Many baseball fans have attended 69 games in a season, but how many have attended 69 games in 30 different ballparks while seeing each MLB team has least twice? That’s exactly what the Ultimate Baseball Road Trip will accomplish. This legendary season-long pilgrimage, similarly to the Ultimate College Football Road Trip last fall, will not be cheap or light on the Oldsmobile but it will certainly be the trip of a lifetime.
The itinerary features more NL Central teams than any other division, with 28 total games, followed closely by the AL West (27) then the NL West (23), AL Central (22) and AL East (22). The NL East gets only 14 games.
The Los Angeles Dodgers receive the most home games (5) and total games (9), followed by the Pirates (4 home, 4 away), Mariners (4 home, 4 away), Cubs (3 home, 4 away), Athletics (2 home, 5 away) and Red Sox (2 home, 5 away). And before the suddenly ambitious and prevalent Royals fans lose their minds, you’ll be pleased to know that KC has the second most home games (4) along with 2 road appearances. You can now dismiss your small ball conspiracy theories.
The least represented teams are led by the Mets, Braves, Nationals (very unfortunate things shook out this way and we’re highly recommending adding another Nats game or two along the way) and Rays, all of which have 1 home game and 1 away game.
All 30 MLB stadiums will be visited and 21 of them will be hit at least twice during the nearly 40,000 mile journey. That journey begins on Sunday, April 5th at Wrigley Field, as if Cubs fans did not need another dose of attention to increase their overflowing optimism.
You will see the entire trip below, broken down by month and accompanied with a few brief notes. Drive safe, buckle up and be sure to make loads of very poor (legal) decisions along the way.
April
Following a quick jaunt to Detroit after the opener at Wrigley, we’re heading south toward baseball weather. It will include stops in Miami and Atlanta before heading west for the Texas 2-step along with a long drive to San Diego to see the new-look Padres. A lovely drive up the coast in mid-April should provide much-needed early-season R&R while hitting games in L.A, Anaheim, San Francisco, Oakland and finally Seattle.
May
The season’s third 1,000-plus journey awaits following the Twins-Mariners game, as we hit Kauffman Stadium to see the AL Champion Royals. May is a Midwest heavy month and be sure to indulge yourself with a stop at Gilles Frozen Custard during the visit to Milwaukee.
We’re hoping to catch either Chris Sale or Jeff Samardzija in Chicago before heading north of the border for an AL East matchup. The Reds await in our return to the land of opportunity, followed by short drives to Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. We’ll see the Yanks for the first time in 2015 with a New York visit on Memorial Day weekend.
Plan a post-Yankee Stadium getaway in New England, as we’re giving you a week off before you’re due in Boston on June 1st. You’re welcome.
June
The first of two trips to Fenway Park comes with the Twins in town and the only visit to D.C. occurs two days later when the Nationals host the Blue Jays. We head back west to see the Pirates and Brewers do battle before going south again.
The 1,000 mile drive to Tampa is the first long trek since early May and the first of four 1,000-plus drives over the next five weeks. You do have three-plus days for this leg therefore we’d recommend a relaxing day or two in the Appalachians because a long drive to Colorado awaits after the week-long stay in Florida.
Arrive in Denver a day early to enjoy the beautiful Colorado weather before hitting up Aspen and Telluride (above) on the road to Phoenix. Brown Dog Pizza in Telluride is a must stop.
July
July opens with the second visit to Petco Park and we’ve allotted a few extra days in southern California between the July 1st game in San Diego and the July 6th visit to Dodger Stadium. Find a lovely place to stay in the Pacific Northwest for a four-day stay, with two Angels-Mariners games squeezed in the middle.
Take a different route to KC this time around but don’t hurry, as the humidity in the Great Plains and Midwest can be depressingly uncomfortable. Visits to Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto and Cincinnati await as we close out July.
August
Early August will be light on the miles, starting with a short wiggle from Philly to New York, where you will see two Sox-Yanks games followed by the only trip to Citi Field in 2015. The second and final visit to Boston comes next, followed by Baltimore before heading west again. Summer wraps up with another Midwest tour, including another stop in Kansas City for some BBQ and baseball before it’s back to L.A.
NOTE: The end of August also brings football season. Although this is a baseball road trip, it would be irresponsible to ignore football. As a result, there will be no scheduled baseball games on a Saturday or Sunday until the final week of the baseball season.
September
September is a tricky month to schedule, as it’s highly likely that many of these teams will not be in contention, thus potentially drawing our attention to other games. Flexibility is key during the stretch run therefore be sure to re-evaluate your gameplan before leaving Phoenix on September 7th.
Driving 2,360 miles to Miami is awfully ambitious if the Marlins and Nationals are struggling and the beach is loaded with college bros letting off some early school year steam.
October
The September flexibility must carry over to the season’s final mini month. Again, driving 2,000-plus miles would be a piss poor idea if Robinson Cano and the sub-.500 Mariners are hosting a non-contending A’s team. The last game of the season is especially key and it will include the only flight of the season, ensuring you can see a fantastic Game 162.
