the Mark Pike

My first major league baseball game was in 1987 in NYC to see my beloved Yankees. I’ve loved going to games ever since so I thought I’d put together a list of ballparks I’ve visited.

The stadiums and teams have changed over the years, but it’d be nice to eventually be able to say I’ve seen each franchise play at home at some point. I’m not necessarily trying to complete a collection here, but each unique visit brings its own sights, smells, sounds and memories.

A list of ballparks I’ve visited (last updated 5/15/11):

• Old Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees)
• New Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees)
• Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
• Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
• Olympic Stadium (Montreal Expos)
• RFK Stadium (Washington Nationals)
• Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
• Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Memorial Stadium (Baltimore Orioles)
• Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
• Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta Braves)
• U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox)
• Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
• Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians)
• Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)
• Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)
• AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)
• Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)

Complete list of MLB stadiums on Wikipedia.

Baseball and autographs have played an important role in my life.

We went to NYC to see the Yankees play in 1987. I finally got to see Don Mattingly, my hero, play the game. In fact, I learned to read by announcing the Yankees box score at the breakfast table.

For my bar mitzvah, my Dad arranged for a close family friend to get me a signed baseball by the best living Yankees. Mickey Mantle is on the sweet spot. Yogi Berra is on there. Hank Bauer. Whitey Ford. I used to sleep with it by my bed, in case there was a fire and I needed to leave in a hurry.

We went to Spring Training a few times to collect autographs too. Wade Boggs. Deion $anders (he actually signed my card with a dollar sign for the “S”). Ruben Sierra. The Don Mattingly signature was elusive. I sent him a picture of me with my monument to Mattingly, a collection of every piece of Mattingly memorobilia I owned with a handwritten request for an autograph. The picture was pretty creepy, in retrospect.

My Dad was in Hawaii with my Mom for a conference earlier this month. They were sitting at a table in the bar, when they noticed Yankee Captain Derek Jeter sitting at the table next to them. Jeter’s girlfriend had her feet up in his lap and they were having a great time. My Dad wanted to respect his privacy, but he also wanted that autograph for the collection. This is what he did…

He left a pre-postaged self-addressed postcard with a hotel employee and a note that said something along the lines of: “I’ve been a Yankees fan for over 50 years… I didn’t want to disrupt you in the bar… Thanks for the memories. Look forward to seeing you in the Series again next year.”

It arrived in the mail today.