It has taken me a full 48 hours to recoup and evaluate the latest Baseball Road Trip. It seems like each road trip builds upon the last one in uniqueness, and this trip epitomized that. While the seeds of the idea were planted last October, I was changing the trip up to the last minute. In a way, this road trip was the evolution of the past seven years of road trips. Even with those changes, this trip was incredible and one of the best.
The World Baseball Classic concept is unique. Since baseball was dropped as an Olympic sport, Bud Selig felt he needed to create something to promote the game abroad. His brain child was the World Baseball Classic. I don't know how successful it is, and there is plenty of controversy surrounding the event. Personally, I would be more supportive of an organized push, possibly by the movers and shakers in baseball, to put baseball back in the Olympics, but the World Baseball Classic is the best we have right now, so I can deal with it. I watched the entire tournament from start to finish to become familiar with the teams and the make up of the competition. It was actually quite intriguing scouting teams from Thailand, China, Germany and the United States. I felt it prepared me for the championship down in San Francisco.
Walking up to AT&T Park, I was pleasantly surprised by the nationalistic fervor showing by the two countries. I figured the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico didn't have a huge following in a place like San Francisco, but, once again, the cultural aspect of a city surprised me. With the US losing in the championship round, I didn't have any allegiance to the two teams playing, so I was able to really observe this in an unbiased fashion.
I absolutely loved the atmosphere inside AT&T Park. The drumming and chants, announcements in Spanish, and the passion showed by both the teams and fans was infectious. Maybe one of these years I'll make it down to a Spanish-speaking country and do a Baseball Road Trip there. I got the sense that they view the game completely different than we do, and that it adds character to the game. I know that there is a Puerto Rican Winter League, so maybe...
The game itself wasn't too bad, and the ticket prices that I complained about earlier turned out to be worth it with the cruddy weather. All in all, I think my experience at the game was totally worthwhile and I am glad I went. I do consider this a once-in-a-lifetime event and I hope that the concept of international baseball, whether it be through the World Baseball Classic or the Olympics catches on and becomes just as popular as professional baseball here in America.
San Francisco is such a beautiful city. If I had the money, I'd live in San Francisco. Just the eclectic blend of culture, scenery, and weirdness allow San Francisco to rise high in my rankings of favorite cities to visit. I love the cuisine, the historical sights, the weirdness of the counter-culture, and many other things. Compared to San Jose, San Francisco is certainly better. My favorite part of the city is the Cable Cars. While I didn't get a chance to ride them this time, I could spend an entire day plying the streets of San Francisco on those things.
The flip side of the beauty is the underlying current of sadness. Walking up to City Hall, we saw dozens and dozens of homeless people sleeping on the streets. The testimony of the woman at City Hall about the dramatic rise in gun violence and gang activity also gave you perspective. In every city there is a world of darkness that pervades it, but understanding it and recognizing it allows to you to appreciate the positives even more. Tourists don't seek out these dichotomies, which clouds their judgement. For future baseball road trips, I'm going to try and really delve deep into the cities I visit to gain an understanding of the whole picture. I did it in places like San Francisco and Baltimore, and I have a greater appreciation for them as a result.
You can tell how far Baseball Road Trips have come when I am comfortable saying "I'll just walk around." That's what happened in San Rafael. I knew I wanted to see the mission there, but, like in San Francisco, you get such a different vibe walking in the city than you do from the seat of a car. Getting outside, walking around, interacting with the people and shopping at the local businesses makes Baseball Road Trips such a holistic activity that goes beyond the game.
I can't recall when I merged baseball and another sport into a road trip. I've visited the Smurf Turf in Boise, played ball at Cameron Indoor Arena in Durham, but those were more recreational pursuits and sightseeing. This trip, however, actually brought together two of my greatest passions into one trip. Seeing two NCAA Tournament games was another once-in-a-lifetime event that I was lucky to be able to do. For $45, I saw two NCAA tournament games, my alma mater, and was a part of something extremely special called March Madness.
Inevitably, I try and imrpove on every trip that I do. It is my goal to make each trip better than the last. So, what lessons did I learn from this trip? Well, I think that I need to be more resourceful on my entertainment on board the train. It's great having an iPhone, but I played on it way too much and without cell service, it became just a tool to play games on. The book I brought really stunk, so I need to be prepared to keep my mind occupied outside of the technology I have. Secondly, I need to continue to pursue doing activites with other people. Hanging out with my friend in San Francisco was a ton of fun and it was even better to share these experiences with him. While the NCAA games were fun, it would have been better to be there with someone.
In summation, this was a great trip. I wholeheartedly enjoyed my time down in the Bay Area and I am glad I went. One of the best trips I have taken.
We're now in the thick of things. Opening Day for MLB is on Sunday and MiLB will start soon thereafter. For me, I have a little layover between Baseball Road Trips. The next trip will come at the end of April as I take a two-and-a-half day train trip down to Albuquerque, NM. There is a few smaller things I have planned during the layover that I will fill all of you in on in the next few weeks.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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