Baseball Travel Tours are Unique With Big League Tours

The age old question when travelers are looking at sports packages with Big League Tours is simply what makes you different? 

Big League Tours specializes in baseball road trips across all of the United States and Toronto, Canada.  We are serious about getting you, the travelers, a unique experience, memories to last a lifetime and an all out great vacation.  

Here are some of the comparisons you can get with Big League Tours and with other sports tour companies:

• Hotels outside of the city not by any major attractions or the stadium itself.
• Big League Tours offers hotels in the heart of the city allowing you to have easy access to attractions and things you might want to do while you aren't at a baseball game.  Ex: In New York City we stay in Manhattan where you are in walking distance of Times Square, Central Park, 5th Ave. and much more.
• Seats at the games somewhere up in the upper decks. 
• Big League Tours only purchases tickets in lower level seating.  Allowing guests to experience the baseball game like they most likely never have, close up and in all of the action.
• Baseball stadium tours is most likely not even an option.
• Big League Tours offers private baseball stadium tours when the time is allotted.
• One on one meet and greets with retired and current players? Again most likely not going to happen.
• Big League Tours offers player experiences whenever they can.  Some retired players we have used in the past have included: Bill "Spaceman" Lee, Dick Drago and Ron Kittle just to name a few. 

Well, those are just a few of the things that makes Big League Tours so different from the rest.  We hope to see you in '09! Check out our website to see which tour you would like to be part of!

Remember don't just go to a game, become part of it!

A Few Tips For Being Prepared On A Big League Tours Trip

Have you purchased your small group tours for '09 and are ready for the excitement?  Have you ever went on a trip and forgot some little thing that you wish you hadn't?  It happens to a lot of us here are some simple ways to ease your travels while going on sports tours in '09.

Some tips for travelers heading on a tour with Big League Tours in '09:

• Make a list of everything you want to take on the sports vacation
• Pack rain gear; rain coat, umbrella etc.
• Pack a set of warm clothes
• Bring a mitt if you plan on being in the outfield during batting practice
• Bring a baseball, hat, etc. we have meet and greets with players and alumni on most of our baseball vacation packages and they are always willing to sign memorabilia
• Check and make sure your bag or book bag will be allowed in the stadium
• Don't forget your camera

These are just a few reminders for what to bring while on sports vacations with Big League Tours.  We're always willing to answer questions so if your not sure about something ask us! If you haven't booked a trip with us yet check out our website.  We look forward to meeting you for the first time or seeing you again in 2009!

 What's Your Favorite Baseball Related Movie?

Here at Big League Tours we love baseball and anything related to baseball.  One of the things we like to do while traveling between cities on our baseball trips is to watch baseball movies, of course!  This is a great way for our guests to sit back relax, have the time pass a little bit faster and to get them pumped for the next game on our baseball road trip. 

Here are some of our favorites (In no particular order):

• Bull Durham
• The Sandlot
• Fever Pitch 
• The Natural
• Field of Dreams
• *61
• A League of Their Own

If you were going to sit down and pop in one of your all time favorite baseball movies what would it be?  We are always looking for new movies to show on our MLB tours so let us know what you watch!  So, the next time you are on one of our sports vacations we can show your favorite movie.

Two Left Fielders Elected by Writers' Ballot

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice are both on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  It has been 20 years since the Baseball Writers' Association of America has has elected a left fielder into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. However, the 2009 ballot may end this all since there are some very prominent left fielders on the list. 

Henderson is new to the ballot along with 10 others.  Rice on the other hand this is his last chance to be nominated.  Nominees may be on the ballot for 15 years, but they must receive 5% of the votes each year.  Rice has a very good chance of being elected, last year he missed out by only 16 votes.

Don't miss out on the chance to take one of Big League Tours small group tours in the '09 season.  Cooperstown, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, is being offered on five of our baseball travel tours.  Check out our website and see which baseball road trip fits you! 

 New Citi Field is set to open in April 2009 and many escorted tours have really started selling! 

Citi Field will be a great place for baseball fans to catch a game.  There is a more intimate atmosphere with the seating angled towards the infield and set down lower.  The Mets and Citi Field have comissioned a statue of Jackie Robinson for when guests first enter the stadium and named Jackie Robinson Rotunda.  New Citi Field will be a great new addition to baseball stadiums in the United States.  Check out what the new stadium will look like when it opens in 2009.



Don't forget to check out our website for all the baseball trips we are offereing to the east coast in '09!

Are you a Minnesota Twins fan? 

Whether you answered yes or no many people still want to see all the baseball stadiums including the Metrodome.  Since 2009 is the last season for the Metrodome, you might want to think about getting your baseball travel tours all set in place.  Big League Tours will be visiting the Twin Cities in May on our Midwest 2 trip where the Twins will be taking on the Boston Red Sox. On this baseball road trip we will also be catching a White Sox game and Cubs game in the windy city and catching a Brewers game at Miller Park. It'll be a great chance to catch some great ball in the Midwest.  Check out what the Twins new stadium, Target Field, will look like in 2010. 

Are You Ready to Experience one of our Baseball Stadium Tours to New Yankee Stadium in '09!?

Many baseball vacation packages are now being offered for the opening weekend for the New Yankee Stadium in April 2009.  Have you planned your MLB road trip yet?   Check out the video of New Yankee Stadium and start planning your sports packages now, before its too late. You won't want to miss this! Check out our website for the many different sports packages that we are offering in '09 that include the New Yankee Stadium as well as every other Major League stadium.

Looking For Memorable Christmas Gifts?

December is approaching rapidly which means the buying season is upon us.  Big League Tours is proud to offer unique and memorable gifts.  If you're looking for that special gift to last a lifetime consider one of our many sports packages. Whether its a gift for a family member or friend they are sure to enjoy the life long memories they will experience on their baseball road trip. 

On many of our baseball travel tours we offer an array of unique aspects.  Guests will be able to experience each game in lower level seating.  They will also experience stadium tours, one on one Big League Tours player experiences, and take in the sites of each city. This is the first year also that Big League Tours will be offering a gift package.  This way your family member or friend will be able to open an actual gift on Christmas, their birthday, or anniversary. Each package consists of jumbo game tickets that describe the trip that they are receiving, a Big League Tours hat, an MLB baseball, and a box of Cracker Jack.

So, if you want a gift that will last a lifetime consider one of our many baseball vacation packages.

Family Tours East Coast Together
Here's a note that I received from one of our travelers. This is from Michael H. who traveled with his son and grandson on our East Coast 3 tour which included games at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, a full day at Cooperstown, and a private stadium tour of Fenway Park. Michael's letter reads:

I'm sending this note to let you know how great the tour that Jarrett, Nolan and I went on was to me. It's been almost two months and I still think of it everyday. I will always have the best of memories about this baseball trip.

You handled everything so well and made it even more enjoyable. It was a pleasure to meet you and your daughter and your dad.

Thanks again for a great time!!!" 

We very much enjoyed you traveling with us, too, Michael. We love it when our guests have such a great time on the baseball road trips, especially when three generations get to experience them together!

The local business paper, the Indianapolis Business Journal, featured Big League Tours in this week's edition. Some things they elude to and that you'll be hearing a lot from us about in the coming weeks and months are the new features that we're adding for 2009.

All 30 MLB Baseball Stadiums in 2009
With 20+ tours on our schedule, we're offering at least one trip to every Major League baseball stadium. We'll include behind-the-scenes stadium tours every chance we get.

Current Players Meeting Us On Tours
We've offered Big League Player Experiences on our package tours since we've started. That's where we have traditionally brought in former MLB players to tell baseball stories, get pictures with our guests, and sign autographs. This year, we're including some players still on the roster! It should be a real treat for our guests.

Opening Day at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium
Major League Baseball welcomes two new stadiums into its ranks this year and we're going to be there when they open. Why don't you join us on one of our baseball travel tours for these historic openings?

Stay tuned for trip details about our 2009 MLB Tours!

Time to Plan Your Baseball Vacations!
In a move never before seen this early, Major League Baseball released their complete 2009 schedules in mid-September. In past years, bits and pieces of the schedules would slowly come out from October through the end of the year and would be finalized in January. When we read the announcement that the schedules were to be announced, we expected to know when the Mets and Yankees were going to open their new stadiums and maybe to find out about a few other events. We were blown away to see every game for every team is available, today! Honestly, it felt like Christmas morning!

So now we're in the throws of putting together our 2009 baseball vacation packages and the slate is wide open. Where you would like to go? When do you want to travel? What do you want to see this year? We would love it if you would share your thoughts. Drop us a comment to let us know.

Now the tough part is waiting until the trips actually get here!!!

Click here to see the press release from Major League Baseball.

Baseball Vacation Makes Lifelong Memories

    Many people have a love or bond for baseball, but there is nothing better than sharing that bond with your dad.  Kris D. and his son, Chase, joined Big League Tours on the Midwest 1 trip in Chicago and Milwaukee.  The trip caught Kris' eye since it wasn't a very long journey from their home in Aurora, Indiana, a town near Cincinnati.   

This trip was a gift from Kris to his son.  Kris felt the gift was perfect because they both share a love for baseball and would someday like to see all the stadiums together. Chase, age 9,  was thrilled  to get the trip and couldn't wait to take it.  His grandfather even got him jerseys for each team that they were going to see on the trip.  This only added to the anticipation and excitement that both Kris and Chase were already experiencing. 

They enjoyed all aspects of the trip but especially enjoyed the meet and greet with Ron Kittle at U.S. Cellular, where they were able to hear stories from Kittle's career and able to interact with him.  Later that evening, Chase appeared on the big screen at U.S. Cellular where he hit a home run in the fan zone area!  That's him swinging away in the picture. He was given an array of things including a shirt, hat, and tickets to the walking dinosaur exhibit in Chicago. Kris says, "My son and I were already close, but this has made memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you."

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...

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.

 Big League Tours attends Old Timers Day

Big League Tours tries to find important aspects to include in each tour to give our guests the ultimate baseball vacation experience while on our escorted tours. 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.

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.