect to see him do it in a White Sox uniform.

We were fortunate enough to get into the ballpark early to watch batting practice for the White Sox. It was amazing to watch Griffey blast one shot after another past the outfield seats and onto the outer concourse. What a beautiful swing!

I hope Junior gets a World Series ring before his career is over, whether it's in Chicago or somewhere else. I also hope he reaches 3,000 hits and distances himself from Sammy Sosa on the home run record list. We'll have to schedule times to see him on our group travel tours in 2009 and after. Unfortunately it won't be in a Reds uniform...

Group Travel Tours by the Lake
August 8, 2008 - Each year, this is one of my favorite sports packages that we offer. We get to incorporate White Sox, Brewers and Cubs games all while staying in the heart of the Windy City.

This year, our package tour began at U.S. Cellular Field with our Big League Player Experience with Ron Kittle. Ron was the American League rookie of the year in 1983 and was a noted power hitter throughout his career. This Player Experience was held inside the ballpark before the gates opened up and in the Jim Beam club section. The fans traveling with us were able to listen to Ron share some stories about his career, ask him questions about the game, and watch the White Sox take batting practice from seats with a perfect view.

The game featured Mark Buerle pitching against Jon Lester and the World Champion Boston Red Sox. We had great seats as a group on the third base line between the dugout and home plate - an awesome place to watch a game. The White Sox were pleased to walk away with a victory with a 5-3 score. We headed back to the hotel with plans to head to Miller Park on Saturday.

Sports Vacations in St. Louis
Having been a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan, I have never been a fan of the Cardinals. However, I have to give credit to the Cardinals organization, the city of St. Louis, and the Cardinals fans - going to a game at Busch Stadium is a great time. The stadium has a great atmosphere, is very appealing aesthetically, and allows fans to experience baseball the way that it should be enjoyed.

Here's a photo of former Cardinal, So Taguchi signing autographs prior to the game. So was a St. Louis fan favorite and received a standing ovation when he pinch hit during the game.

It's a great place to visit if you are going to plan family tours, small group tours, or sports tours of any size. Watch for the tours that we offer next year that include games in St. Louis or with the Cardinals on the road. You'll enjoy great seats, great accommodations, and great baseball. We hope you'll join us!

Small Group Tours at Busch Stadium
August 2, 2008 - The Cards took on the Phillies for the second time this weekend, hoping to repeat their performance from the previous night and walk away with another victory. We were relieved to have a little cooler evening after the day had been really hot for all of our various activities.

We always try to incorporate some unique and fun things on each of our baseball travel tours. This sports package was no different. We offered front row seats to Busch Stadium as well as club seats for our guests. We think that spending sports vacations in the front row is not a bad option...In fact, here's a photo of Albert Pujols that we took from our seats.

The view at the end of the game didn't look so hot for the Cardinals, though. They ended up dropping this game to the Phillies by a close score of 2-1. Click here to see the box scores and write up on the Cardinals website.

Starting August with a Sports Vacation by the Arch
August 1, 2008 - No summer would be complete without baseball trip to catch some baseball in the true baseball town of St. Louis. To make it even better, St. Louis is taking on the Philadelphia Phillies and both teams are battling for spots at the top of their divisions. We suspected that the baseball would be hot and knew there would be a good chance that the weather would be hot in St. Louis in August. We were right about both things.

Our seats were fantastic - this game they were in the club seats behind home plate. When we arrived to our seats, the Phillies were wrapping up their batting practice. We were able to snap this photo of Ryan Howard from our section.

The Cardinals dominated the game by posting a four-run third inning and holding the Phillies to only three runs. Click here for the complete box score and to read the Cardinals' write up.

Sports Tours Likely Not Affected
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), average domestic airfare rates rose 4.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. As it turns out, those rates are still lower than Spring of 2001. The report also shows the 100 cities that have the highest and lowest average fares. You can view more of the story on wnbc.com in New York or the full report on the BTS website.

While most folks planning sports packages or sports vacations will also include airfare into the price, a shift of 4.4% is not likely to dissuade travelers from booking the baseball vacation packages of their dreams. In fact, the relatively low increase of airfare as a percentage compared to the increases seen in gas prices might lead some to opt to fly instead of drive on their baseball vacations.

Want Great Seats? Stadium Tours? Meet a Player? Great Hotels? Time to Explore?
I started this business a few years ago because I didn't like how other tour companies were offering their baseball trips. Many of them offer 10 - 14 day trips that require you to ride on a bus for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. They stay in hotels that are outside of the cities so that you don't really get to explore them while you're there. And, unfortunately, the seat locations aren't great.

Here are a couple of blog entries from their customers:

"We then headed up to our seats (in Yankee Stadium) which were just a few feet from the moon. Like at Shea we were 4 rows from the top but this time we were in right field. We could not see most of the right field fence so we hoped all activity would be in left field...It sounds like our seats are pretty horrible tomorrow night too so hopefully we can scope some better seats."

"2800 miles of riding in a bus with almost no sleep and too many hot dogs but what an adventure it was." I bet. Not my kind of adventure...

"Tickets were in the upper deck and I made a vow in 1991 never to sit up there again. We left the group to suffer from fear of falling out of their seats..."

If the sound of these comments leaves you concerned about booking other group travel tours, check out our 2008 sports tours and rest assured that you'll never have an experience like they've described.

Okay, I realize that this has very little, if anything, to do with baseball travel tours or sports packages of any kind. But, I found it pretty amusing and thought that folks who have joined us on our sports vacations would, too. I particularly like the cheesy 70's-style game show music they use for the intro. Maybe we can get host Tom Dickson to join us on one of our sports tours where we can blend all sorts of baseball related stuff? Enjoy!

The Unexpected Parts of Sports Travel Packages
July 8, 2008 - It's always fun to head out on one of our group travel tours knowing that we're going to meet MLB players through our Big League Player Experiences. However, what you don't know is whether there will be an opportunity to meet other players while we're taking our sports travels.

One such opportunity presented itself to us in Boston. There's a sandwich shop out on Yawkey Way that bares the name of famed Red Sox pitcher, Luis Tiant. The shop is the El Tiante, which serves up a cuban sandwich amongst other spicy favorites. (Even my daughter knew about this stand since it was featured on Rachael Ray!) And occasionally, it serves up autographs from the legend himself.

So get out there on your own baseball trips and look for the really cool stuff. You never know what might be waiting for you when you get there. Of course, if you want to ensure that your sports tours are filled with the cool stuff, book your baseball vacation packages with us. We'll make sure that it you get all the good stuff!

Another Great Game On One of Our MLB Road Trips
July 8, 2008 - If seeing a game at Fenway Park is perfect enough as it is, we were able to witness a fantastic game this time, too. The Red Sox trailed the Twins the whole game until the bottom of the 8th inning.

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!

Something about that song must have given the Sox themselves the boost they needed because they rallied to score four runs to take the lead. The most exciting part of the rally had to be Manny's two run shot over the Monster to tie up the game, insuring that we were going to have a fun end to the game no matter what. Click here to read the details and see the box score from the game.

The Baseball Road Trip Heads to Cooperstown
July 7, 2008 - After seeing a great game at Yankee Stadium, we loaded up the bus in New York City to head upstate to Cooperstown, the home of the 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 Hall is a great place to visit for fans of all ages. You can find exhibits in every section that are of interest; whether it's your favorite team, favorite players, or fun facts, there are things to keep you involved at every turn.

This part of the baseball trip could be expanded. There is so much to see here that you could spend a couple of days just going through the Hall and checking out the little shops up and down Main Street.

Largest of Group Travel Tours Offered Yet
July 6, 2008 - In our third season of offering tours, we have steadily seen the size of our small group tours continue to grow. While our tours average around 20 people per tour, this tour was our largest ever with 40 people from all over the United States and Canada.

The tour started in New York City at Yankee Stadium with the ultimate baseball rivalry - the Yankees hosting the Red Sox. The game was the ESPN Sunday Night game which created some extra excitement in the stadium. Many times, the actual game doesn't live up to the hype. This game delivered, however, with a tied game through nine innings and a walk off hit in the bottom of the tenth. Click here for a link to the games' box score.

So for some of the Yankees fans on our MLB road trip, they shared with me that they could go home after this game and feel like they would have gotten their money's worth! That's okay, we'll sweeten the deal with visits to Cooperstown and Boston.

Private Escorted Tour of Fenway Park
July 8, 2008 - This sports vacation left the home town of baseball to head to the oldest ballpark in the Major Leagues, Fenway Park. It's always a great way to end a baseball road trip at Fenway...

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.

The highlight of the baseball stadium tour was being joined by Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Bill always has some great stories about his playing days in the Big Leagues. Here's a picture of our group with Bill inside Fenway Park.

Final Game of Our Six Game Baseball Travel Tour
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - As we headed into Fenway for the final game of our baseball road trip, I thought it was fitting that we started the tour in Baltimore with one of the finest, if not the finest, retro parks in the league and then we wrapped up the tour in Boston at the league's oldest baseball stadium.

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!

The other option for seating that guarantees an unobstructed view is on the Green Monster. I have to admit that before I was ever in Fenway or had ventured to the top of the Monstah, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to sit up there for a game. However, I can honestly say that it's a fantastic place to watch a game. Since the wall is so shallow, you feel like you are the left fielder for the whole game. It's incredible. I would highly recommend getting seats up there at least once in your life.

Taking a Private Stadium Tour of Fenway Park
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - Fenway Park has a charm to it that is unlike any other baseball stadium that I've ever visited. I'd have to say it's my favorite park. We began 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.

One of the things that we like to do on our package tours is to bring in MLB players to share their experiences, sign autographs for our guests, and to have their pictures taken. This baseball trip was no different. We brought in Dick Drago, a pitcher with the Red Sox in the '70's. Dick pitched in the 1975 World Series and shared many stories about playing during that era. He's pictured with our group as we toured the ballpark.

While there are any number of sports travel packages that fans can choose from, we think that our Player Experiences are a key differentiator for Big League Tours. It's a way for us to make the baseball road trip into a truly MLB road trip!

Our Escorted Tour Heads to Shea Stadium
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).

The new Citi Field, however, is very attractive from the outside. You can see it just outside of the outfield walls from Shea Stadium. I've been told that its design was inspired by Ebbets Field. I'm excited to see the new ballpark when we head to New York City for one of our baseball travel tours in 2009.

Taking an Escorted Tour of Yankee Stadium
Monday, June 23, 2008 - One of the best ways to experience Yankee Stadium is on a stadium tour that gets you access into sections of the stadium that you would otherwise not see. Our started in the press box where I'm always reminded that, had I paid more attention in English class, I could have had one of the best seats in the ballpark...and been paid to sit in it!

We then made our way to Monument Park. I've been here several times but I always find new things to read and see when I'm there. This section of the baseball stadium really helps to solidify the position of the Yankees as the most storied franchise in all of baseball.

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.

If you haven't purchased a ticket for a stadium tour of the old Yankee Stadium, it might just be too late. The team has had such high demand for the tickets that it appears that they are sold out for the year.