It’s long past but it’s time for a review of my personal ballpark travels for the past year. 2025 included visits to:
- 11 Major League ballparks
- 5 Minor League ballparks
- 1 Collegiate Summer League ballpark
- 1 NASCAR race track
Opening Day in Detroit
This early season trip to Detroit actually happened because my son wanted to watch a live football game in the spring and the Michigan Panthers of the UFL were scheduled to play on the same day as the Tigers’ home opener.
Seattle Day Trip
This trip to the Pacific Northwest happened before I wanted to see if I could pull off flying from Minneapolis to Seattle for Mariners vs. Blue Jays and back in the same day.
Milwaukee Card Show and Game
I drove to meet up with my friend, Tim from Madison (who previously lived in Baltimore), to go to the Wisconsin Sports Card Show in downtown Milwaukee and then to watch my hometown Minnesota Twins play at American Family Field.
Big Texas Trip
For the fourth year, I’d taken the annual week-long trip to visit consecutive ballparks. In 2025, I flew into New Mexico to meet with my friend, Ernie from Albuquerque (previously from Minneapolis), to begin the road trip through New Mexico and Texas.
To keep the consecutive game streak essence of the annual trips, I include a mix of minor league ballparks along with the Major League parks.
The Big Texas trip went: Tuesday for the Midland Rockhounds, Wednesday for the Round Rock Express, Thursday for the Astros, Friday for the Rangers, Saturday for the Amarillo SodPoodles, and closed on Sunday for the Albuquerque Isotopes.
Twins/Saints Doubleheader
Each year, there are a few opportunities to watch both the Twins at Target Field and the St. Paul Saints at CHS Field on the same day.
I did this for the first time for Twins vs. Cubs for the afternoon game and then the Saints vs. Iowa Cubs for the night game.
Bristol Trip
The trip to Bristol actually started the Tuesday night before.
The plan was always to arrive in Tennessee on Thursday but the chance to watch Shohei Ohtani pitch on Wednesday led to a convenient detour to Cincinnati.
During the same week, the Appalachian League (previously a rookie-class minor league and now a collegiate wood bat league) closed out their season with the Appalachian League Championship Game in Johnson City.
Closing out the weekend was the MLB Speedway Classic for the Reds vs. Braves, the first MLB game played at the Bristol Motor Speedway and first ever MLB game in Tennessee. Due to heavy rains on Saturday, the game would stretch into Sunday.
Upper Midwest Trip
Ian from Canada, who I met during my 2024 East Coast trip, returned to the U.S. for his own ballpark road trip. I took the Amtrak train to meet up with Ian in Chicago to kick off a four-day stretch.
End of Season in the Bay Area
A work trip to the Bay Area brought me the opportunity to revisit one ballpark and add on a new ballpark. Friday night, I flew in late to the San Francisco airport and stayed in Millbrae. Saturday, I took the CalTrain to San Francisco for a day game at Oracle Park. Sunday, I took the two-hour Amtrak ride to Sacramento to watch the A’s in their temporary home at Sutter Health Park.
