30 For 30: Quest to see America Through Baseball Parks Complete
Don't Want to Sound Like a Clickbait Article But, "Here's What I Learned!"
When I decided to traverse the country (and Toronto) to see all of Major League Baseball’s ballparks, I had no idea what what sort of effort that would entail. I like adventure as much as the next person, surely. I also like trying new things. Actually, that’s not completely true. I have a new day job and they use the program Slack in the office, and I do NOT like that thing at all. But in 2022, I wanted to see how my big ol’ country does baseball. And, for everyone who’s ever seen the movie “Green Book” could understand, I wanted to see how safe I would be traveling cross-country.
And so I would hop on a plane or a train, visit a new city, catch a game, report my findings to the Black Baseball Mixtape, and head over to the next city. Most of the time it was great, but there were a few times when it was exhausting. On July 26th, 2025, I finished my expedition at the (appropriately named for this article) Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. With a couple of days to think about it, here’s what I’ve learned about the whole shebang.
1) America’s big, yes. But most of the country is bafflingly difficult to get to.
When European visitors come over to the United States for vacation, there is a bit of a stereotype out there that they underestimate distances between cities and states. Yes, England is about the size of one of our states (Alabama), and so is a larger country like Germany (Montana) or Italy (90% of California) but you can pretty much get from city to city by rail, or low-cost airline. Here, it is just not the case. In the US, it’s like we have 50 countries that all have different approaches to things, and so everybody suffers. A flight from Los Angeles to New York can be $302 under some circumstances. A flight from Los Angeles to Arkansas for the same dates? $600 as of this writing. This past week, I had to go from Cleveland to Cincinnati, two cities that are about 260 miles apart. It might as well have been two thousand miles apart. Cost of flights wasn’t practical, there isn’t a high-speed rail between the two cities, and an Uber will set you back $250-$300. I had booked a rental and it was revoked at the counter (long story), I had to take a seven-hour bus ride.
At least the dude in the logo looked dapper.
It costs a LOT to move around domestically, and that was the biggest shock.
2) People are here to help, mostly.
So while I thought my idea of seeing everything was unique, I quickly learned one of those life lessons I think we should tell everyone when they’re younger: “You ain’t special.”
I learned what I was doing was called “Ballpark Chasing” and there’s a whole Facebook group that does that. It was a great resource to have to ask questions or get tips. And in turn, I can pass along info when people need help from me. Also, as someone afraid to ask other people for things IRL, it was a learning experience communicating with people when I needed help. Yes, there are apps and reddits for everything, but sometimes you need to know of a bar that isn’t on an Eater list. Or you can’t ask an algorithm to take a picture of you at Comerica Park because you’re traveling alone and your fingers are too cold to do the extended arm selfie thing without fear of dropping the phone. Trust me, there are plenty of times I came across jerks at these games or in these cities, but it truly is few and far between.
3) There’s some beautiful stuff out there.
Whether you’re a person who loves unique food and drink, or maybe nature and parks, this country has a cool way of showing you regional differences that make you go “hmm.” I’ve been told I have a thing for hotels for example. And while one or two of my choices were pretty abysmal (I’m looking at you, Arlington Texas), there are really some fascinating properties you can lay your head. Whether it was the Omni Hotel in San Diego and their bridge that connects directly to the ballpark, or hitting up ‘Chateau Mom & Dad’ when I saw the Mets and Yankees in New York, the sleeping arrangements are (to me, anyway) more than half the fun.
I had the opportunity to stay at the Cleveland Arcade last week, and I was blown away. It looks like the downtown area wanted to keep the old buildings of yesteryear but furnish them with new businesses. This hotel, the Hyatt Regency at the Cleveland Arcade, was recently featured in this year’s Superman movie:
That was pretty cool.
So here’s the deal: This country has cool spots, decent people (mostly, I guess), and you see so many regional quirks and cultures it’ll make your head spin…BUT, with inflation, crumbling infrastructure, and expensive travel options, you’re not motivated to leave the house.
You know what? That absolutely tracks, y’all.
As for me, I don’t think any sports quests are in my future. My friends asked me “what was next,” but truthfully after Cincinnati this past weekend I think I’m done. Oh, I guess I didn’t tell you the rest of the story. So while I bused in and spent the 36 hours or so, it was time to leave. My flight out of town was the last one out of the airport scheduled…until it got delayed 18 hours. I had to pay out of pocket for ANOTHER airline to send me home. I live in Los Angeles, my itinerary sent me through NEW YORK.
I eventually got home thirteen hours later than I should have. Not to worry, I had just enough time to answer my Slack notifications.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Well done, sir!