We are finally ready for the last leg of the Ultimate Baseball Road Trip. This is the longest leg in terms of teams, miles, and days. We will see nine stadiums, covering 4,714 miles and 45 days. It starts by traveling from where we left off in Kansas City to Denver. Then we have our longest drive, the 1,303 miles from Denver to Seattle. Then we head down California, hitting Oakland, San Francisco, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Next up is Phoenix before finally ending in Arlington, Texas.
June 9: Coors Field in Denver, CO (609 miles, 6,740 total miles)
We start the fourth leg of our trip in Denver as the Rockies host the Diamondbacks. The Rockies moved into Coors Field in 1995 after spending their first two years at Mile High Stadium. Colorado has done a good job of filling the stadium, only falling below 2 million once (”only” 1.9 million in 2005). Last season, they fell just 7,000 short of 3 million fans.
Embed from Getty ImagesCoors Field sits 5,200 feet above sea level, more than 4,000 feet higher than the next highest stadium in MLB. This altitude allows the balls to fly further, prompting the Rockies to put the fences further from home plate. That makes their outfield the largest in the league. They also employ a humidifier to help deaden the ball. None of that has made much of a difference, the ball still flies out of the park at a high rate. It’s so bad that their mascot’s name is Dinger.
June 19: T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA (1,303 miles, 8,043 total miles)
Whew! That was the longest drive of the whole trip. Now we get to see the Seattle Mariners host the Royals. The Mariners moved into T-Mobile Park in the middle of 1999 after playing in the Kingdome for their entire existence. Attendance has been solid as they have drawn at least 1.7 million fans every year. Their last place finish in 2019 caused them to dip below 2 million for the first time since 2013.
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the most unique features of T-Mobile Park is the fact that their retractable roof does not close the entire stadium off, but rather acts as an umbrella. It is the only baseball stadium with a roof and permanent openings in North America. There are a pair of museums, Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest and Mariners Hall of Fame, that show the history of baseball in the area.
July 1: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA (807 miles, 8,850 total miles)
Our first California stop features the Marlins visiting Oakland. The Athletics are coming off back-to-back 97-win seasons, but that did not help them get their attendance out of the bottom third of the American League. They have drawn more in each of the past couple of seasons, but only to 1.6 million in 2019. Not too great for a team that won 97 games two years in a row.
Embed from Getty ImagesOakland-Alameda County Coliseum, sometimes under different names, has been home to the Athletics since they moved from Kansas City in 1968. It is the only stadium that still hosts an MLB and NFL team. That will change when the Raiders move to Las Vegas in 2020. However, the stadium is still not very good. Nobody has called it beautiful. There are acres of foul territory, which pitchers love, but fans are farther away from the action.
July 7: Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA (16 miles, 8,866 total miles)
We get to spend Independence Day in the Bay Area as we wait for the Giants to get to town. When they do, they get to host the Athletics. The Giants won three World Series Championships in the 2010s and were rewarded by topping the 3 million mark every year until dropping to 2.7 million in 2019. That was the lowest attendance figure since Oracle Park replaced Candlestick Park in 2000.
Embed from Getty ImagesBarry Bonds ruled the early years of the park, launching home run after home run into McCovey Cove beyond the right field bleachers. Bonds hit his 500th, 600th, and 700th home run here, as well as his 71st, 72nd, and 73rd home runs in 2001 to break the single season record. On top of that, he passed Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron on his home field to go from fourth to first all time.
July 11: Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA (409 miles, 9,275 total miles)
Our next stop is Anaheim as the Angels host the Dodgers. Opened in 1966, Angel Stadium has been the home for the California Angels, Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Los Angeles Angels. They first topped the 3 million mark in 2003 and have not dropped below that mark since.
Embed from Getty ImagesAngel Stadium was not like the other cookie cutter stadiums built in that era. The asymmetrical outfield has deep corners, but boasts the shortest distance to centerfield in the American League at 396 feet. The Big A outside of the stadium has a halo on it that lights up when the Angels win, whether it’s a home game or not.
July 14: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA (43 miles, 9,318 total miles)
The 2020 All-Star Game will be played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This is a perfect game to watch as we wait for the Dodgers to start their first homestand after the break.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is the second time that Dodger Stadium has hosted the All-Star Game. The National League won in 1980, 4-2. The Dodgers hosted in LA in 1959, but that was in Los Angeles Memorial Stadium.
July 16: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA (0 miles, 9,318 total miles)
The Dodgers start the second half with the Giants coming to town. Dodger Stadium was built after the team moved from Brooklyn and it was their new home in their fifth season in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have finished on top of the NL West for seven consecutive years and have drawn at least 3.7 million fans to top the National League in each of those seasons.
Embed from Getty ImagesDodger Stadium was one of the last stadiums to be built for baseball before the multi-sport stadiums started sprouting up. It is very symmetrical and has the shortest distance to centerfield in all of baseball, one foot shorter than that of Angel Stadium. It has seen 10 World Series, with the Dodgers winning four of them.
July 18: Petco Park in San Diego, CA (125 miles, 9,443 total miles)
Our next stop is in San Diego to see the Brewers visit the Padres. Petco Park opened in 2004 and attendance has only dipped below 2 million once, and they drew 1.92 million in 2009. They drew close to 2.4 million last season even though they finished in last place for the last two years.
Embed from Getty ImagesPetco Park offers views of the San Diego skyline and the San Diego Bay in left field and Balboa Park, home of the famous San Diego Zoo, beyond centerfield. The Western Metal Supply Co. Building was scheduled to be demolished in order to build the stadium, but it was saved and incorporated into the design, just beyond the left field wall.
July 20: Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ (355 miles, 9,798 total miles)
The Twins visit the Diamondbacks on our next stop. Chase Field, originally called Bank One Ballpark, has been the only home for the Diamondbacks. It has been a big draw in Phoenix, drawing more than 2 million people every year.
Embed from Getty ImagesChase Field was the first retractable roof stadium in the United States with natural turf, though they installed synthetic turf last season. The stadium was designed in such a way that even with the roof closed, the sun provides enough light to play by during day games.
July 24: Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX (1,047 miles, 10,845 total miles)
We made it! On our last stop, after the second longest drive of the trip, we find the Angels visiting the Rangers. This is the newest ballpark on our trip, having debuted on Opening Day. The new stadium should benefit from a fan base that drew more than 2 million fans in all but two of the 26 years that the old Ballpark in Arlington served as their home.
The new Globe Life Field features a retractable roof that has transparent panels so fans can have the outdoor view and still enjoy air conditioned comfort. The field will be synthetic turf, which is disappointing. The seating capacity will be right around 40,000, which is about 8,000 fewer seats than Globe Life Stadium across the street had.
The End of the Road
And there you have it. Thirty stadiums, thirty-one games, 10,845 miles, and four months. The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip.