Midwest 2 Comes To An End 

The last stop on our Midwest 2 baseball road trip was Cincinnati home of the Reds.  I personally had been waiting for this stop the whole trip, because the Reds were taking on the St. Louis Cardinals, my personal favorite team.  The way our MLB road trip had been going up to this point I was even more excited, since every stadium we had visited the home team lost.  Well, unfortunately for the Reds fans or fortunately for me the Cardinals did win 5-3.  Rick Ankiel put the Cardinals on the board with a two-run homer into right field, close to where I was sitting.  The Great American Ball Park is a nice stadium a sea of red seats you feel like a true Reds fan.  It is a small park, but I liked the smaller feel, you were right next to the players.  However, this does make watching the game a little more dangerous, but if you stay alert and pay attention it is a great feeling to be that close to the field.  This was the end to our Midwest 2 trip and it was a great experience and trip.  I brought my brothers back to the stadium the next night for their first MLB game.  They had a great time there were many great runs and we tried to sit everywhere in the stadium.  Our favorite was on the third baseline towards the top of the stadium, because the sun was beginning to go down and there is a gorgeous view from up there.  If you would like to see official stats from Friday night's game click here or Saturday's game click here.

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.

Baseball Road Trips Through The Crossroads of America

After ending the Midwest 1 trip in Chicago we took a bus over to Detroit to meet the rest of our group for our Midwest 2 MLB road trip.  We stayed in an amazing hotel, just a few blocks away from the stadium, where each guest got to stay in style with their own personal suite.  This was a great way to start the trip and show our guests that we work very hard to give them first class accommodations in every aspect of Big League Tours sports packages.  The Toronto Blue Jays came down to the Tigers Den to take on the Detroit Tigers.  Unfortunately, for the Tigers the the Blue Jays came to play and ended up defeating the Tigers 6-4.  We had the privilege of seeing A.J. Burnett pitch his 15Th win for the Toronto Blue Jays.  He had a rocky first six innings, but his teammates were there to back him up.  They came back with a rally against the Tigers to win the the game.  To check out the official MLB stats please click here.

 Package Tours Take It To Wrigley Field

Sunday was the last day of Midwest 1 and what better way to end it with heading out to Wrigley Field.  This was the game I had personally been looking forward to for the whole MLB road trip.  On this day the Cubs took on the St. Louis Cardinals and being a Cardinals Fan anyone who knows the two teams know they have somewhat of a rivalry.  So, I came to the game decked out in my Cardinals gear ready to see a great game.  Wrigley Field is one of the oldest stadiums left so the atmosphere and the feeling of being there is like no other.  Everyone who comes is ready to have a great time and enjoy some of America's favorite past time.  Unfortunately for me, the Cardinals did not have such a great game, but it was a great to see Ryan Dempster's 13Th win this season.  The Cubs won the game 6-2 and ended up winning the series 2-1.  To see the official stats click here.

Big League Tours and the Traveling Gnome

We recently went on our East Coast 2 trip.  Our guests were able to attend six stadiums in seven days giving them the ultimate MLB road trip. They were able to attend games at each stadium and even take stadium tours of some.  On this trip we were all able to meet one young lady who in my opinion had a great idea.  She owns a traveling gnome by the name of Gnigil who she takes on all her trips and anything exciting she does.  I thought this was a great idea for Big League Tours to incorporate in our baseball trips.  So, we have recently just purchased our own traveling gnome who will be joining us on his first Big League Tours trip in New York for the Big Apple 2 trip. 

Please stay tuned for some pictures of our new mascot.

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.

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!

Visiting the Most Hallowed of All Baseball Stadiums
Sunday, June 22, 2008 - It seemed only fitting that we went to Yankee Stadium on a Sunday. It's definitely a religious experience for some, especially those Yankee fans who take our baseball vacation packages. (Yes, we even take Yankee fans!)

Since this is the last year for this Yankee Stadium, everybody and their brother wants to get there for the first time or at least one more time before it's torn down. I'm convinced that the final game of the season at Yankee Stadium will be our generation's equivalent to Woodstock. 55,000 people will actually be in attendance but millions will claim to have been there...

Whether you are a Yankees fan or not, this is one MLB road trip that you should make before it's too late. It's amazing to see a facility that's 86 years old, that was built to the scale that it was, and is still in such good shape. It's also great to see where so much history has been created. It's not too late to check out package tours that are still available to see the House that Ruth Built before it's gone!

Baseball Travel Tour Heads to Philly
Saturday, June 21, 2008 - After a day of site seeing in Washington DC, we loaded up the bus to head up to Philadelphia. This time, our package tour called for us to see the game in Philly, to load back onto the bus and to head on in to New York City to spend three nights in the Big Apple.

We arrived at the ballpark in Philadelphia and were reasonably impressed with what the city has done for its sports franchises. All of their professional teams had facilities within a half mile of each other with easy parking and walking and what appeared to be reasonable security, too.

Citizens Bank Park has a few features that it shares with other parks. The concourse areas along the base lines reminded us of the New Busch Stadium. The outfield concourse felt like Coors Field. It was very party-like with vendors, restaurants and shops, and places to hang out and catch the game.

We visited the center field viewing area which is pretty unique to the Bank. It's a standing room only section that was well occupied and, contrary to what you might think, fans were really engaged in the game. It was a great view of the park with the exception of the walls blocking the view of the action in center field. It was such a gorgeous night that we decided to hang out up there for a while. The team only sells SRO tickets on the nights of sell outs but this would be a really fun place to hand out with friends or to go if you are on family tours or small group tours.

We were impressed with Citizens Bank Park. It was very well done and had a great atmosphere. At this point the baseball road trip was half way over - 3 games down, 3 to go. Next stop, New York City.

What Makes Baseball Vacation Packages Special?
Sometimes it's choosing the right tour operator who puts together sports travel packages that include some really cool features. But sometimes, the things that happen on the package tours can't be planned.

One of those unplanned events happened on our latest MLB tour when Josh Hamilton spent time signing autographs for fans along the third base line at Nationals Park. Josh became a favorite of ours last year when he made such a tremendous come back with the Cincinnati Reds. We hated to see the Reds trade him this past winter but it has been a trade that has worked out really well for both clubs.

The Reds received Edinson Volquez, who has just pitched lights out for them and leads the majors in ERA. The Rangers received Josh Hamilton who is a legitimate contender for baseball's coveted triple crown. And, it seems that the Rangers are doing everything they can to help support Josh's clean walk. Kudos to the Rangers ownership and management.

Here he is signing my son's baseball. Thanks for helping to make this baseball road trip special, Josh!

Baseball vacation packages at their longest and finest!

    June 30, 2008--I just got back from the longest trip that Big League Tours offered this summer.  We accomplished a groundbreaking six stadiums in six days out on the east coast.  We started out in Baltimore where we saw the Orioles beat the Astros 7 to 5. We then took a stadium tour of Camden Yards.  This is by far my favorite park to this date.  It is the most sense pleasing park I have been to so far.  Now when I say sense pleasing it is not only eye pleasing but smell, touch, and the sound of the park are all spectacular.  If you ever have the opportunity to go I highly recommend it! 
    Next, we took off to Washington D.C. where we saw the Texas Rangers VS the Washington Nationals.  In this 14 inning stretch the Nationals finally accomplished what they had set out to do they beat the Rangers 4 to 3. Next stop on our baseball trip was a quick stop in Philadelphia to see them take on the Los Angeles Angels. Angels definitely flew into play and the Phillies just could not hold them off and lost the game 2 to 6.  
    As our baseball trip was way under way we headed to New York to see the Yankees and the Mets play.  Yankees turned out on top when they played the Red's in the rain delayed day game.  However, the Mets as lucky Felix Hernandez had a great and bad game all in one.  He went up to bat in the second inning and hit a grand slam becoming the first American League pitcher since 1971!  Then in the fifth inning there was a play made at home and Felix was taken out by the runner.  He tried to pitch again but you could see him wince in pain as he put weight on his left leg he was then taken out of the game.
     Our last stop was Boston where we met up with Dick Drago a pitcher who played for the Red Sox in the 70's.  We got to hear some great stories from him and it's always great fun to have them reminisce with all of us. Then we got to see the Diamondbacks take on the Red Sox where the Sox beat the Diamondbacks in a nail biting close game. For part of the game we were able to stand on top of the green monster.  It was amazing! Unfortunately we didn't have any grand slams when we were up there, but it was still a once in a lifetime opportunity.  This was a long and packed trip but it was one of the best baseball road trips I have been on so far. I can't wait till next year...

Baseball road trip begins with a swing and a miss!

June 5, 2008- Boston Red Sox VS Tampa Bay Rays

This was a game that every major MLB Tours group should have been at! It was probably the most exciting game that I have ever been to in my life.  We knew that there had been a run in the night before with Coco Crisp’s controversial slide into second base and were expecting some type of payback.  What we weren’t expecting was for it to happen so early in the game! James Shield was the starting pitcher for the Rays and Coco came up to bat in the second inning and was hit by the pitch in the thigh.  At first it appeared that Coco was just going to go to first base.  However, that was not the case Coco through his gear down and charged the pitcher’s mound. Starting an uproar in the crowd and on the field he was outnumbered to begin with but soon each team was on the field including the bullpen!  After the fight was broke up both Coco and Shield were ejected from the game. This was a great beginning to our MLB road trip!

The Start of our Longest Baseball Road Trip Yet!
June 19, 2008 - Today we began our longest baseball trip since we began offering group tours in 2006. The tour runs through Baltimore, DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston catching games in each of those cities.

Our group met in Baltimore at the Hyatt Regency in the Inner Harbor. What a great location. We're nestled in with views of the harbor and all of the restaurants and shops near by. We're also just a couple of blocks away from Camden Yards.

We headed out to the ballpark on a perfect night for baseball - and the perfect night to see the Orioles sweep the Astros with a 7-5 victory. But regardless of the outcome, how could one not enjoy spending time at Camden Yards? What a great facility. From the incorporation of the Warehouse Building into the stadium, to Boog's Barbeque, to the awesome seating and views throughout the stadium, fans in Baltimore are absolutely spoiled with this park. Here's photo taken from our seats early in the game.

We'll start the day off today with an escorted tour of Camden Yards and then visit the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum before we head out for Washington DC for game at the New Nationals Park.

Despite finishing the MLB tour with a rained out game, the trip as a whole was a great time. We saw a game at Yankee Stadium, toured Yankee Stadium (and even got in the clubhouse!), received autographs from several of the players, took in the sites at Shea Stadium (although they were damp), and had our Big League Player Experience with Miracle Mets team member Art Shamsky.

Here are some things that our guests had to say about our baseball road trip:

           "Dana & I wanted to thank you so very much for the great time we had in New York.  We appreciated your thoughtful, caring attitude toward creating a truly once in a lifetime major league experience for both of us.  You have successfully fulfilled your mission of creating a first class big league tour." Dana G. and Darrel M., Grand Junction, CO

           "Christine and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful time in NYC. We really had a blast and the baseball experience was outstanding. As I stood on the warning track in center field at Yankee Stadium and heard the voice of the "Mick" , I have returned to the fold as a Yankee fan. The seats were wonderful for both games and Christine was especially pleased to get so close to the field and to the Mets. I am sure we will meet again!" John and Christine L., Athens, GA

            "We really hated leaving New York - love it there and loved the trip. You did a fantastic job putting together what fans want to do and see!"  Sonia and Patrick D., Bakersfield, CA

             "Tami and I just wanted to tell you what a great time we had in New York. It was a fantastic experience. We're already talking about taking another trip with Big League Tours!"  Joe and Tami M., Ball Ground, GA
         
            "We had a wonderful time on the baseball trip - you took great care of all of the details and it made for a wonderful vacation. We had never been to NYC before and this was such a fun way to see the city for the first time. The seats at the stadiums were great too - we would never have been able to get those ourselves. Finally, meeting Art Shamsky was a highlight. We had no idea what to expect, but we were really glad that we had the opportunity to do that. We have already talked about traveling with Big League Tours again."  Bridget and Jeff M., Rochester Hills, MI

 Rain Out At Shea
Friday, May 9th - Today the inevitable happened. When your business revolves around outdoor sporting events, you know that at some point you're going to get wet and that at some point you're going to have games canceled or postponed. That day finally arrived. After dodging rain outs all across America for a couple of years, we suffered our first one at Shea Stadium. All wasn't lost, though.

Part of the attraction of MLB road trips is to see the stadiums. While it was raining most of the time we were there, we were still able to walk around and see quite a bit of the stadium. In fact, it was quite nice. Most of the fans stayed away from Shea so we were able to check it out without fighting a large crowd. We essentially turned the time into our own baseball stadium tour. In addition, you could clearly see the new stadium, Citi Field, from inside the old ballpark. Here are some of the folks from our group. That's Citi Field in the background.

About half of the guests on our package tour were staying an extra night in New York City and were able to return to Shea to see the game (and it was a gorgeous day!). Unfortunately for me, I wasn't one of those lucky enough to see the game...

In my opinion, seeing Shea Stadium isn't worth a trip on it's own. If you are going as part of a baseball vacation package or baseball road trip of your own that includes other baseball stadiums, then it's worth making a stop. If nothing else, it will give you a greater appreciation for the new stadiums that are built with the fans in mind.

Big League Player Experience
Friday, May 9th - One feature of our baseball road trips that is almost always the highlight is when we bring in former MLB players for our Big League Player Experience. This baseball trip was no different. Joining us in New York was Art Shamsky, member of the '69 Miracle Mets team that won the World Series just a few years after the franchise was created. Here is Art (in the middle) pictured with a couple of our guests.

Art shared stories of breaking into the big leagues (in the minor leagues they traveled between cities in station wagons with 8 guys per car, 2 of them facing backwards!), related his experience as a player during the 60's and 70's, and discussed issues relevant to baseball today. Our guests on this small group tour were able to ask questions of Art across many different topics as well as receive autographs and take pictures with Art.

The Cool Stuff
Friday, May 9th - One of the things that we love to share with our travelers is the cool stuff, things that you hope for on a baseball vacation but aren't always guaranteed. That's why we plan baseball stadium tours whenever we can. That's why we bring in MLB players to meet with our travelers. That's also why we go early to the games - to give everyone a chance to really see and experience  the stadiums and get closer to the players.

Here's a picture from the stadium tour that we took this morning at Yankee Stadium. This is my son standing in the Yankees' bullpen. Several in our group have received autographs from players and coaches at the ballpark and in our hotel. I was even lucky enough last night to catch a ball in batting practice.

If you are considering a baseball road trip or any kind of sports travel package, consider what kind of extras that they are going to provide. Also, consider whether or not you are getting the "cool stuff" that you wouldn't be able to get on your own.