For several years now I have made New Year’s resolutions to visit ballparks in the coming year. Most of my goals are to visit new Minor League Baseball stadiums, but my resolutions are not exclusive to MiLB parks. Each year I review my resolutions and assess how successful I was in fulfilling them. So, here’s how I did with my 2019 ballpark travel resolutions. Resolution #1: In 2019, I resolve to see all three @TravelOregon #MiLB teams (@EugeneEmeralds, @HillsboroHops, & @SKVolcanoes) play at home. #PlayBall #NewYearsResolutions — Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 1, 2019 Last year my wife Katie started a program for an additional certification related to her job. Part…
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My night with the Hillsboro Hops – July 23, 2019
The Hillsboro Hops came into existence in 2013, and quickly connected the franchise to Portland’s craft brewing industry. The team’s name honors Portland as one of America’s craft beer epicenters. For the uninitiated, hops are a plant used to brew beer. More specifically, hops are a flower that provide aroma and bitterness to beer. For people who love baseball and craft beer Hillsboro may be the hoppiest place on earth. Arriving at the ballpark Ron Tonkin Field, home of the Hillsboro Hops, is located on the western edge of metropolitan Portland. It is approximately 15 miles from downtown, which takes 25 to 40 minutes by car depending on traffic. The…
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My night with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes – July 19, 2019
Like many Minor League teams the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are the center of a development plan. For years Keizer mayor Dennis Koho and community leaders sought to boost their local economy. Ultimately they began looking for a Minor League team to anchor a shopping complex on the edge of town. The plan came to fruition when the owners of the Bellingham Giants agreed to relocate their franchise, which gave birth to the Volcanoes in 1997. Arriving at the ballpark Although Volcanoes Stadium is visible from I-5, it is not as easy to reach as it appears. Fans turn onto Stadium Drive and then navigate through Keizer Station shopping center before arriving…
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Pacific Northwest baseball road trip preview
With my wife Katie enrolled in a graduate certificate program, we knew that our summer travels would take us to the Pacific Northwest. Naturally this meant I got to plan a Pacific Northwest baseball road trip! Katie will spend a month in Portland, Oregon, before I meet her there. We will spend a week together in Portland before traveling to Seattle, Washington. In Seattle, we will work together at a sports camp, and she will do more work to complete her certification. So our Pacific Northwest baseball road trip will span two states and four weeks. Baseball games Our travels in Oregon and Washington are built around my wife’s academic/work…
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Revealing my 2019 ballpark resolutions
The new year leads many people to make resolutions to better themselves by losing weight or spending less or quitting bad habits or a host of other goals. I believe in resolutions, but prefer to focus on travel goals at the beginning of the new year. Since 2014, I’ve posted my ballpark travel resolutions on Twitter at the start of the year. So here are my New Year’s ballpark resolutions for 2019… Resolution #1: In 2019, I resolve to see all three @TravelOregon #MiLB teams (@EugeneEmeralds, @HillsboroHops, & @SKVolcanoes) play at home. #PlayBall #NewYearsResolutions — Steven Ericson (@StevenOnTheMove) January 1, 2019 My wife Katie will be completing coursework for an…