play ball.

Many of you know I am on a quest to visit every major league stadium. Right now, the count is 16 of 30 active stadiums. But the catch is that new ballparks are introduced almost every season. So while I've seen MLB games in Montreal, Philly, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Cincinnati, they were all in the old stadiums. All told, I've seen ballgames in 20 of 30 major league cities (Montreal moved to DC, of course). And the quest continues.

I've also seen minor league games in large cities like San Jose and Buffalo, medium-sized cities like Syracuse and St. Paul, and small towns like Burlington (where Paige and I had season tickets for the Vermont Expos in 2001, a squad that featured current Pirates All Star Jason Bay). So imagine my excitement when we saw the Traverse City Beach Bums a few weeks ago.

It's a funky little park that looks more like a Hampton Inn than a baseball stadium. But the fans are close to the action, the beer is cheap, and the mascots are hilarious. These features reminded us of our beloved Vermont Expos and the cozy confines of Centennial Field. (For a cool review of baseball in Traverse City, check out this article. I think the reviewer was in Wuerfel Park the same night we introduced Jia and Hannah to pro baseball.)

In a related story, the Big House is being renovated over the next few seasons. I'm not sure how you can mess with perfection. But my grad school alma mater is throwing $225M at Mecca and adding luxury boxes and a few more seats. I guess 110,000+ watching the Wolverines every Saturday in the fall isn't enough. Please, please make the place LOUDER. My fingers are crossed.