Walk-Off Winner

I've been writing about my Baseball Road Trips for the last three seasons, and it always seems like these final postings are the hardest to write. I try very hard to go over all of the stories and tales of the summer and lay them out in a cohesive and intelligent blog post, but sometimes it evades me. The 2011 season has been no different. This season was unique in so many ways, and, for those of you who have been reading this blog with regularity have noticed, Baseball Road Trips were only a small part to the story of Baseball Extravaganza 2011.

The journey of 2011 started on that cold, cold February evening at PK Park. With the bitter windchill in the teens, I was warmed with optimism at this season. I had planned out three monster trips to all over the country, and I was gearing up for a record year when it came to games to be seen. Sure, I was freezing, but it was a small price to pay to kick off what was sure to be an epic season.

The adventure only got more interesting with my trip down to Arizona. I have said it on here before, but the Cactus League trip was the most enjoyable Road Trips I have ever gone on. Seven games in four days tested my passion for the game, but the whole fact of seeing two games in a day and prefacing them with scouting at the practice facilities still fills me with giddiness. The whole concept of Spring Training is really novel, and that is why I loved the Cactus League trip so much. It was the baseball fan's perfection, in my view.

Fulfilling a bucket list item also plays a large part in this season. While playing in city league softball doesn't add any games to the logbook or requires me to bring along the backpack, it has made me understand the game more. It has also had the benefit of keeping me in great shape and, for once a week, a needed positive diversion from life. Sure, our team just was plain awful, but playing strategies and running around the bases made that all melt away. I've signed up for a Fall League, so I'll be playing through the end of September and maybe into early October. This is an activity I will do every year from here on out.

After a brief trip up to Seattle, I went down to Southern California and the Surfliner trip. After going to my first game at Dodger Stadium, I appreciated more the role baseball played in a community and how an organization responds to crisis. Seeing the degradation of Dodger Stadium and the atmosphere there filled me with with some sadness and sort of a morose attitude. However, my attitude took an uptuck visitng San Diego the next day and seeing Petco Park. After going to Petco for a second time in two years, I have grown to appreciate the park among the best in baseball, and to assess San Diego as one of the finer cities I've visited.

Finally, to close the season, the trip up to Portland for Old Time Baseball. I poured so much adulation into those blog posts and experiences, and I will continue to do so. It was a unique pleasure that I had never glimpsed before on a Baseball Road Trip. Taking Baseball Road Trips to a new aspect of experience is something that I will do every year. The trip up to Fort Vancouver is easy and relatively cheap. The late summer trip up there makes a fun bookend to the summer.

Then there was the news about the Emeralds. For the first time in eight years, I would not be working for that organization. To be honest with all of you, that struck me really deep and hurt my dedication to this game. I seemed to have lost my will to go to the ballpark and enjoy the game I had once loved. I guess when you are around the game so much, like I was, it was much easier to appreciate the subtle nuances and essence. But without the Emeralds, I feel like I have gone astray.

Going to that first Ems game was one of the hardest things I had ever done. Sitting on the other side of the operation was awkward and difficult to grasp. Facing the organization that spat in my face tested my character and my nerves. It was something that needed to be done, however. Standing up straight and confronting that demon will help in the healing process. Will I grow stronger from this? Most definitely. The last time I got fired, it turned out to be the best thing in the world and opened my life up to a whole new reality of success. Maybe this whole situation with the Emeralds will turn out like that.

Life also played a huge part in this season. I just really was distracted this season. There were a variety of reasons for this, but lots of stuff went on that diverted my attention and finances from Baseball Road Trips. I had not foreseen these extenuating circumstances at the beginning of the season, and I would have done some things differently had I known. There were times when I would be so busy and stressed out that I would sit in front of my computer and stumble upon this blog or the pictures of the trips themselves. I'd scroll through them and gain some measure of happiness and contentment amidst the stress and frantic scrambling.

With these thoughts in mind, what does the future of Baseball Road Trips hold? That's a great question. There are still lots of places that I would like to go. First and foremost would have to be a trip to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame. After going to Old Time Baseball, the experience-related Road Trips are very enjoyable, and a trip to the Hall of Fame would be, I think, along those same lines.

As for stadiums and cities, I'd like to maybe make a trip to New England to see some games headlined by a trip to Boston and Fenway Park. During the planning of trips for this season, I explored trips down to the Dallas Metroplex for a few games in Texas, a trip to the Salt Lake City area, a team-centered trip back down to Arizona for Spring Training, a Grapefruit League jaunt in Florida, or an international trip to Japan and the Nippon League. As you can see, lots of options and certainly destinations that would appeal to my desires.

In summation, I was pleased with the trips I did take. They were a lot of fun and I would do any of them again in a heartbeat. But it will take an off-season to rekindle the flame of passion for this game. I guess I never realized just how linked my passion was with the Emeralds, so it will take some time to find myself once again. There is a long off-season ahead, and I will take the opportunity to fulfill these deficiencies. I'm optimistic for a quick recovery and, maybe, the lack of games this year will spurn me to work harder and save more money to take even more trips next season.

So, for the last time in 2011...

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)