Over the past four years I’ve made ballpark travel resolutions based primarily upon seeing Minor League Baseball games, and each year I recap the goals and assess how successful I was in accomplishing my goals. So without further ado, here is how I did with my 2018 ballpark travel resolutions.
Resolution #1:
In 2018, I resolve to see all three @TweetHomeAla @MiLB teams (@BhamBarons, @Mobile_BayBears, & @BiscuitBaseball) with @DJKati. #NewYearsResolutions #PlayBall #sportstravel
— Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 2, 2018
I had previously seen all of Alabama’s Minor League teams play at home, but never during the same season. More importantly, setting the goal of seeing all three Alabama teams at home in one season was about my wife getting the opportunity to see each of the teams at home. In turn, this goal was about us as a couple seeing each team play at their home ballpark.
We accomplished this goal pretty easily, as we built our Memorial Day weekend plans around this travel resolution (read about the trip here). We made a trip down to Mobile and visited some nearby craft breweries before attending a Montgomery Biscuits game, and finished the trip with my wife’s first time at the Rickwood Classic.
Resolution #2:
In 2018, I resolve to see the @LexingtonLegend and @LouisvilleBats with @DJKati. #NewYearsResolutions #PlayBall #sportstravel
— Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 2, 2018
It wasn’t the easiest resolution to keep, but I did get to see the Lexington Legends and Louisville Bats at home with my wife this past year. For the past seven years I’ve participated in the AP Human Geography Reading in Cincinnati, Ohio, in early June. As my wife had never been to Ohio, we made plans for her to fly into Cincinnati at the end of my work week, and for us to drive back through Kentucky on our way home to Alabama.
So I created an itinerary that would allow us to spend a few days in Louisville and Lexington en route to Alabama. After a great weekend in Cincinnati, we caught a Bats games in Louisville (read about it here) and a Legends games in Lexington (read about it here) before our trek back to Tuscaloosa.
Resolution #3:
In 2018, I resolve to see the @PNats42 when I attend @beerbloggers #BBC18 in @VisitLoudoun. #NewYearsResolutions #PlayBall #LoveLoudoun
— Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 2, 2018
When I make my travel resolutions, I try to be fairly realistic about what I can and cannot accomplish. I don’t always go for easily attainable goals, but I don’t go for the nearly-impossible-to-attain goals either. When I set the goal of attending a Potomac Nationals game during the Beer Bloggers Conference, I felt like it was something I could make happen. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I moved to Japan shortly before the conference and was unable to attend. Naturally this meant that I did not get to attend a Potomac Nationals games this past season.
So I whiffed on this resolution.
Resolution #4:
In 2018, I resolve to visit at least one new @MLB ballpark with @DJKati to keep stamping in our “big book.” #NewYearsResolutions #PlayBall #sportstravel #MLBBallparkPassport
— Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 2, 2018
I’ve been to several Major League and Minor League ballparks before getting married last year. So when my wife & I got married, I wanted to start something new with her as I (and ultimately we) continued to visit more ballparks. So after being introduced to the MLB BallPark Pass-Port a few years ago, we decided to purchase the large, leather-bound book to chronicle our journey to attend games at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
As we made plans for her to meet me in Cincinnati in early June, it was easy to get a stamp in our “big book.” I hoped to visit at least one other MLB ballpark in 2018, but our July trip to Central Europe and move to Japan prevented us from traveling more in the U.S. So I count this as a resolution being kept. However, I would have preferred adding at least one more MLB park this past season.
Recapping the resolutions
- See all three Minor League Baseball teams (Birmingham Barons, Mobile BayBears, and Montgomery Biscuits) in Alabama with my wife.
Resolution kept. - Attend a Lexington Legends and Louisville Bats game with my wife. Resolution kept.
- Attend a Potomac Nationals game during the Beer Bloggers Conference. Resolution not kept.
- Visit a new MLB ballpark with my wife and get a stamp in our passport book. Resolution kept.
I upheld three of my four ballpark resolutions for this past year. In hindsight, I don’t feel like my resolutions were particularly difficult to keep. However, I am pleased that I accomplished most of my baseball travel goals this year. Now to contemplate my New Year’s Resolutions for 2019.
