Good Night, and Good Luck

A few days ago, while I was getting my dinner prepared, I cast a cursory look at my previous season blogs and began to reminisce. While slaving over a pot of spaghetti and meat sauce, I had flashes of images run through my mind about those summers that are now becoming more and more distant in the past. Trips to North Carolina, Chicago, Seattle, Tacoma; they all resonated within my conscious as something I take great happiness in. I then refocused on my cooking and immediately the realization of my current position, embarking on a career and a new life, may not have happened without Baseball being a part of my life. As I pen this final entry, especially for this season, my respect for the game and the experiences I've gained in seven seasons brings everything full-circle.

This season started with the promise of adventure. That cold and rainy January afternoon at Safeco Field for Fan Fest set a high bar of expectations for the season. The Edgar Martinez q&a with regards to PEDs and the Hall of Fame and catching fly balls in the outfield stick out in my mind. I think that trip was significant in establishing the Mariners as my "team" for the future. In the back of my mind, however, I had the sneaking suspicion that they would fail to impress and get victories. It's interesting how that played out at the end of the season.

Throw in a Duck game or two, then it was down to San Francisco for the World Baseball Classic. I'm sure some baseball enthusiasts will go crazy, but I'd like to refer to it as the "Olympics of Baseball." Seeing two teams, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and the nationalistic fervor that came about because of it was really exciting. I put my stamp on an experience that really may have been once-in-a-lifetime. Add to that my journey to San Jose to see the Ducks play the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, aka March Madness, made for a treat like no other. 

When some crazy things in my life happened requiring me to postpone and move some planned trips, it opened up a few unique experiences. The Baseball Movie Marathon, Softball Spring Training and the midnight showing of 42 made for some great baseball-themed experiences that I was able to share with others. The best part about those were that they were cheap and extremely easy to plan for. For the future, I'll definitely try to look outside-the-box again.

After a Memorial Day trip to Seattle, I came back with my yearly Puget Sound trip. It's a real shame that I won't be able to do this trip again due to my relocation, but, let's face it folks, that trip is, and always will be, the quintessential Baseball Road Trip. It incorporates everything, from train travel to public transportation to sightseeing, that make Baseball Road Trips exciting. Going to Seattle and Tacoma really got the summer going and continued to up the ante for the season. 

Then, in July, was the SoCal trip. Who would've thought that the trip would actually serve as an intended scouting trip for my new life? At the time, games in Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore and Whittier were just that. But, now in hindsight, those experiences allowed me to gain comfort with this area and familiarity with some of the communities I'm working in. Also, the Newport Beach swim and the paddleboard debacle always brings a smile to my face and an interesting story to tell others.

Shortly after SoCal, I visited the new ballpark in Hillsboro. If you recall, I was a little disappointed with what I saw there in regards to the park itself, but I was happy to see baseball return to the Portland area. What really sticks out for me was how that trip was supposed to include Old Time Baseball at Fort Vancouver, but it was cancelled because of the Sequester. Even Baseball Road Trips aren't immune from politics in Washington DC.

In mid-August, I finally added some spontaneity to Baseball Road Trips with the King Felix Day. On a whim, I jumped in the train, went to Seattle, saw Felix Hernandez pitch a gem, and hang out just for sake of hanging out. I will definitely try and do something like that again.

A few weeks later was the trip to Albuquerque. Two days on the train to see a Minor League team may have seemed crazy to some, but how many people can say they did something like that in their life? And, heck, the ballpark in Albuquerque was certainly worth it as it took the cake as one of my favorite parks in all of the Minors. But outside the game, you can't overlook the Rattlesnake Museum and the Titanic exhibit.

I think the month of September was the keystone for the entire season. In the middle of the month, I flew down here for my job interview. I caught an Angels game, which was definitely fun. However, I had to delicately balance the information I gave all of you without divulging too much about the purpose. You all know that I sometimes overkill my travel plans, so that was difficult. For that, I must apologize, but I hope you all understand why I did what I did. 

Then, at the end of September, I saw the Mariners play for the final time. The showing I saw from that team on that final day of the MLB regular season was atrocious. Who would've thought that back in January?

Finally, what a finale. A baseball game in November in a foreign country? You couldn't have scripted that. The incredible last day of Baseball Extravaganza 2013 in Mexico summed up what was an incredible season. Just read through that last post and see why it had such an effect on me. It is what Baseball Roa Trips are all about. 

Defining and significant can best describe my feelings right now. Of all my seasons of doing this, I am firm in my belief that this season bested all others. I went to games in ten separate cities all over the country, including Mexico. I utilized all forms of travel conceivable be it planes, trains, automobiles, boats and simple walking. However, in the midst of the thousands of miles traveled, I found myself and came to be a better person in all of it.

What was my favorite trip? Gosh, I don't know to be honest. Every single one of these adventures had their own unique spin on this season. It would be impossible to determine what was my favorite.

What would I improve? I would defnitely keep trying to go on more trips with others. Being able to share these adventures with others is a great way to really delve into the cities and parks I visit. This is why I write this blog. However, I think it would be awesome to go on a Baseball Road Trip with a bunch of people. Think of those adventures we could have!

So many of you read this blog and followed my travels on social media, and I thank all of you. I'm truly blessed to be able to share all of this with you. While there were times I was lonely on trips, I always took comfort that your insight and interest would always be there. 

What's for the future? Well, I'm going to become a season ticket holder for the Inland Empire 66ers next year as their ballpark is only about ten minutes from me. I'll definitely hit up the parks in the SoCal area, but I will make a specific effort to hit up Adelanto and Lancaster. For more extended travel, I do not know yet. Salt Lake City and the Pioneer League teams in Orem and Ogden have been on my radar for a few years, so I might try and make a trip out there. One of the beauties about being down here is that there is literally no place you cannot fly, drive or take the train to, so really the possibilities are infinite. 

More immediately, I'm focused on starting my new life, learning a new city, and doing well at my new job. The past two weeks have been all about getting my new apartment set up, saving up to see my family over the holidays. I've grown-up a lot, and when I talk to you all next season, I will definitely be a changed person. 

So, for the final time in 2013...

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

South of the Border

In the days after I have gotten back from Mexico, a number of people have asked me "How was it? Did you have fun? What was seeing a game there like?" To be honest, I have been at a loss for words. This most recent Baseball Road Trip to Mexico was unlike any other experience I have had before. In answering their questions, I usually just go into the itinerary and take each individual event and elaborate on them. It makes for a little long-winded storytelling, but it just highlights the incredible adventure that it was.

Mexicali is about two-and-a-half hours from my apartment in Highland. I left at 9am in order to give myself plenty of time to get to the border and eventually to the ballpark. The drive there took me past a massive windfarm just east of here, the posh city of Palm Springs, sandy deserts surrounding the Salton Sea and the seedy border town of Calexico. With the flat terrain out of Palm Springs, it was easy to set the cruise control at about 75mph, plug in the iPhone for some tunes, and just drive. Considering some of the other trips I have taken where I have sat in traffic jams, it was a welcome relief.

I got to Calexico at about noon. I literally took the highway to the border where I found some parking in a mall lot just on the other side of the border about a mile from the crossing. What first struck me as significant was the mall, literally a stones throw from the 15-foot high border fence, had such stores as Nordstrom's, Macy's, Nike and other high-priced retailers. If you look on the other side of the fence, you see properties in Mexico proper that are basically slums. Can you imagine living there and seeing the corporate monikers of the mall separated by a huge fence every single day? Put things in stark reality.

Before I could cross the border, I stopped at a cambio and exchanged some US Dollars for Mexican Pesos. I knew that the exchange rate was going to be super inflated being this close to border, so I decided to keep half of the cash I had in USD. I also had my Visa card, so I figured that I would be set with equal amounts of both currencies. It was a decision that would later come back to haunt me.

Literally about two blocks from the cambio was the pedestrian crossing into Mexico. It is really nondescript and simply has a sign that says "To Mexico". You have to go through two massively robust rotating cages before you get to Mexico. Between the two gates, you can peer inside the windows to see the massive line going back through customs into the US and all the Border Security. Contrast that with when you first step into Mexico, there is a solitary policeman and nothing else. No checking of documents, no metal detectors, no nothing. I had to laugh at myself and think "Wow, it is so easy to get into this country!" 

After traversing an underground tunnel, you open up into a chaotic street scene in Mexicali. It was here that I needed to make my way out to the ballpark. I noticed that there was public transportation in the form of buses, but I wasn't just going to jump on board a bus in a foreign country with no idea where it was heading. I did some research on the Internet about the possibility of taking public transportation, but the lack of information did not fill me with enough confidence to consider using it. Enter in the taxi situation. Dozens of drivers are trying to peddle you to take rides, so I walked about a block away from the main stand and hailed a cab.

My cab driver spoke no English, thus forcing me immediately to use my newly acquired Spanish skills. However, native Spanish speakers tend to speak very fast, so I was only able to catch every third or fourth word. I immediately recognized that I was going to have a tough time conversing, so I had to literally act out the motion of hitting a baseball and saying "estadio de beibol." I must've been successful in conveying my destination because we immediately jumped out into the street like a jackrabbit weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. It was only about a five minute cab ride to the ballpark, but along the way, I caught my first glimpse into the seedy-side of Mexico with dark alleys, chop shops, obvious slums, and standout red-light districts. I knew that all of Mexico couldn't be like this, but I would most definitely have to keep my wits about me after the game and after dark.

Estadio CasasGEO is part of a large sports complex that features a track and soccer stadium, American football stadium, and indoor arena. The entire complex looked to be fairly new and it seemed, based on the flyers and my rough translation of the phrases, that there was going to be some large Olympic-style event happening in the next few days. I found it ironic that the last time I was in a foreign country on a

Baseball Road Trip (Canada) there was massive preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

As I went to get my ticket, I found it very difficult to communicate with the ticket seller. It then hit me that I am not in a major tourist attraction for Americans and that it would be that much more difficult to converse and interact. Add to that the park, for some reason, did not take American dollars, so I blew through my limited stash of Pesos just to get in. I didn't have Pesos to buy anything else, preventing me from buying my ballpark souvenir of a keychain, which was disappointing. However, with money at a ballpark, you usually buy food, which I wasn't too keen on as I'll explain in a bit.

The ballpark is rather large seating, I would estimate, about 20,000. However, it's kind of a dump. The seats are all rusting and falling apart, there are ugly unpainted concrete bleachers in the outfield, shoddy looking concession stands, and a field that looked really unappealing to play on with brown spots all over the outfield grass. I had seats in the second deck on the third base side, which were pretty cheap at about $8US. The second deck stretched from base-to-base while the lower deck went from foul pole-to-foul pole. The second deck, however, had half of it blocked off with yellow caution tape, which I assumed was because they had been condemned. 

As the game started, I noticed a couple of things. First, it seemed like the concessionaires were all private individuals not affiliated with the organization. It looked like all their products were made by hand and that they were selling, literally, as a source of income. However, I was a little skeptical of bottled water being sold out of a metal bucket as being truly sanitary and clean. Second, and it relates to concessions, I noticed that all the grill cooks were wearing surgical masks when they cooked. Those two things combined to dissuade me from buying anything that potentially would have gone into my tummy.

So, what exactly is the Mexican Pacific League? From what I could garner, it is a league where journeyman Major Leaguers and up-and-coming Minor League talent come together for some off-season baseball. For example, in this particular game, former Seattle Mariner Russell Branyan, playing for Mexicali, uncorked on a fastball and driving it 400+ feet over the right field wall. I figured the talent level would be on par with a Double-A level. As for the final score, using the Branyan homer as inspiration, the Aguilas de Mexicali beat the Venados de Mazatlan 5-1.

The most incredible part of the baseball game was that despite the difficulties I was having in communicating, once the game started, the language became the same. The game itself wasn't too different from what we're used to here in the United States. The gameday experience, however, had some differences. The game was super quick as they didn't really have a whole lot of promotional stuff between innings. There was no 7th-Inning Stretch with Take Me Out To The Ballgame. It was weird to not hear the Star Spangled Banner before the game, but to hear that all the music played was American like Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, Black Eyed Peas and the Village People. Music is blared after each pitch and the atmosphere was almost a party, but, strangely, it didn't feel forced from the organization itself as in a lot of American Parks. It felt more community based. Another weird thing was that the jerseys of all the players had patches of all these different corporate sponsors. It reminded me of a NASCAR driver's uniform. The biggest difference, actually, was hearing the entire PA in Spanish. That was a real trip.

After the game, I didn't stick around for very long. It was already dark and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get back to the border. In my head were these images from Dateline and 60 Minutes about drug violence after dark in Mexico, so I was in a super hurry to get back across the border and leave. On the cab ride in, we traversed a wide and busy boulevard about three blocks from the park, so I figured that I would be able to hail a cab from there. Key phrase is "I figured". I ended up waiting for almost a half hour on a Mexican street corner with my arm raised for a cab that seemingly never came. With each passing minute my anxiety and fear level got higher and higher. It wasn't exactly the safest security situation I could imagine. Thankfully, out of the blue, a cab pulled up and I got inside.

For the first time during the entire trip, I was able to have a somewhat doable conversation with an individual. The cabbie spoke fairly good English and was incredibly nice and jovial. It was a welcome relief to be able to talk to someone and gain that ever valuable insight into the community that I'm always seeking on Baseball Road Trips. He told me of the crime situation, the good places to eat around the ballpark, a couple Spanish phrases that would go a long way, his experiences in the United States, and, of course, baseball. Considering we were in a traffic jam for almost twenty minutes, it was that brief conversation that made my last Mexican experience worth it.

Then there is the border crossing. Ever since 9/11, it is required that you have a passport to enter the US from Mexico. I had a passport, but it was from the Peace Corps and I wasn't entirely sure if it would work going in. The line for pedestrians to cross stretched at least a mile and took me nearly three hours to get through. When I got to the Border Patrol agent, I was a little surprised that I was somewhat grilled by him. "What was your purpose for visiting Mexico?" "Where are you going in the United States?" "What's your date of birth?" "Where do you work?" The man grilled me for almost five minutes. For a second, I was almost worried that I wasn't going to be allowed back into the country. He finally asked me to smile, held up my passport and declared that I was who I said I was and let me through.

It was on my walk back to the car that I realized why I was grilled. Folks, I stuck out like a sore thumb in Mexicali. Whether it was at the game or at the border, it was obvious that I was an outsider. Mexicali isn't the tourist town that Tijuana is, so when I was standing in line or at the game, everybody around me was of Mexican heritage. People stared at me, whispered to their companions after looking at me, and steered clear of me. I actually felt alone and rather vulnerable. Especially standing in line, with my Baseball Road Trip backpack, Portland Beavers sweatshirt, and standing 6'3", I was obviously out of place. The Border Guard had every right to be suspicious about me and question me. 

I tell you what, I immediately gained a greater appreciation for people in our country who have immigrated from somewhere else and have to deal with those actions and feelings of loneliness everyday. We, as Americans, sometimes are wary of outsiders and stare at them because they look different, dress funny, can't speak our language, don't understand our culture, or whatever. After being in that situation first-hand, I am advocating the embrace of our differences and diversity, the acceptance of others, and compassion for all. As I started off this post, no Baseball Road Trip has come close to this experience, and I hope I have conveyed to all of you why that is.

Baseball Extravaganza 2013 has come to a glorious end. It has come to an end, and what and end it has been to one helluva successful season. Look for my final, final summation in a few days. 

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

Béisbol de Mexico

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The journey that started nearly ten months ago will be coming to an end tomorrow. In what is turning out to be one of my most anticipated Baseball Road Trips of all time, I am leaving tomorrow for Mexicali and the Béisbol de Mexico. I am convinced that there is no better way to end this remarkable season of baseball than this trip south-of-the-border. My emotions right now are a combination of excitement, anticipation and even a bit of nervousness. This is going to be a trip for the books and I am excited to have all of you come along with me.

Here's the itinerary for tomorrow: 

I'm planning on leaving Highland at around 9am. Depending on traffic, I should get to the border town of Calexico, CA around noon or 1230. Once there, I'll park my car on the US side and proceed to walk across the border into Mexico. The fun really starts then as I have to hail a cab, utilize my ever-increasing Spanish linguistic skills, and navigate to the home of the Aguiles de Mexicali, Estadio Casas Geo. Once there, I'm going to see the home town Mexicali team play host to Mazatlan in a late afternoon tilt. After the game, I have to make my way back to the border, albeit after dark, navigate customs back into the US, and drive home. If all goes according to plan, I'd like to be back in Highland no later than midnight.

There has been quite a lot of preparation for this trip, on my part. I've spent the last couple weeks going onto YouTube and brushing up on my Spanish. I've also sought insight from social media, co-workers and family about the process that I can expect entering Mexico and returning to the United States. Finally, I have kept abreast of the security situation on the US-Mexico border. With all of this at my disposal, I am confident that I will be safe, secure and will have a good time.

Still, there is a degree of nervousness to this. This is my first time to Mexico, and I am expecting a wildly different culture, a new language, and unfamiliar customs. Add to that the headlines that have dominated the news about drug-related violence, I do have some butterflies in my stomach. However, I have been traveling for Baseball Road Trips for seven years now in fifty different cities. I have found myself in rough neighborhoods and shoddy sidewalks. I enter in to a different mindset and my "antennae" go up whenever I'm in potentially dangerous situations, so I will be counting on that vigilance tomorrow.

I keep reminding myself that while the premise of this trip is baseball, it is all about the experience. To quote an old saying, it isn't the destination that matters, but rather the journey. I would never have imagined back in January that I would be doing something like this to cap off an incredibly awesome season.

As always, watch Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare for updates throughout the day about my adventures.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

Se Habla Español

The Fall Classic ended on Wednesday with the Boston Red Sox winning the championship over the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. While I didn't see either of the teams in the World Series this year, I want to extend my congratulations to the Red Sox and their organization. Maybe, one of these days, I'll make it to Boston and see a game at Fenway Park. It is definitely on my Bucket List of baseball things-to-do.

Usually my blogs and seasons are done before the playoffs start, but as I prepare for my trip to Mexico in two weeks, watching the end of World Series didn't have that finality to it. I had a grin on my face when I tweeted that I had one more game to go to and that I wasn't quite finished yet.

So, what am I doing to prepare for this trip? As I alluded to in the previous blog post, I learning some basic conversational Spanish. I'm using this to nail down a few phrases that can help get me to the ballpark, allow me to navigate the ballpark, and hail a cab back to the border. I had thought about using Khan Academy to take some lessons, but I was surprised that they didn't have any. I have resorted to using flash cards from the popular phrases page on Wikitravel and some language videos on YouTube. They're getting the job done and I feel like my skills are being reinforced. I did take two years of Spanish in high school and I taught some Spanish when I was in the Peace Corps, so I have some experience in the language, and I think I could hold my own, but I just want to be prepared.

I found this YouTube channel called SpanishDict that has pretty easy-to-follow lessons. Each lesson is about ten minutes long, so I usually do one in the morning, review it at night, do a new one after that, and review it the next morning before moving on. Like I said, a lot of what I learned in school is coming back to me during these lessons, but the review is nice. 

The second thing I have been researching in preparation for is the security situation on the US-Mexico border. From what I can tell, Mexicali is relatively calm in comparison to other cities on the border like Tijuana and Juarez. Based on all the travel sites I've researched, and I've used some of them for information before, the majority of the violence on the border is drug and gang related. They were unanimous in saying that the odds of American tourists getting into trouble, unless you're looking for it, is small. It seems like Mexicali is more a transit point to the border rather than a battleground between the Cartels and the government. There is still danger, but I believe it is of a lesser degree than other places in Mexico. Bottom line, I'm going into Mexico for a baseball game and nothing else. Mexicali isn't a huge tourist town with many sights, so I'm just going to go in, see the game, and get back across the border. No frills or fluff, but with the safety issue, I'm not willing to risk anything.

Folks, despite the dire sounding paragraph, I'm firmly believe I'll be fine and the trip will go off without a hitch. My preparations are great and I've been in cities before where crime is an issue. I just have to be more vigilant and aware of my surroundings.

I'm still working on getting settled in here at the new Casa de O'Connell in Highland. Work is going good and I fell like I am acclimating to the new culture down here. I'm taking things slow, observing and listening a lot, and not wanting to make huge changes immediately. I'm being patient with my movements and actions, and I think it is allowing me to let this experience sink in.

I'll keep all of you updated on my progress for this last Baseball Road Trip. I'm excited to go and experience something different.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

Getting Settled

Welcome back to sunny Southern California! This time, however, things are a bit different. I'm writing you not from a Baseball Road Trip, but my new apartment here in Highland. I have relocated here to take a job at the YMCA, and I've been in the city for about ten days. I am just now just getting settled and I felt that it was a good time to write about the last Baseball Road Trip of the season. My move has opened up the opportunity for on last trip down here, and it will definitely be a doozy. 

When I first got down here, I was hoping that the Dodgers would make it to the World Series. In my head, I thought that the perfect end to Baseball Extravaganza 2013 would be a World Series game in Dodger Stadium in October. Unfortunately, the Dodgers didn't make it, so I started to look elsewhere. 

On November 17, I'm going to drive the two-and-a-half hours to the US-Mexican border. I'm going to park the car and walk across the border into the city of Mexicali. There, I'll make my way to the Estadio CasasGEO to see the Mexican Pacific Professional League Aguilles de Mexicali play. This will be my first time, ever, to Mexico and it will definitely be a Baseball Road Trip for the books. 

A number of things need to happen before I leave, however. First, I need to learn a few phrases in Spanish that will allow me to get to and from the ballpark via a taxi. That is the type of transportation that seems to have the fewest question marks for safety and convenience. In addition, I assume that the ballpark is frequented more by locals rather than tourists, so I may need to speak some Spanish at the park itself during the game. 

Second, and it relates to safety, is the security situation on the border. I'm going to definitely travel with a partner or in a group. I'm also going to make sure that the violence on the border doesn't spill over into Mexicali, which has been relatively spared the carnage that has been in Juarez or Tijuana, by relentlessly watching the news and travel advisories from the State Department. 

Just like with my Spring Training for softball earlier this year, I will update you on my progress with these preparations. My anticipation for this trip is growing by the day as I get more and more acclimated to my new location. 

Things are going well and I'm just glad to be settled into my new position and my new residence. This is going to be an adventure and I'm glad that baseball can fit into it. Most of all, I appreciate all of you keeping up with my blog and sending me your thoughts and comments. All of you are accompanying me on this journey, and I'm so glad to have you. 

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

Opportunity Knocking

In the previous post, I alluded to some major life changes for me. It is time that I reveal what is going on and describe how baseball may just fit into those changes.

Last month, I wrote a post about a trip I made to Southern California for a job interview. I managed to go an Angles game, which was the basis of my post, but I was not specific on what the job interview was or what transpired from it. I can now say that the job I interviewed for was offered to me and I accepted it. I am now the Director of Sports Programming at the Highland Family YMCA in Highland, CA. I am packing up my life here in Oregon and driving down to the Inland Empire and beginning anew. I am leaving tomorrow morning and my first day is this upcoming Friday.

Here's a little bit about what I'm doing and where I'm going: The Highland Family YMCA is part of the overall YMCA of the East Valley system. It is a smaller YMCA, but they are actively looking to grow their programming, specifically in the area of organized athletic leagues. That's where I come in. My experience working for the YMCA here in Eugene has allowed me to gain the confidence and resume to accept this promotion. I'll be a member of the Highland management team and for developing athletic programming. for both youth and adults.

As for Highland, it is a city of about 50,000 just east of San Bernardino. It is about an hour (traffic dependent) from downtown LA, 90-100 minutes from San Diego, and three hours from Las Vegas. Most of the services are out of San Bernardino and nearby Redlands, but there are a few haunts in Highland that I excited to explore. While on my interview, I did have the chance to drive around a little and explore the area. I'm looking forward to becoming knowledgeable about the community and becoming a full-fledged member of it. Just like in Baseball Road Trips, I will keep my eyes and ears open, develop social contacts, be curious of the world around me, and find ways to assimilate myself into the city.

Ok, where does baseball fit in with this? First, I think it is a little ironic that I am relocating to this area only a few years after being a legit tourist on a baseball road trip. Yes, in 2010 I went to San Bernardino and saw a game there. Now, I'm mere minutes from the park and it is on the same bus line as my new apartment. In fact, during my interview, I brought up this trip as an indication of how I attempt to learn as much about the community as I can. Who would've thought that a Baseball Road Trip could open up a career path?

Lots and lots of baseball opportunities are around me. From Highland, I'm five to ten minutes from San Bernardino, twenty to twenty-five minutes to Rancho Cucamonga, 45 minutes from Lake Elsinore, an hour from Adelanto, Los Angeles and Anaheim, ninety minutes from San Diego and two hours from Lancaster. Ladies and gentleman, I'm in the thick of it and come baseball season, I plan on being a busy bee.

In my preparation for departure, I did look at some immediate opportunities for baseball as I go down there for the remainder of this year. There are some, and after I get settled there, I'll bring them up.

I wish I could pass on to all of you the excitement I'm feeling. This is such a great opportunity, and I leave my home in smiles and with confident optimism.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

Seattle Final

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In between some enormous changes in my personal life, I wanted to throw out an update from my last trip up to Seattle a week ago and the Seattle Final. I'll get to those changes in a separate post in a few days, but the most important thing right now is to sum up what has been an interesting summer getting to know the Mariners and their last game of the season.

I have enjoyed a new relationship with this Mariners team that has come about now that the Ems and I have fallen out of favor and the Portland Beavers have left town. Including this past Sunday, this was my fifth visit to the Emerald City and Safeco Field. When the Beavers were in town, I would travel up just about that many times, as well. Suffice to say, I guess now I can declare that the Mariners are my default team and that I have now taken a passing interest in their successes and failures. In this season, I've traveled to their Fan Fest, made a special trip to see their star pitcher, and used Safeco Field as a base of operations for a larger Baseball Road Trip (Puget Sound).

In a real change of ideas, my girlfriend and I decided to drive up to Seattle rather than take the train up. This had the benefit of allowing us to be more flexible, not having to leave at zero dark early, and not having to wait for trains. However, I was not a happy camper because, in my opinion, the negatives far outweighed the positives. Since my girlfriend had to work the graveyard shift, she had to sleep pretty much the entire way up, meaning I was the sole driver. It was a real drawback not being able to get up, walk around, grab a cup of coffee in the bistro car, take a nap, read a book, do a crossword, or play games on my phone. Driving takes all your attention, and especially when your travel partner is asleep (which I do not begrudge her for), it made things really boring. Add to that the fact that after the game, I had to fight Seattle traffic all the way to almost Tacoma on I-5, which was really frustrating. Maybe I was just spoiled on my last trip up to Seattle, but being able to walk around Downtown Seattle after the game, grab a quick drink, and leisurely make my way to the train station just sounds so much more civilized.

The game between the Mariners and the Oakland A's was an interesting blend of game ideologies. The Oakland A's had already clinched the AL West and were per-determined to play the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. Because of this, the A's starters only played a few innings before being pulled in favor of the Minor League call-ups. I don't have a problem with that as they're preparing for the playoffs and they don't want to hurt their starters. I expected this going up, and I wasn't surprised to see it.

As for the Mariners, well, you could tell they had pretty much mailed it in. In the days before the game, it was announced that their manager was not going to be retained and the team had destined itself for a paltry fourth-place finish. A few weeks before, the management of the team traded away their starting shortstop, Brendan Ryan, to the Yankees and released their big off-season pick-up, Michael Morse, who was picked up by the Orioles. In my opinion, it was a fire sale and the hoisting of a "white-flag" for the season. All the while, I would see games on television where barely half the stadium was full, and it was backed up statistically as attendance had dropped to some of the lowest in the league. As you can imagine, the internet message boards were on fire and even ESPN's baseball writer wrote a critical piece about the organization, as a whole. It was a sorry state of affairs to walk up to last Sunday.

A sorry state, yes, and it showed. Being the last game of the season against the best team in the division, the Mariners put out an awful performance. In my over 250 professional games I have been to, I have never seen a more lackluster effort from a team. It was painful to watch the Mariners flail at pitches in the dirt, fail to run out grounders, and commit mental errors. At times, it was hard to realize that these were actually professional ballplayers. If you were a die-hard Mariners fan, the 9-0 drubbing that the Oakland A's JV team gave to you must have been a rough one.

Speaking of die hards, they probably were the only ones at the game. For being the last game of the season, you would think that it would have been well-attended, but it wasn't even close. The announced attendance was a little more than 17,000, but that was extremely generous. From my seat, I would guess that barely 10,000 showed up. When the game ended, the remaining fans in attendance, after most had left when the A's put a four-spot up in the fourth inning, booed the hometown team as they were coming off the field for the final time in 2013. Of all the baseball games I have been to, this has been the only game that felt more like a funeral than a sporting event. It was tough to watch.

So, with all the experience and knowledge that I have gained through these six seasons of Baseball Road Trips, what would be my suggestions to the Mariners organization to right the ship? Aside from getting better players and not trading away what you have, it shouldn't be cheaper to go to an Angels game in Orange County than to see the Mariners play. $17 for an upper deck seat is a joke. If it is impossible for the Mariners to NOT to charge less, than don't have ushers kick me out of seats in the first deck when it is a quarter full. Those are my solutions for now, but what do you all think? Definitely chime in on this.

Those life changes I alluded to earlier, I'm not ready to divulge what they are, exactly. However, there is a distinct possibility that I may be seeing some more baseball in the next few weeks. I'm not ready to call Baseball Extravaganza 2013 just yet, because there is a lot of thing unsettled.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)