The Case for a New Round of Expansion in Major League Baseball, to 36 Teams
From 1901 to 1960, 16 teams called Major League Baseball home. Between 1961 and 1977, a period covering 17 seasons, 10 franchises were added. It would be 16 more seasons until the Rockies and Marlins joined in 1993, followed by the Diamondbacks and what were then known as the Devil Rays five years later in 1998. While the Devil may be out of the Rays, there is no doubt that the devil is always in the details, or in this instance, those details that are not yet known as to baseball’s future expansion potential. But whereas it seemed possible in 2002 that contraction would occur, there are clearly no arguments in my view that support future contraction and yet several arguments that support future expansion.
Every time expansion takes place, there are those who say that the talent is watered down further in the Major Leagues, but can anyone genuinely say that our baseball of 2013 is more watered down than it was during the golden age? During the golden age, blacks were just beginning to be allowed to play in our highest level of pro ball and the concept of international players, much less international scouting and the draft were ideas that only the brightest outside the box thinking types could have conceived. Now look at where our game is today, the Great American Pastime has become the great global game and all signs are that it will only continue to grow all over the world. Sure there have always been the baseball hot beds like Venezuela and the Dominican, but look at what developments have taken place in nations like the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Mexico, South Korea, all who have contributed a great deal of talent to our top level of baseball. I have not even mentioned Japan, which had 0 MLB players in 1994, now you are likely to find a player from Japan on every single organizational roster and more than just one in some cases. Then there are the many Cuban players who have defected and come to the US to play. If and when relations are ever more open between the two bitter rival governments, there will be a flood of talented players coming across the Florida straits seeking big league money and big league exposure.
Then there is Europe, which many baseball experts who follow the international game believe is the future growth spurt of an even deeper international talent pool. It would not be surprising at all to see nations like Italy, Germany, France, and Spain get to where the Dutch are today and that can only mean one thing, even more big league capable players seeking work.
What does this mean for the future of MLB? It simply means that the game which is expanding globally will eventually have to expand to meet fan and player demands if our professional baseball circuit is to maintain its clear status as the world premier league of top notch professional competition. Now, I present my big and bold expansion proposal.
The expansion would be a record for MLB, six teams at one time. Some of you are now taking a big gulp and catching your breath, really, six teams? But let’s put this in some perspective. IN 1969 when four teams joined, they increased the size of the league from 20 to 24 teams, or an increase of 20% in size. Each team took 30 players in the expansion draft, meaning each of the 20 existing organizations lost six players to the new kids on the block. IN the 1977 expansion that added just two teams in the AL, they too took 30 players each. Since they only drafted from AL rosters, the impact was similar for those 12 existing AL teams, losing five players each. The impact on existing teams was much less in the 1993 and 1998 expansions because for one thing, more existing teams were available to be picked from. So in 1992, the Rockies and Marlins each added 36 players, six more than in prior expansions, but the impact was just three players from each NL organization, three players from eight AL organizations, and 2 players from the remaining six AL members. The 1997 expansion saw the Rays and Diamondbacks each take 35 players, this time as before, some organizations lost three players and others lost just two. Given the fact that we now have 30 teams plus all of the affiliated minor league clubs that are part of the farm systems, expanding by six teams and letting each team take 25 players would not be asking all that much. If each new team took 25 players, that would mean a loss of 5 players from each existing organization, which would be no more impactful than what we saw in the 1969 expansion. Furthermore, increasing from 30 to 36 teams is mathematically exactly the same as increasing from 20 to 24 teams, in that you expand the size of MLB by 20%.
Where to put these six teams? Now there are several approaches that one can take when thinking of where and how to expand. Fans and critics will take note and offer their own ideas and responses, but when reading this. in my view, what follows is a sound judgment in terms of my philosophy of expansion.
I’ve read a couple articles recently that said if baseball expands, Brooklyn should be considered and I agree, given the history of baseball in that location. But the one thing I would say that would counter this view, is the fact that baseball is in more dual markets than any other sport. The NBA has two teams each in Los Angeles and New York, assuming the Kings stay in Sacramento, they are not too far from Oakland which is home of the Warriors, though Sacramento is not considered part of the Bay Area market like San Jose and thus the reason San Jose is much favored over Sacramento to land the Athletics assuming they do eventually move from Oakland. The NFL has three dual markets, Oakland/San Francisco, Washington/Baltimore, and New York. The NHL has a dual market with Los Angeles/Anaheim and a tri market with New jersey and the two New York teams. Baseball has five dual markets, Los Angeles/Anaheim, San Francisco/Oakland, New York, Washington/Baltimore, and Chicago. Add to that fact that Philadelphia is right between DC and New York, San Diego is not that far from Anaheim, and Milwaukee is not far from Chicago, and you quickly see that 15 teams or one half of all of MLB is concentrated in five geographic regions, more than any other sports league. Those facts which are very strait forward doom the Brooklyn idea.
So where does MLB go? Go west was a phrase heard during the mass expansion of the United States and North America in general, I apply that in part to baseball, which has cities in Portland and Vancouver that both seem ready to support the great game. Vancouver was a candidate for the 1998 teams but was quickly passed over for the Florida Sun Coast and Desert southwest. Portland has also been mentioned for years as a future expansion or relocation site and it is time that baseball put steaks down in a city that has proven it will support a team that tries to put a good product out there for the fans, see the Portland Trail Blazers for that example from pro hoops.
City number three, San Antonio. The Rangers and Padres series at the end of spring training drew 35 thousand on the same night the Spurs were playing at home, then 40 thousand for a 1PM start the next day, at a place that can only be described as the most temporary baseball setting imaginable, the Alamodome, which was never built or intended for baseball of any kind, period! This would provide a third team in Texas and it is crazy that the Lone Star State, home to a population only smaller than California does not have a third team. The Dallas Fort Worth metro is after all much larger in population than Washington/Baltimore and one could genuinely argue that a second team could also go to DFW, though I don’t propose such a move.
My other three teams go in the eastern region of the continent, one back to Montreal which MLB never gave a fair chance and as we now see in Miami, the marlins owner cares nothing about the fans and he was the nail in the coffin for the Expos in 2001 when his ownership forced the clock to strike midnight in Montreal. Remember that there were several times back in the period of the 1970’s and early 1980’s that the Expos were on par with or outdrew their counterparts in new York, both the Mets and Yankees, so history tells us with no doubt that Montreal was and is a baseball town. They should revisit the plans for Labatt Park, because the Big Owe will only serve as a temporary home.
Finally, the fifth and sixth franchises go to the southeast US, no not to Florida which has sadly been baseball’s worst experiment for the simple fact that unlike Phoenix, Denver, and other cities mentioned here, Florida cities are full of transplants who could give a damn about a local team because they root for their team from back home. While one of these two slots could instead go to Brooklyn, I have instead chosen Charlotte and Nashville. Both have had success with new franchises and only ownership issues caused concern for Nashville’s NHL franchise and ruined fan interest in Charlotte’s first NBA team. Both cities are solid distances from the nearest markets of St. Louis, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Washington, certainly further away than San Diego is from Orange County and further than Milwaukee is from Chicago.
So now to the question of alignment, how will this all work? My proposal calls for Charlotte to join the existing teams in the AL East and for Nashville to join the AL Central. Portland and San Antonio would both go to the AL West, while Houston would transfer back to the NL Central. Vancouver would join the NL West and Montreal the NL East, plus Pittsburgh and Atlanta would flip divisions, Atlanta to the NL Central and Pittsburgh to the NL East. Now that I’ve made everyone grab for their maps, here is the easy to digest version of alignment.
AL East, Toronto, Boston, NY Yankees, Baltimore, Charlotte, Tampa.
AL Central, Kansas City, Minnesota, Chicago Sox, Nashville, Cleveland, Detroit.
AL West, San Antonio, Texas, LA Angels, Oakland, Portland, Seattle.
NL East, Miami, Washington, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Montreal.
NL Central, Houston, St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Atlanta.
NL West, Colorado, Arizona, San Diego, LA Dodgers, San Francisco, Vancouver.
Time table for expansion, award franchises in 2015, franchises can begin participating in the amateur draft and international free agency process in 2016, new MLB teams take the field opening day, April 2, 2018.
The Ultimate Baseball Battle, Stars Past and Present Play for all 30 MLB Teams in WhatIfSports Simulation
This morning began the first of 177 scheduled simulations to sort of answer that What If question about your favorite baseball team and how they might do with players from today and yesterday. Between today May 14 and Thursday July 11, a complete baseball season of 162 games will be simulated and when it is all said and done, it may stir more debates than it settles. All teams will have a game simulated on 162 of 177 possible time frames, with 15 open cessions. Three simulations are done daily by www.whatifsports.com, one over night around 1:30 AM ET, one in the early afternoon around 1:30 PM ET, and one in the early evening around 6:30 PM ET.
Over the last three weeks, I put together rosters for every MLB team to compete in this unique process, using the sim league baseball engine of www.whatifsports.com as my resource.
The rosters were build using the WIS database, attempting to create reasonably equal opposition throughout the league.
My ground rules were fairly strait forward. First, any player season that was used had to be a full season with his club, so Rick Helling could pitch for the 2005 Brewers, but he could not pitch based on his 1997 season split between the Marlins and Rangers. Any player who had a plate appearance or who pitched to a single batter for more than one team in a given season was excluded. This typically impacted bench players and relief pitchers, as star players were almost never traded during a season at which they were having a career year in terms of their statistical performance.
The other key rule I used in creating the league, each player could only be used once, meaning Nolan Ryan could appear only from one of his more than 20 seasons and thus, it could only be a season with the Astros, Rangers, or Angels of significance. WIS does not make available players who would not be able to hold up throughout an entire simulated season, so pitchers with less than 25 innings and hitters with less than 50 plate appearances are not eligible if that is their season total. I based the choices I made on players like Ryan in terms of what was their best season in terms of stat value, so Ryan was better in terms of K/BB ratio with the Rangers in 1989 than he was with the Astros in ’81 or the Angels in ’72. There were a couple of minor exceptions, Pedro Martinez for instance is on the Nationals roster that is largely made up of former Expos. While his stats were better by a bit in 1999 and particularly 2000 for Boston, his 1997 season was still very dominant for Montreal and in that season, he pitched significantly more total innings, which equal out and in his case overrides the base line stats. Miguel Cabrera is another exception, his best season has been with Detroit, but Detroit had seasons that were as good or better in the past from players who were defensively placed in the same positions on the diamond. In addition, the best two players at first base as Marlins had better years as a Cub (Derek Lee) and a Blue Jay (Carlos Delgado). Add to this, Mike Lowell did not have a place on the Boston roster and Lowell was a better rated defensive 3b in 2004 than Cabrera in 2006, both with the Marlins. So the solution, both Lowell and Cabrera are Marlins, Lowell is at third base, Cabrera at first base. Some other interesting points to note. Boston had three shortstops that made the cut, David Ortiz did not make it because Ted Williams is the DH, with Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Carl Yastrzemski in the outfield. The combined offensive and defensive value was greater for four others than Ortiz, Wade Boggs who is moved from third to first, John Valentin who is moved from short to second, Nomar Garciaparra who is moved from short to third, and Rico Petrocelli who gets the nod at short because of his higher defensive rating from the 1969 season. Boston’s catcher naturally is Carlton Fisk.
The Angels feature two third basemen on their roster, Doug DeCinces is at third while Troy Glaus who had a better season in 2000 than any Angel first sacker will hold down that position.
Albert Pujols will play third base for the Cardinals, a position he played in 2001 thus gets him on to their roster as the top choice on the hot corner, while Mark McGwire handles first. The Cardinal outfield is one of the best, Musial, McGee, and Medwick, with Hornsby and Smith in the middle infield.
Paul Molitor did not play regularly at short, but he was more than a useful reserve at that position for the 1979 Brewers and he is the best option in terms of overall value at that position. The Braves and Nationals each have four outfielders. Atlanta has a regular outfield of Ralph Garr, Hank Aaron, and Felipe Alou, but you could not leave Dale Murphy off this team either. The solution, move Aaron to first base, a position he played in 1962, while Murphy is in center field flanked by Garr and Alou. Aaron joins an infield of Bill Sweeny from the 1912 Braves in Boston, Chipper Jones, and Rafael Furcal.
Another Alou factored in the choice I made with the Nationals. The Expos had many great outfielders and I had to find a way to have Moises Alou, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, and Rusty Staub all on the team. The solution, Raines while not a great defender at second base, did play the position in 1984. Rains is by far a better offensive talent for that position and thus the lesser defense is more than made up for with his bat. So Raines goes to second, joining an infield of Andres Galarraga, Orlando Cabrera, and Ryan Zimmerman.
Note also that for this league, the old 1998-2012 alignment is used, WIS has not come out with a league format that yet supports the current alignment, thus the Astros are still treated as an NL team for this league.
Every team was given 5 starting pitchers that pitched a full season for the given franchise. This also includes time in other cities if the franchise relocated, like Montreal did to Washington. The former Senators from 1901-1960 were considered for spots on the Twins, while members of the Senators II from 1961-71 were considered for the Texas Rangers. Every team that has relocated has members from the former city on the roster. In fact, the Athletics and Braves which have each called two former cities home both have players from both of their former homes in addition to the current city.
Two teams, the White Sox and Red Sox feature three starting pitchers who were on their ball club prior to 1920. The Red sox are the only team to feature a complete rotation of starters who pitched in Boston prior to 1960, the only other team to have all its starting pitchers from seasons that predate 1979 is the New York Yankees.
Every team has a seven-man bullpen, consisting of a closer, a mop-up specialist, three pitchers who are designated in the setup role of which one is a short relief specialist, plus two pitchers who are designated as long relief. Long relief pitchers had to throw a max of 200 and a minimum of 70 innings to be in this roll. Anyone over 200 with a max of 375 innings was considered for one of the starting pitching assignments. The key for the long relief roll was not so much the amount of available innings that could be thrown, as much as having someone with quality and capability to get outs. In nearly every case, the closer is someone who was famous closing for their particular team, in only a couple cases were difficult decisions required. The Pirates have never had a truly dominant closer, Joel Hanrahan is in that position for that club, while the Rockies have never featured a dominant closer who could also have closer like stats. Taylor Buchholz had a season worthy of such consideration for the Rockies in 2008, though he was not the closer. He has been assigned that job in this league for Colorado.
The staff aces in the #1 position for all the rotations reads like a who’s who of baseball pitching greatness, from guys who had great individual seasons, to those who were or will be in the Hall of Fame. The 30 aces are, Felix Hernandez (Mariners), Vida Blue (Athletics), Frank Tanana (Angels), Nolan Ryan (Rangers), Bret Saberhagen (Royals), Walter Johnson (Twins), Eddie Cicotte (White Sox), Addie Joss (Indians), Denny McLain (Tigers), Roger Clemens (Blue Jays), Cy Young (Red Sox), Ron Guidry (Yankees), Mike Cuellar (Orioles), James Shields (Rays), Christy Mathewson (Giants), Sandy Koufax (Dodgers), Randy Jones (Padres), Randy Johnson (Diamondbacks), Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies), Mike Scott (Astros), Bob Gibson (Cardinals), Mordecai Brown (Cubs), Ben Sheets (Brewers), Art Fromme (Reds), Babe Adams (Pirates), Dwight Gooden (Mets), Steve Carlton (Phillies), Pedro Martinez (Nationals), Greg Maddux (Braves), and Kevin Brown (Marlins). On the other end of the pitching spectrum, every team has a mop-up specialist who comes in when things are out of hand one way or another. This is the one guy who will not have great stats, but who nonetheless can get outs and throw innings. Every pitcher in this position on all 30 teams has between 40 and 55 innings of work.
As far as hitters go, every team features 13, AL teams start nine with the DH and have four on the bench. Each AL bench has a backup who can play any position as every team has a backup at catcher. The others cover all other positions or if not, are capable of covering all positions, AKA a player who spent time at second and short but not third can clearly also be used at third. NL teams because of the lack of a DH have a fifth guy on the bench and thus more flexibility. All NL teams do have someone who can be used as a part-time DH when those teams play at an AL team during the small window of interleague play.
All starting position players other than catchers had a minimum of 600 plate appearances. Some teams, the Mariners, Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Astros, Mets, and Marlins have catchers with between 475 and 600 appearances. This is because their best seasons for catchers did not produce a 600 plate appearance season or in the case of the Mets and Astros, the player was already used for another team or position. Craig Biggio is much more valuable as a 2b than a catcher for the Astros, while the Mets lost out on Gary Carter who had a slightly better season with Montreal and thus he is a National. The Mets had a better secondary option than the Nationals, which is even more spectacular when you consider that Mike Piazza is not a Met either , he is a Dodger. Offensively he was very good as a Met, but his defense was not good after he left The Dodgers and in a league where all other catchers were rated typically between 6 and 12 on a 12 point scale for throwing ability, that made the choice to send Piazza to the dodgers rather easy. Had his defense been more respectable as a Met, he would have been a Met and Roy Campanella would have gone to the Dodgers, RC as it turned out didn’t even make the league, because Piazza had a better overall season as a Dodger than any other catcher. Campanella though would have been the top choice at catcher had he played for the White Sox, Indians, Tigers, Orioles when they were still the ST. Louis Browns, or the Phillies with no questions asked.
For today May 14, all 30 teams played in the morning session and I will file a report later that is a summary of those games. IN the early afternoon session, 14 teams will play while 16 are off. The early evening cession features 28 of the 30 teams in action. My updates about those games will be done as YouTube video clips which I will link to the blog for you to look at if interested. IN addition, I will be doing several pieces as this season goes along, highlighting some of the interesting results that come out of these simulations.
Based on the rosters that I was able to put together, here are my predictions for how this simulated season will turn out in terms of order of finish.
AL West
1, Athletics
2, Rangers
3, Angels
4, Mariners
AL Central
1, Twins
2, Tigers
3, Indians
4, White Sox
5, Royals
AL East
1, Red Sox
2, Yankees
3, Orioles
4, Blue Jays
5, Rays
NL West
1, Dodgers
2, Giants
3, Padres
4, Diamondbacks
5, Rockies
NL Central
1, Cardinals
2, Cubs
3, Astros
4, Pirates
5, Reds
6, Brewers
NL East
1, Braves
2, Nationals
3, Phillies
4, Mets
5, Marlins
AL Wild Card, Yankees
NL Wild Card, Giants
Five options for a 2013 30 ballpark, 30 day tour, with game times set
Now that the 30 teams around MLB have set their starting game times or nearly all of them in the case of a couple clubs, here is a look at five potential schedules for a 30 ballpark, 30 day tour including game times.
Option 1, games from Monday April 22 to Tuesday May 21.
Monday April 22, Cardinals at Nationals, 7:05 EDT
Tuesday April 23, Blue Jays at Orioles, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday April 24, Pirates at Phillies, 7:05 EDT
Thursday April 25, Dodgers at Mets, 1:10 EDT
Friday April 26, Blue Jays at Yankees, 7:05 EDT
Saturday April 27, Astros at Red Sox, 7:10 EDT
Sunday April 28, Braves at Tigers, 8:00 EDT
Monday April 29, Mets at Marlins, 7:10 EDT
Tuesday April 30, Red Sox at Blue Jays, 7:07 EDT
Wednesday May 1, Reds at Cardinals, 12:45 CDT
Thursday May 2, Rays at Royals, 1:10 CDT
Friday May 3, Mets at Braves, 7:30 EDT
Saturday May 4, Tigers at Astros, 6:10 CDT
Sunday May 5, Red Sox at Rangers, 2:05 CDT
Monday May 6, Braves at Reds, 7:10 EDT
Tuesday May 7, Athletics at Indians, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday May 8, Mariners at Pirates, 12:35 EDT
Thursday May 9, Blue Jays at Rays, 7:10 EDT
Friday May 10, Phillies at Diamondbacks, 6:40 MST
Saturday May 11, Athletics at Mariners, 6:10 PDT
Sunday May 12, Braves at Giants, 1:05 PDT
Monday May 13, Rangers at Athletics, 7:05 PDT
Tuesday May 14, Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PDT
Wednesday May 15, Royals at Angels, 7:05 PDT
Thursday May 16, Nationals at Padres, 7:10 PDT
Friday May 17, Giants at Rockies, 6:40 MDT
Saturday May 18, Red Sox at Twins, 6:10 CDT
Sunday May 19, Mets at Cubs, 1:20 CDT
Monday May 20, Red Sox at White Sox, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday May 21, Dodgers at Brewers, 7:10 CDT
Option 2, Games from Tuesday May 28 to Wednesday June 26.
Tuesday May 28, Rockies at Astros, 1:10 CDT
Wednesday May 29, Diamondbacks at Rangers, 7:05 CDT
Thursday May 30, Brewers at Twins, 7:10 CDT
Friday May 31, Rays at Indians, 7:05 EDT
Saturday June 1, Nationals at Braves, 7:15 EDT
Sunday June 2, Tigers at Orioles, 1:35 EDT
Monday June 3, Marlins at Phillies, 7:05 EDT
Tuesday June 4, Mets at Nationals, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday June 5, Indians at Yankees, 1:05 EDT
Thursday June 6, Rangers at Red Sox, 7:10 EDT
Friday June 7, Marlins at Mets, 7:10 EDT
Saturday June 8, Rangers at Blue Jays, 1:07 EDT
Sunday June 9, Phillies at Brewers, 1:10 CDT
Monday June 10, Blue Jays at White Sox, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday June 11, Reds at Cubs, 7:05 CDT
Wednesday June 12, Giants at Pirates, 7:05 EDT
Thursday June 13, Royals at Rays, 7:10 EDT
Friday June 14, Cardinals at Marlins, 7:10 EDT
Saturday June 15, Phillies at Rockies, 2:10 MDT
Sunday June 16, Mariners at Athletics, 1:05 PDT
Monday June 17, Padres at Giants, 7:15 PDT
Tuesday June 18, Marlins at Diamondbacks, 6:40 MST
Wednesday June 19, Pirates at Reds, 7:10 EDT
Thursday June 20, Red Sox at Tigers, 7:05 EDT
Friday June 21, White Sox at Royals, 7:10 CDT
Saturday June 22, Rangers at Cardinals, 6:15 CDT
Sunday June 23, Pirates at Angels, 12:35 PDT
Monday June 24, Phillies at Padres, 7:10 PDT
Tuesday June 25, Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PDT
Wednesday June 26, Pirates at mariners, 12:40 PDT
Option 3, games from Sunday June 9 to Monday July 8.
Sunday June 9, Phillies at Brewers, 1:10 CDT
Monday June 10, Blue Jays at White Sox, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday June 11, Reds at Cubs, 7:05 CDT
Wednesday June 12, Brewers at Marlins, 7:10 EDT
Thursday June 13, Royals at Rays, 7:10 EDT
Friday June 14, nationals at Indians, 7:05 EDT
Saturday June 15, Brewers at Reds, 4:10 EDT
Sunday June 16, Mariners at Athletics, 1:05 PDT
Monday June 17, Padres at Giants, 7:15 PDT
Tuesday June 18, Marlins at Diamondbacks, 6:40 MST
Wednesday June 19, Rockies at Blue Jays, 7:07 EDT
Thursday June 20, Red Sox at Tigers, 7:05 EDT
Friday June 21, White Sox at Royals, 7:10 CDT
Saturday June 22, Rangers at Cardinals, 6:15 CDT
Sunday June 23, Pirates at Angels, 12:35 PDT
Monday June 24, Phillies at Padres, 7:10 PDT
Tuesday June 25, Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PDT
Wednesday June 26, Pirates at mariners, 12:40 PDT
Thursday June 27, Royals at Twins, 7:10 CDT
Friday June 28, Diamondbacks at Braves, 7:30 EDT
Saturday June 29, Giants at Rockies, 2:10 MDT
Sunday June 30, Reds at Rangers, 2:05 CDT
Monday July 1, Rays at Astros, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday July 2, Phillies at Pirates, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday July 3, Padres at Red Sox, 7:10 EDT
Thursday July 4, Diamondbacks at Mets, 1:10 EDT
Friday July 5, Orioles at Yankees, 7:05 EDT
Saturday July 6, Braves at Phillies, 7:15 EDT
Sunday July 7, Padres at Nationals, 1:35 EDT
Monday July 8, Rangers at Orioles, 7:05 EDT
Option 4, games from Monday July 22 to Tuesday August 20.
Monday July 22, Dodgers at Blue Jays, 7:07 EDT
Tuesday July 23, Yankees at Rangers, 7:05 CDT
Wednesday July 24, Athletics at Astros, 1:10 CDT
Thursday July 25, Marlins at Rockies, 1:10 MDT
Friday July 26, Padres at Diamondbacks, 6:40 MST
Saturday July 27, Twins at Mariners, 1:10 PDT
Sunday July 28, Cubs at Giants, 1:05 PDT
Monday July 29, Blue Jays at Athletics, 7:05 PDT
Tuesday July 30, Reds at Padres, 7:10 PDT
Wednesday July 31, Yankees at Dodgers, 7:10 PDT
Thursday August 1, Blue Jays at Angels, 7:05 PDT
Friday August 2, Astros at Twins, 7:10 CDT
Saturday August 3, Nationals at Brewers, 6:10 CDT
Sunday August 4, Dodgers at Cubs, 1:20 CDT
Monday August 5, Yankees at White Sox, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday August 6, Marlins at Pirates, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday August 7, Cubs at Phillies, 7:05 EDT
Thursday August 8, Rockies at Mets, 12:10 CDT
Friday August 9, Tigers at Yankees, 7:05 EDT
Saturday August 10, Angels at Indians, 7:05 EDT
Sunday August 11, Padres at Reds, 1:10 EDT
Monday August 12, Marlins at Royals, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday August 13, Pirates at Cardinals, 7:15 CDT
Wednesday August 14, Phillies at Braves, 7:10 EDT
Thursday August 15, Giants at Nationals, 4:05 EDT
Friday August 16, Rockies at Orioles, 7:05 EDT
Saturday August 17, Yankees at Red Sox, 4:05 EDT
Sunday August 18, Blue Jays at Rays, 1:40 EDT
Monday August 19, Dodgers at Marlins, 7:10 EDT
Tuesday August 20, Twins at Tigers, 7:05 EDT
Option 5, games from Thursday August 22 to Friday September 20.
Thursday August 22, Nationals at Cubs, 1:20 CDT
Friday August 23, Rangers at White Sox, 7:10 CDT
Saturday August 24, Brewers at Reds, 7:10 EDT
Sunday August 25, Twins at Indians, 1:05 EDT
Monday August 26, Athletics at Tigers, 7:05 EDT
Tuesday August 27, Brewers at Pirates, 7:05 EDT
Wednesday August 28, Indians at Braves, 7:10 EDT
Thursday August 29, Royals at Twins, 12:10 CDT
Friday August 30, Reds at Rockies, 6:40 MDT
Saturday August 31, Giants at Diamondbacks, 5:10 MST
Sunday September 1, Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 PDT
Monday September 2, Rays at Angels, 6:05 PDT
Tuesday September 3, giants at Padres, 7:10 PDT
Wednesday September 4, Rangers at Athletics, 12:35 PDT
Thursday September 5, Diamondbacks at Giants, 7:15 PDT
Friday September 6, Rays at Mariners, 7:10 PDT
Saturday September 7, Tigers at Royals, 6:10 CDT
Sunday September 8, Pirates at Cardinals, 1:15 CDT
Monday September 9, Braves at Marlins, 7:10 EDT
Tuesday September 10, Red Sox at Rays, 7:10 EDT
Wednesday September 11, Padres at Phillies, 7:05 EDT
Thursday September 12, Yankees at Orioles, 7:05 EDT
Friday September 13, Phillies at Nationals, 7:05 EDT
Saturday September 14, Angels at Astros, 6:10 CDT
Sunday September 15, Athletics at Rangers, 2:05 CDT
Monday September 16, Cubs at Brewers, 7:10 CDT
Tuesday September 17, Yankees at Blue Jays, 7:07 EDT
Wednesday September 18, Orioles at Red Sox, 7:10 EDT
Thursday September 19, Giants at Mets, 1:10 EDT
Friday September 20, Giants at Yankees, 7:05 EDT
Slideshow of Photos From 30 Ballpark, 30 Day tour
This has also been posted on my other pages, but for those who want to view this, I have put together a silent movie which is just the 299 photographs taken as part of the 30 ballpark tour. The photos I am hoping will appear in proper order, as I used Windows Movie maker to create the project, not the easiest task for a blind person. View the slide show at this link.
Slideshow of Photos From 30 Ballpark, 30 Day tour
This has also been posted on my other pages, but for those who want to view this, I have put together a silent movie which is just the 299 photographs taken as part of the 30 ballpark tour. The photos I am hoping will appear in proper order, as I used Windows Movie maker to create the project, not the easiest task for a blind person. View the slide show at this link.
memo to Baseball: Scheduling is As Much Art as Science
How many odd scheduling quirks are on the 2013 schedule I do not know, I have not studied every single teams 2013 slate with a fine tooth comb. But let’s just say scheduling was the excuse for the realignment, yet baseball still can’t seem to draw it up properly.
We were told Houston or some other team had to move to make a 15-15 league for a more fair schedule. Now in theory this is very true, but to make a theory seem worth defending or proving, you have to then put everything into practice based on your theory right? Not if you are in charge of scheduling at MLB.
Before I go full throttle after what is wrong with the 2013 slate of games, lets first backtrack for a moment. I was in favor of a 15-15 split all along, even submitting my thoughts to the Commissioner with a scheduling proposal way back in August 1995. It would take effect in 1998 when the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays as they were known then came into existence. The proposal was simple, move the Royals to the AL West, move the Tigers to the AL Central, put the Rays in the East. The Diamondbacks would join the NL West and that would be that. But baseball was at that time so against interleague series in April or September that 15-15 just seemed to be this completely horrific idea. My proposal called for 30 interleague games, 3 home and 3 away against every team in one division, rotating the divisions each season like the NFL, plus 18 games against each team in the division and six against each team outside the division within your own league. It took baseball until 2002 which was the sixth season of interleague play to even begin having the divisions rotated for interleague play.
Later working on the 16-14 alignment that we were saddled with the last 15 seasons, I drew up a proposal that would have been as balanced as possible for the interleague and interdivisional games. Baseball could have scheduled all 14 AL teams to play 20 games against the NL, they would play two games against four teams and three games against four more. IN other words, each AL team would play eight series against the NL or in theory against one half of the league. For NL teams because there were 16 teams in the league, this meant playing seven series during interleague play and during each of these eight rounds of play, two different NL teams would have been the odd teams out and played a league game against each other. Half of the NL teams would have played 18 games against the AL, four three-game and three two-game series. The other half would have played 17 games against the al, three three-game series and four two-game series. The remaining schedule would have
a divisional focus making sure everyone played the same number of games against every team in the division and making sure that home and road divisional games were evenly split. Of course as we all know, particularly fans of NL Central teams, that balance did not occur at all during the entire 15 years of this alignment.
Now we move back to the present and future of baseball schedules, enter 2013 with the 15-15 alignment. Rumors were out all summer about what the final product would look like. We then learned last week that teams would play 20 interleague games and the structure on this portion of the schedule seems very well done, featuring a pair of two-game home series, a pair of three-game home series, and the same pair of two and pair of three game sets on the road. We are told everyone will play 19 games against each team in the division, a total of 76 and 66 against the remaining teams in the league, which means seven games against six teams and six games against four more outside the division.
AT face value, there is nothing really to gripe about, it would make more since to just play 70 outside the division or seven against everyone and within the division, play 18 against each team for 72 total division games. That is a minor complaint and at face value, this seems like a great step in the right direction for baseball as it relates to the schedule.
But at face value things can sometimes be not quite what they are in reality and this is most obvious to fans of at least one AL West team. Basic math says that when you play 19 games against a team, someone will have an extra home game. Basic math also says that when you have four teams who you will play in a grouping AKA division with this formula, that you will play the extra game at home against two teams and on the road against two more. Basic math says that when you play 66 games against 10 teams, you play six games or three home and three road against four of them, seven games or four home and three away against another three, and seven games or three home and four away against the final three. Scheduling fairness, the whole excuse and the need fans were told to realign baseball.
I have no issue with realignment other than that Milwaukee should have been put back into the AL, but that argument I will never win, the issue of Houston switching leagues is over and done with for the foreseeable future. But the argument I can make and will every day until someone else gets appointed to the job of schedule maker, is that baseball could have done much better than it did for the 2013 season. Case in point, the Los Angeles Angels. When I was looking at the Angels schedule, I was thrown off, how was it that they had that extra game, that seventh game at home against four teams and on the road for just two? Surely I was missing something, but I double and triple checked, there it was in plane language a first grader could understand. The Angels had four home games against four teams outside the division, Orioles, white Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays, while just twice did they have a fourth game on the road, Yankees and Royals. So that meant that baseball had to give the Angels more road divisional games, but surely MLB would not do that I said to myself. No way, that was the whole idea of realignment. Well folks, here is your great scheduling gurus at work, they gave the Angels 37 home division games, ten with Houston, nine each with Texas, Oakland, and Seattle. Meantime, they get 39 road games in the division, nine at Houston, ten each at Texas, Oakland, and Seattle. This was why MLB realigned commissioner Selig?
This could all easily be fixed of course, move one game from a road series at either Oakland, Texas, or Seattle, and make it a home game. Then move one game with the Rays, White Sox, Orioles, or Blue Jays on to the road. Because baseball did this though, that means there are other teams out there with extra home or road divisional games and all this was supposed to have been fixed with realignment. It could have been fixed, basic math shows it can be. Basic math shows that the number of required home and road series would have worked perfectly had they just followed basic math principals, but clearly that was never considered or bothered with when the 2013 schedule was released.
What am I doing about it, the same thing I did in June through August of 1995 while home for the summer while attending Texas A&M, I’m going to draft an entire schedule, in this case for 2014. I’m sending it to the Commissioner, certified. I’m also going to send the team version for each individual franchise to their general manager. My schedule follows all the requirements, no more than 2 weeks on the road, no more than 20 consecutive games, off days when going from pacific to eastern time, Etc. When I’m done, I hope that baseball will make me the scheduler, I can do better than what they currently have and later this year, probably sometime in November, I will post this online for fans to look at as well, team by team.
Five Potential Travel Options for a 2013 30 Ballpark, 30 Day tour
Having taken my crazy version of the 30 ballpark, 30 day tour during the spring of 2012, I was looking forward to seeing what options would work during the 2013 season. NO I will not be traveling in 2013 to 30 ballparks, maybe just two or three as I make sure to continue my streak of a major League game every season that dates back to the year 2000. But for anyone who may have the time, the desire, or just the crazy ambition to take on this baseball adventure, then I hope this is of some benefit.
When looking at a potential route of a 30 day 30 ballpark tour, I have several things that are highly desirable if not an outright must have. The perfect schedule would work in such a way so that you see the Rangers and Astros on consecutive days, same for the royals and Cardinals. IN an ideal world, you also have the Reds and Indians on consecutive dates and you try to also have the Pirates the day prior to or the day after the swing through Ohio. The same logic can be applied to the Tigers if a good Pittsburgh option is not in place. Pittsburgh can also be a good bridge to Philadelphia and the northeastern swing and when it comes to those teams, the Yankees, Mets, nationals, Orioles, Red Sox and Phillies, the ideal trip has you in new York on consecutive dates or using Boston as a bridge between two stops in NYC. You look to do the same with Washington and Baltimore, perhaps also using Philadelphia as a bridge. Any combination though will work well in the northeast, though Boston to Washington and Baltimore by train is not real desirable. When planning this type of trip, I also try very hard to put Milwaukee in the leadoff or back end slot in combination with the two Chicago teams. Minnesota if possible can also be put in a schedule prior to Milwaukee or following Milwaukee. Additionally Detroit can be a stop if you have a date to fill between your two games in Chicago, say a Cubs or Sox game, a Tigers game, then back to Chicago by train or car for the team you didn’t see the first day in the Windy city.
Finally, the western swing requires that you try very hard to hit San Diego and the two Los Angeles area teams on consecutive dates and do the same with the two teams in the Bay Area. Some teams are your wild cards and you fit them in where it is best on the schedule, Seattle and Arizona are clearly in this category out west and if you can’t get five consecutive dates in California, you can very easily justify a trip to the Mariners and or diamondbacks between the trip to the Giants and Athletics and the trip to the Dodgers, Padres, and Angels. You could also use the Colorado Rockies visit in this area, though it is less desired because of the time zone change and if going from west to east, Colorado is a great bridge so that you lose one hour a day on consecutive dates rather than two hours at once. Toronto is another one of those wild cards, it can work well while in the Midwest, leaving Chicago and returning to Detroit for example, or as a starting or ending point while in the northeast. Atlanta and Minnesota mentioned above while easily connected to other nearby teams, Tampa and Cincinnati for instance in the Atlanta example, are far enough away that they don’t make or break a schedule if you have to put them elsewhere on a travel route since flying is more likely. Of the states with two teams, the Florida combo is the one most likely to be split if you don’t drive, because the bus and train routes are drawn out and the flights between the two cities are very reasonable in cost.
so there are some of the basics of how I consider potential routes for a 30 ballpark tour in 30 days. What follows below are five different scenarios for the 2013 season.
The five travel schedules are as follows on the calendar. Option 1 begins April 22 in Washington and ends May 21 in Milwaukee, Option 2 begins May 28 in Houston and ends June 26 in Seattle, while Option 3 features a few of the same stops as option 2 but it begins June 9 in Milwaukee and ends July 8 in Baltimore. Options 4 and 5 are after the All Star break, with the 4th beginning July 22 in Toronto and ending August 20 in Detroit, with the 5th beginning August 22 with consecutive dates at the Cubs and white Sox and concluding September 20 in New York with the final two dates being the Mets and Yankees back-to-back, both ironically against the San Francisco giants. Three of these five involve holiday travel, Option 2 begins the day after memorial Day, Option 3 features July 4th action, and Option 5 features travel during labor Day.
So now that you have a wetted appetite for baseball travel, let’s go into greater detail about each of these various travel routes I have chosen.
Option 1
You would see your first game on Monday April 22 at Washington. The nationals play host to the Cardinals in the first game of a scheduled three game series and while the starting time is TBD, it is almost a sure bet that this game would start in the early evening. So you could fly into DC that morning and avoid an extra night at a hotel the night before.
Tuesday April 23, take your rental car or hop a train up to Baltimore. The time is TBD, but again it should be a night game as the Orioles host the blue jays in the second game of a three game series.
Wednesday April 24 takes you further north to Philadelphia, the Phillies host the Pirates in a schedule 7:05 game. Then get up a bit earlier on Thursday April 25 and get to your seats at CitiField for a scheduled 1:10 start as the Mets host the Dodgers. Then relax a bit and plan a fun activity for the night in New York that is not tied to baseball. Friday the 25th you remain in new York, spend the day checking out more of the city, then head to Yankee Stadium for the Yankees and blue Jays, the game should be a night game.
Finally on Saturday the 27th, make plans to get out early and head to Boston. The game time is not set and it could be as early as 1:05 or later in the day, the Red Sox host the Astros at Fenway, Houston will by then have moved to the AL and begun a new chapter after 51 seasons in the Senior Circuit.
Later Saturday night or early Sunday morning depending on the start time in Boston, it is time to hit the friendly skies for the first time since getting to DC. Head from Boston for Detroit and at 1:05 Sunday afternoon April 28, enjoy the Tigers at home against the Atlanta Braves in an interleague battle. Get plenty of rest in Detroit, because the one drawback of this trip is that Detroit and Toronto could not be put back-to-back and neither could the two Florida based teams. Monday April 29, fly from Detroit to Miami and at 7:10 that evening, see the marlins entertain the Mets at the very enjoyable marlins Park. Then on Tuesday April 30, fly back north to Toronto, that evening the blue Jays at 7:07 host the Red sox. After seeing Toronto three times in nine games, you are nearly done with the Jays on the road trip.
Wednesday May 1, it is an early flight from Toronto to St. Louis, the Cardinals play at 12:45 that afternoon in a game with the division rival Reds. You can then rest that evening in ST. Louis, or get the last flight out to Kansas City, your choice. The next day on May 2, the Royals host the Rays and because it is a getaway day for Tampa, there is a chance this could be a day game as well, but the time is yet to be posted.
Friday May 3, a short flight back into Eastern Time zone territory as you see the Atlanta Braves host the Mets, the third time the Mets will have appeared on the travel schedule. From there, it is back to Central time with weekend stops in Texas. You can do this either direction, I chose Saturday May 4 at Arlington to see the Rangers host the Red Sox, followed on Sunday the 5th by the Astros hosting the tigers at MinuteMaid. Neither team has posted starting times, but the travel from Atlanta to Texas is relatively easy and the drive by car is not horrible between the two Texas cities. If you don’t have a car though, you are better off getting a cheap flight of which there are many and just renting a car for the travel around town, because bus travel takes longer than driving it yourself and no train service directly connects those two regions. It is also worth noting that no reliable transit serves the area where Rangers Ballpark is located.
The third week on the road kicks off on Monday may 6, with a flight from somewhere in Texas depending on your route, landing in Cincinnati. That night, the Reds begin a home stand with a game against the Braves. Time to hit the road after this game, the next two days are relatively easy drives that don’t require airfare. Don’t have a car, hop the bus Gus for the next two games. Tuesday May 7, head from Cincinnati to Cleveland, where the Indians play host to the Athletics in what should be a night game. Then the next day on Wednesday May 8, make the short drive over to one of the great ballparks in baseball and see the Pirates host the Mariners in the second interleague game of the tour. This could be a day game because Pittsburgh is at the Mets the next evening and the mariners are headed back home.
Thursday May 9 then requires air travel, the game that day is in St. Petersburg, Florida where the Rays play host to the blue Jays in what is likely a day game since it is a getaway day. Best case is to hope the Pirate game the prior day is also an early start, but if necessary, the travel from Pittsburgh to Tampa is
roughly three hours and you would have time to then get a rental car or a cab to the ballpark, getting a car for the day would likely be cheaper.
Friday May 10 brings about a longer flight, this Friday morning you would depart Tampa and head west to Phoenix. You gain three hours of time though dropping back west, so you could take a later morning flight say around 11:00 or noon and do just fine. The diamondbacks play that evening at 6:40 Phoenix time against the Phillies. You then spend the next week out west. Saturday may 11 takes you to Seattle for the Mariners and Athletics, the start time is not set yet for this game, but the flights from Phoenix to Seattle are about three hours if you go direct. Most mariner Saturday games are later afternoon or evening starts in Seattle. Sunday May 12 then takes you down to the San Francisco Bay area for two straight days. The Giants host the Braves on Sunday in what might be a later start if ESPN decides to pick up that game as the Sunday night game. The next evening, it is over to Oakland for the Athletics and Rangers on May 13, which begins the fourth week on the road. From there, fly to southern California for three straight games may 14-16. Tuesday and Wednesday can be Dodgers Angels in either direction, both teams are home on both dates. The Dodgers host the nationals and the Angels host the Royals, start times are not set for these games yet. Then on Thursday, it is down to San Diego by train or car, the padres host the nationals who continue their road trip through California in what is probably a night game, though San Diego has been known to start a couple of Thursday day games and in this situation with Washington coming down from Los Angeles, this would be a possibility.
Finally, head back toward the Rockies and Midwest for the final five games of the trip. Friday May 17 brings the tour to Denver as the Colorado Rockies host the Giants at 6:40 Denver time. Then it is on to Minneapolis where on Saturday May 18, the Twins host the Red Sox at a time to be set later. There is a fair chance of this being a day game, so you would want to plan on the first flight out Saturday morning from Denver.
From there, the travel is a breeze. Sunday may 19 is a short morning flight over to Chicago for the Cubs and Mets at Wrigley Field. Stay the night in the Windy city, get a lot of rest or hit the town, then Monday night you hit the south side of Chicago for the White Sox and those ever popular Red Sox, the most seen team on this tour. Finally on Tuesday May 21, a short drive or train ride takes you to Milwaukee. Have some famous Milwaukee style bratwursts and then take in the final game on this trip, the Brewers host the Dodgers at 7:10 that evening.
If there are two drawbacks about this particular schedule, it is that there are a couple of potential tight turn around travel situations and could we see any more of the Red Sox, Mets, and blue jays. Boston is the visitor at four cities on this trip, all after the visit to Fenway, Toronto and the Mets are the visitor three games each in addition to the home game for each team. But the fact that all the larger groupings of teams are able to be seen in an order that prevents unnecessary air travel is the bonus.
Option 2
This travel option begins in Texas and your first three games are all interleague action as the rivals part of the schedule is played out. This schedule is a tad more taxing as far as the travel is concerned, but it is nonetheless doable.
Tuesday May 28 begins the journey, the Astros host the Rockies in what is an interleague matchup that brings back the long time NL rivals, this is probably a night game since the same two teams play each other the next day in Denver. Wednesday May 29 takes you to the Dallas fort Worth area and the Texas Rangers home date with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This will surely be a night game, so the travel between these cities as mentioned earlier is not very difficult. Thursday may 30 brings about a flight and there is a fair chance it will need to be early, but it will be a trip north from Texas to Minnesota, that day the Twins host the Brewers. Friday May 31 is another flight, this one to Cleveland for the Indians and Rays. Saturday June 1 is another flight, down to Atlanta for the Braves and nationals. Again, this could be a day game. Then Sunday June 2, an earlier flight is in order but it is short, Baltimore is the destination for the Orioles and Tigers. Then spend the next few days on the road or on the rails as you hit the rest of the northeast. Monday June 3 takes you up to Philadelphia for a 7:05 game between the Phillies and Marlins. Tuesday the 4th, back down to the nation’s capital for the Nationals and Mets, then on Wednesday June 5, head north for new York to see the Yankees host the Indians in what is likely a day game, start times are not posted yet. Thursday June 6 takes the tour up to Boston for the Red Sox home game against the Rangers, this too could be a day game. Then Friday June 7, it is back to New York, this time the Mets are home taking on the Marlins.
Saturday June 8 takes you back to the air and an early flight to Toronto, at 1:07 that afternoon, the Blue jays host the Rangers. Then it is on to the Midwest, either a Saturday evening or Sunday morning flight from Toronto for Milwaukee. At 1:10 Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee, the Brewers host the Phillies. After a relaxing evening in Milwaukee, take the train for Chicago on Monday June 10 and wrap up the second week and begin the third week seeing the Sox and Cubs. Both teams are home Monday and Tuesday, so it is the travelers choice again. Either day, the Cubs host the Reds and the White Sox host the Blue jays. Wednesday June 12 is a short flight from Chicago to Pittsburgh, that night the Pirates host the Giants, the time is not set but it is likely a night game since the same two teams play again on Thursday. Thursday June 13 the tour lands at St. Petersburg where the Rays host the Royals in what should be a night game as it opens a four game series. Friday the 14th moves to Miami for the Marlins and Cardinals in a 7:10 start in Miami.
Like option 1, this tour features a back-to-back set of games hosted by expansion partners, this tour moves from Miami to Denver where the Rockies host the Phillies on Saturday June 15. Here it is a two hour drop in time, so a later morning flight by 10:30 would work from Miami, but note that this could be a day game and so an earlier start might be advisable. Sunday and Monday June 16-17 are in the San Francisco Bay region, the Sunday game is at Oakland as the Athletics host the mariners and the Monday game features the Giants hosting the padres. Tuesday June 18 moves on to the desert southwest, the Diamondbacks host the marlins at 6:40 in Phoenix.
The difficult aspect of this travel option then plays out as on Wednesday June 19, the travel is back into the Eastern time zone, going from Phoenix to Cincinnati. Morning flights around 7:30 in Phoenix will get you to Cincinnati before 5PM local time there, though all have a connection. The Reds game is that night in all likelihood since they play again the next day and both are against the Pirates. Thursday June 20 brings a much easier travel experience going from Cincinnati to Detroit. This can be easily done by car which allows for sleeping in. That Thursday night, the Tigers play a 7:05 game against the Red Sox.
From here, travel is relatively easy. Friday June 21 features a flight to Kansas City from Detroit and the royals host the White Sox in what should be a night game. Saturday the 22nd moves to St. Louis for what I will call an afternoon game as the Cardinals host the Rangers in what will be a rematch of the 2011 World Series. From there, back west to close things out. Sunday June 23 features the sixth interleague matchup on this trip, the Angels hosting the Pirates. June 24-25 can go either direction as on both days, the padres host the Phillies and the Dodgers host the Giants. Finally on Wednesday June 26, it is up to Seattle for the Mariners and Pirates at 7:10 Seattle time, the seventh interleague matchup on this particular schedule.
Option 3 begins June 9 and from June 9-26, it has a lot of the same look as option 2, with games June 9 at the Brewers against the Phillies, June 10-11 in Chicago for the Cubs against the Reds and White Sox against blue Jays in either order. June 12 takes the tour to Miami for the marlins game against the Brewers at 7:10 that evening, the marlins visit is two days earlier than on option 2. Like option 2, June 13 is the Rays hosting the Royals in St. Petersburg. Friday the 14th on this tour then heads to Ohio, you can go either direction, Reds Friday and Indians Saturday or Indians Friday and Reds Saturday. The Indians are hosting an interleague series with the Nationals, while the Reds host the Brewers. Your final choice on which way to go here could be based on Sunday’s game, which is at Oakland. It may depend on the time of the Saturday game you attend and which flight route makes more sense for you, keeping in mind that there are three major airports within 35 miles of the game in Oakland on Sunday, where by the way the Athletics play host to the Mariners. Staying in the Bay Area, on Monday June 17 the Giants host the Padres, these two games are like what you have on option 2, as is the game on the 18th at Arizona where the Diamondbacks are hosting the Marlins.
Again you have a bit of a travel day on Wednesday June 19 from Phoenix to Toronto with a connection. You can be out of Phoenix before 8AM and in Toronto by 5PM, keeping in mind you move up three hours in time. That evening, the Blue Jays are hosting the Rockies in another interleague series. Thursday the 20th, a choice awaits, fly, rent a car, hop the bus, your destination is Detroit. The Tigers host the Red Sox at 7:05 that night, this is again like option 2 and that same schedule is also used for the next six games going forward. Friday June 21 at the Royals, June 22 at the Cardinals, then June 23-26 takes you to the Angels, Dodgers/padres in either order, and finally the Mariners.
From this point, the schedule is completely new, starting with a night game June 27 at the Twins. The flight from Seattle to Minneapolis is relatively easy as it is almost due east. The Twins begin a home stand against the Royals that Thursday night. From there, travel can go to Atlanta then Denver or Denver then Atlanta. I preferred going to Atlanta for the Friday June 28 game, the Braves hosting the Diamondbacks, then out to Denver for the Saturday June 29 game as the Rockies host the Giants. Sunday June 30 and Monday July 1 you are in Texas, the Rangers and Reds in interleague action on Sunday, probably a night game but once in a while the Rangers will play a day game on Sunday during the summer. Monday takes the action to Houston, the Astros host the Rays as they continue a home stand.
The final week of the trip is back east and makes for easy travel. Tuesday morning July 2, fly from Houston to Pittsburgh, and later that evening, the Pirates host the Phillies. Wednesday July 3 fly to Boston for the Red Sox and padres. The game time is not set but I am guessing night game since it does not close the series with a likely day game to followed the next day. On July 4, head down to New York and do it quick, the Mets game that day is at 1:10 against the Diamondbacks. Stay in New York, catch the fireworks, then on July 5 its time for the Yankees playing host to the Orioles. Saturday July 6 moves the action to Philadelphia, the Phillies host the Braves at 7:05. Finally, it is down to Washington and Baltimore for the final two games of this tour. Sunday the 7th see the Nationals and the padres, then to close things out on the 8th, the Orioles host the Rangers at Camden Yards.
Options 4 and 5 are both easier travel like option 1. The down side is that both have to split the teams in the northeast and option 5 had to put Milwaukee off on its own rather than tied in to the Chicago stop. But that said, these two versions of the 30 ballpark, 30 day tour could very easily make sense to someone who decided to go this route.
Option 4 begins Monday July 22 at Toronto, the Blue Jays host the Dodgers in interleague play. The next two days take the tour to Texas, on Tuesday July 23 the Astros host the Athletics and on the 24th, the Rangers host the Yankees, both should be night games. Thursday morning the 25th you have a flight to Denver, the Rockies host the marlins in a day game at 1:10 Denver time. The next day Friday July 26 takes the tour to Phoenix, the Diamondbacks host the padres at 6:40 Phoenix time that evening. Saturday July 27 takes too the skies again and later that day at a time that is TBD, the Mariners host the Twins in Seattle. This is then followed by five straight days in California. The games on the schedule are the Giants hosting the Cubs on the 28th and Athletics hosting Blue Jays on the 29th, followed on the 30th by the Padres hosting the Reds, on the 31st it will be the Dodgers hosting the Yankees, and August 1 closes out this leg with the Angels hosting the blue Jays.
August 2 starts with a flight from the Los Angeles region to Minneapolis, the Twins host the Astros in what should be a night game. The next day if the Brewers game is a later afternoon or evening start, it would allow you to travel by car or bus from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, otherwise catch a short flight. The Brewers play host to the Nationals that Saturday. Then another easy travel leg will bring the tour to Chicago for consecutive games Sunday August 4 and Monday August 5. Sunday features the Cubs hosting the Dodgers, Monday in what should be a night game features the White Sox hosting the Yankees.
Tuesday August 6 brings this tour to the east, the Pirates host the marlins in what should be a night game, following a fairly quick flight from Chicago to Pittsburgh. Wednesday the 7th means a trip across the state of Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, the question, long drive, train, or fly? The Phillies are scheduled to host the cubs at 7:05. Staying in the northeast, the next two days August 8 and 9 are in New York. The Thursday game is an early 12:10 start as the Mets host the Rockies. Fortunately, the train ride is quick from Philadelphia or drive it if you are so inclined. Staying in New York, the Friday game is the Yankees hosting the Tigers in what should be a night game. Unlike the earlier options, this schedule requires a move back toward the Midwest, but the travel is very reasonable. Saturday morning August 10, head from New York for either Cincinnati or Cleveland, both the Indians and Reds are home for the weekend on the 10th and Sunday the 11th. Cincinnati is hosting the Padres while the Indians host the Angels. On Monday August 12 leaving Ohio, the tour heads to Missouri, stopping in Kansas City on Monday for the Royals and Marlins, then Tuesday drive, fly, or take the train across to St. Louis for the scheduled 7:15 start between the Cardinals and Pirates. Wednesday August 14, a quick flight from St. Louis down to Atlanta for the Braves and Phillies, the time is TBD so this could be a day game. Thursday August 15 through Saturday August 17 returns to finish out the other half of the northeast swing, stopping on Thursday for the nationals and giants in DC, this could be a day game as well. Friday features the Orioles and Rockies in an interleague game at Camden yards, then Saturday fly or take a long relaxing train ride up to Boston and later that day, the Red Sox host the Yankees. Sunday morning August 18, head down to Florida for a pair of games. Sunday the 18th the Rays host the Blue jays and because this should be a day game, you can then relax for the night and on Monday August 19, fly or rent a car and head down to Miami. The Marlins game against the Dodgers is a 7:10 start, then close the trip out on Tuesday the 20th. That morning, fly from Miami to Detroit and enjoy the Tigers game against the Twins at 7:05 that evening.
As for Option 5, this trip is fairly easy on travel as mentioned before. Again the northeast swing is split and the Brewers had to be moved to a slot apart from the rest of the Midwest. That said, it is a very doable schedule. Note also that this tour would end with just 8 dates left in the season, but all teams have at least two home dates on the schedule after the final game on Friday September 20, in the event a game needed to be made up because of weather.
This trip starts in Chicago with two games, the Cubs hosting the Nationals on Thursday August 22 in what is almost for sure a day game, then Friday night the 23rd, the White Sox host the Rangers. From here, you could fly or drive, driving is especially an option if the Reds game is a later afternoon start, as the game on Saturday the 24th features the Reds hosting the Brewers. Sunday the 25th, an early start but fly or drive from Cincinnati to Cleveland, the Indians host the Twins that afternoon. Then after a good long night of rest in Cleveland, Monday the 26th is another drive, this time heading to Detroit. The Tigers host the Athletics at 7:05 that Monday evening. Tuesday the 27th, another drive, this time heading from Detroit to Pittsburgh, the Pirates host the Brewers in what should be a night game. Wednesday the 28th, the trip heads south to Atlanta, while Pittsburgh to Atlanta could be a long, long drive, most would probably fly. The Braves host the Indians in interleague play for what should be a night game. From there, the trip begins to move west, stopping at Minneapolis on Thursday the 29th for the Twins and royals in what may be a day game. The flight from Atlanta to Minnesota is an easy one though and you do gain an hour of time to work with. Friday the 30th, gain another hour going from Minnesota to Colorado, that evening in Denver at 6:40 the Rockies host the Reds. Gain yet another hour by heading further west on Saturday August 31, the game action will be in Phoenix as the Diamondbacks host the Giants at 5:10 that afternoon in Phoenix.
From there, it is a short Sunday morning flight to southern California, stopping in Los Angeles for the game later that day between the Dodgers and padres. Labor Day September 2 will be spent at Anaheim as the Angels host the Rays, then it is down to San Diego where on Tuesday the 3rd, the padres host the Giants. Wednesday the 4th, fly to northern California, the Athletics host the Rangers in what is likely to be a day game. Enjoy a restful night and a relaxing Thursday, then take in the Giants at home against the diamondbacks, that should be a night game. Friday morning the 6th, it is a flight from the bay area to Seattle for the mariners and Rays, scheduled for 7:10 that evening. From there, the obvious direction of travel is east. The remainder of the weekend is spent in Missouri, the Royals host the Tigers on Saturday the 7th, then Sunday the 8th features the Cardinals at home against the Pirates in a scheduled 1:15 start. After resting for the night in St. Louis, fly down to Florida, Miami to be specific for the Marlins and Braves at 7:10 on Monday the 9th, then fly or drive across to St. Petersburg for the Rays and Red Sox on Tuesday the 10th. Wednesday the 11th through Friday the 13th bring about three games in the northeast. ON the 11th, a flight from Tampa to Philadelphia will bring you to the next game, the Phillies and the padres are schedule for a 7:05 start that evening. Then drive or train down on the 12th for the Orioles game against the Yankees, followed the next evening on Friday the 13th by the nationals playing host to the Phillies. The weekend of Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15 is in Texas, the choice is up to you as to which order to go for the games. The Rangers are home to the Athletics, the Astros home to the Angels. Monday the 16th then is a flight from Texas to Milwaukee, that evening at 7:10 the Brewers host the Cubs. Finally, back to the east to finish things out, stopping at Toronto for the Yankees and Blue jays at 7:07 the evening of Tuesday September 17, followed by the Red Sox at home on the 18th against the Orioles in what should be a night game. The trip then ends in new York, the Giants are the visiting team on consecutive dates, the Mets Thursday the 19th for a 1:10 start, and Friday the 20th against the Yankees in what should be a night game.
Questions, comments, feel free to send me any feedback you have.
Reviewing Transit and Lodging, What Worked, What Didn’t on the 30-30 Tour
A brief look at each city, what worked, what didn’t as it related to the transit and lodging arrangements.
Most fans who plot one of these trips will have the option of a rental car in the cities they fly into and for cities where a bus/train option works best, they can just drive that same rental car. So know that this is written from the perspective of a person who cannot drive and cannot have the car as an option of transit in or between cities.
Games 1 and 2 at Arlington and Houston I was with friends, though I did already have a flight booked between DFW and Houston. Had I been doing that portion with no friends, I already knew that I would have to make a choice, stay at a hotel in Arlington with transit to and from the game, while cabbing it to the airport, or staying near the airport in a transit zone and going cab to and from the stadium, Arlington as some will know is in a dead zone and has no public transit, unlike other areas of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.
Houston presents a challenge in that while the ballpark and Hobby airport are both in transit zones, Bush Intercontinental is on the far northeast side of town and is harder to get to via public transit.
Atlanta, I stayed near the airport, knowing that I had an early flight the next morning. MARTA does go near the airport and near the stadium, so had I been on a more relaxed schedule in the ATL, MARTA would have gotten me to both areas it does appear. Because I had to be at Turner Field extra early, I did get a cab to the game and the friends I met for this game dropped me off at my hotel, so here it all comes out even in the end.
St. Louis is one of the better stories when it comes to this topic, because a well-designed MetroLink light rail drops at both air terminals and does likewise at bush Stadium. I knew this, so staying at a hotel near the airport and catching the train was a very good option. The ticket machines are not real friendly to the blind, yes they have braille but you don’t know what goes to what button as it relates to the various fare types, a local would know this, not a visitor. I took the train to Bush and I ended up catching a ride with the people I met at this game, though I had originally planned on going back by train.
KC, a city I’ve been to before and one that I knew was another one of those challenges. Neither the airport nor the ballpark are in an area that is well connected to anything transit wise. For this reason, this was a rare case of choosing to stay near the ballpark. Had I been thinking, rather than taking a cab from the airport to the hotel and back the next morning, I would have gone Super Shuttle and saved myself about 80 bucks.
Game 6 at Tampa which I also knew would be a challenge was more about splitting hair. Going from my hotel near the airport to Tropicana, I had enough time to make a two hour ride through three buses from a stop just off the hotel parking lot to a stop just yards from the baseball stadium. The cost for that two hour and three bus ride was less than $10.. Of course this option was not available going back and would have not worked given the late hour, so the 40 minute cab fare back was $50. Fortunately, because I was at a hotel near the airport, it was a free shuttle next morning to the airport for my flight to New York.
Game 7 at the Mets, I landed at JFK and knowing I was on a limited schedule and knowing I had to get to the hotel, I paid the $25 for Super shuttle and worked my way to the hotel on 63rd in Manhattan, then grabbed a bite, then took the subway including a transfer over to CitiField. This same effort got me back to the hotel that night and then it was a short subway ride the next morning to Penn station for the Amtrak to Washington, DC.
Game 8 at the nationals brought my first surprise. I stayed in the Georgetown area of DC, a major part of the city, yet there was no rail stop near the hotel. The shuttle driver was going to drop me at the nearest rail stop but decided to just drive me to Nationals park, very kind of him. Because my transit plan did not work the way I intended in DC, it meant $20 in cab fare back to the hotel after the game, plus $20 each way on Monday, that morning to get to Amtrak so I could go up to Baltimore, and that night so I could get back to the hotel after taking a midnight train from Baltimore back into Washington.
Game 10 at Philadelphia, another surprise. I know Philadelphia has relatively good transit, but I was told it would take more than 2 hours each way to get from my hotel near the airport to Citizens Bank park, so here goes another $50 in cab fare, $25 each way, in a city where I had planned on going transit the entire way.
Game 11 took me back to New York. This time, I was able to use transit to get to Amtrak in Philly, then repeat the process on the subway once in new York. The next morning, I took the subway, to Jersey Transit to the Newark airport for my flight to Boston. All that rush and dealing with the ticket machines in Jersey, I think I would in the future just take the train to Boston from Penn Station. Speaking of Boston, I realized that in this case, my hotel which was not as close to the airport as I thought did not have a shuttle to Logan and it was no easy trip on transit, the trip via the T took a solid hour 20 with a transfer. The hotel did offer a shuttle from the rail stop once I made it there on Thursday, but that service started too late on Friday and so I had to grab a cab back to Logan to get out to Minnesota.
Game 13 in the Twin Cities, here is another case of something well thought out. Like St. Louis, the light rail connects the airport and stadium. Special arrangements in this case with the Twins and others provided me transit between the ballpark and my hotel, but if needed, the rail would have easily taken me from the airport and back where I could link up with a 24-hour hotel shuttle. So like St. Louis, it is a well-conceived system in Minneapolis.
The stop for game 14 has a similar review, here I was with friends all along, but again the rail does connect Chase Field to the Sky harbor airport in greater Phoenix.
Games 15-16 took me to the San Francisco Bay area. Here, I chose a hotel near the SFO airport, if I had it to do again, I would have stayed in downtown San Francisco proper or found something that was closer to the main transit links. While my hotel did offer a shuttle to the airport, it was not easy to find. Add this to the fact it took two trains to get to each stadium, two BART trains for Oakland, a BART and a MUNI train for the game in San Francisco and it became one of the more challenging transit trips, more so than I thought it would be in San Francisco. Their ticketing systems could use some work too.
I knew southern California was not known for good transit, so I was prepared to fight the cab battle for the dodger game, the 17th on the tour. I thus intentionally stayed in downtown LA less than a mile from the Amtrak station, a very smart move on my part. I took Amtrak to San Diego and my friend Liz was my ride for the padres game, as well as the next day in Anaheim. She also saved me a ton of trouble going back to LAX, which I had originally planned on my own. That would have been a hike, though Super Shuttle would have been a reasonable option and I should have taken it to my hotel when I landed at LA two days earlier, would have saved me easily $30.
After my red eye to Toronto, I landed and got a cab to my hotel, which it turned out was not as close to the airport as advertised and they did not offer a shuttle until 7AM, though my flight was in before 6AM and others were already on the ground. Odd that a major international city and a major hotel at such an airport would not offer a shuttle from the airport until 7, all I wanted to do was get in and sleep, so it was worth the $30.
It would have been a very round about transit trip to the game, though I had known forever that I would be with my friend Brenda for this one. If not, I might have made other arrangements and stayed in town and again made use of something like Super shuttle or at least the Canadian version to get to and from the airport.
As I got to Detroit for game 21, I had my shuttle from the airport to the hotel, I knew I would have to get a cab to the game. The regular route is about 15 miles, but a detour greatly added to that and my cab fare, $65 became the total. Detroit I realized like some other cities, does not provide a real good option, either stay near the airport and pay to get to the game, or stay in downtown and pay to get to and from the airport.
Game 22 at Denver, again I met a friend for this one, so I did not have to worry about transit, but having been to Denver before, I knew that there was a light rail that went from the airport and it got to at least a reasonable distance into downtown, so if I had to then go cab to the game, it would not be over a huge distance. My hotel again was near the airport.
Game 23 at Seattle, here another great setup like St. Louis and Minneapolis. I got a shuttle to my hotel from the airport, took that shuttle back to the airport, took light rail to the stadium, took light rail back to the airport, and got a shuttle. Very, well done and the machines were completely accessible, best marks of the trip are for Seattle in this respect.
When I left for Milwaukee, I prior experience told me stay near the airport and just get a cab to the ballpark, no real good option exists otherwise. So I did so and for the most part, it went off without much trouble.
Cleveland worked out a lot like Seattle, I stayed near the airport and my hotel turned out to be right across the road from the rail station. The train dropped near the ballpark and if I went there enough, I’d eventually know the route so well I would likely not even need a hand and could guide others there in the dark.
The next day which would be game 26 in Cincinnati, I took a cab because this day was a bus trip. I’ve told the story about that crazy driver, let’s just say he ran a closing draw bridge. I’m glad I didn’t become cold in Cleveland. Once getting to Cenci, I was in a good situation, the hotel, bus terminal, and ballpark were all close to one another. I knew to do it this way because I’d already planned to bus back out the next day for Pittsburgh.
The day of game 27 at Pittsburgh and the related bus trip was crazy, more an issue with greyhound and lost bags though, once in Pittsburgh I met friends for this game. So I did not have an experience with the Pittsburgh transit to truly get a feel for what would work better, staying near the airport, or downtown near the stadium.
For game 28, it was on to Miami. This is an area that has some rail and bus systems, but it is a hard area to stay in. Stay downtown and you have no airport shuttle, stay near one of the airports, you have to get a cab to the game. I ended up staying between the two airports and paid for shuttles to take care of my arrival between the airports and the hotel, but it also meant cabs between the hotel and the ballpark. This was also the one case of a hotel that did not have any Braille markers on the rooms or elevators.
After Miami, it was on to Chicago and what has quickly become one of my favorite cities to travel around in. the transit system, while not the easiest, is set up in such a way where each line seems to have its own route even when it is in a station that it shares with other lines. You don’t have multiple lines using the same platforms, which makes it much easier for me. All announcements are made in a clear voice and it is all automated. If I spent enough time in Chicago, I could get around their easier than in most cities, maybe Seattle stays a notch ahead because of that great ticketing system they have. But I loved Chicago, I mean for $14 on a three-day pass, I had the train from my hotel near O’Hare airport to US Cellular and back, train the next day from the same stop at O’Hare to Wrigley and back, then trained the next morning from O’Hare to Midway for my flights home. All that for $14 and much better service than I had in some cities for $50 or $60 in a cab. If I sound like I was very happy to get to Chicago and say goodbye to taxi services, you would be correct.
The key as I discovered is truly knowing the cities. It’s one thing to know where the better hotels and restaurants are, where to not hang out, Etc. but if you are like me and having to rely so heavily on transit systems, sometimes it seems you might be better off staying near the ballpark, rather than near the airport if you are flying in. If possible and you have a plane or train option, the train may be better in that it is often based in an area closer to the ballpark, unlike most airports that are on the outer portions of the cities and not easily tied into the main transit routes in the heart of town.
IN terms of cities where I used transit, my favorite experiences would clearly be St. Louis, Seattle, Cleveland, Chicago, and New York while Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Atlanta would get good marks. San Francisco and Boston were surprisingly more difficult for me, though not the outright sources of frustration that cities like Kansas City, Detroit, Miami, Dallas fort Worth, Tampa St. Petersburg, and Los Angeles are, because they just are so lacking a good transit system that connects major landmarks in the city.
To me, cities that can always provide visitors with a good transit linkage between the airports, train stations, and bus terminals to major points of interests, stadiums, arenas, symphony halls, museums, and other types of venues, are going to be a step ahead of those cities which lack this necessary capability.
Just my thoughts, any comments?
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