This is the final excerpt from my book, Hitting Them All. There are a limited number of copies for sale in the first printing and they are selling fast. If you would like to purchase a copy, click Order Now on the main menu, follow the directions and I will send it to you.
Prologue
What started as an obsession became a journey that turned into a quest. It began in Baltimore and ended in Seattle when Marty, Jack, Jay and I walked through the turnstile at Safeco Field on May 31, 2011. That occasion marked the end of a 20-year pilgrimage, crisscrossing the country to visit every major league stadium and ballpark. Wearing commemorative tee shirts we were greeted warmly by the Mariner’s ushers, photographers and fans. We had realized a dream and checked off a “bucket list” item for many baseball fans.
The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, the flagship television station of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, interviewed Marty and local newspapers in our home towns did feature stories about us. Orioles broadcaster, Jim Hunter, asked Marty how he felt about doing something that baseball fans dream about. “Mastercard never put us in a commercial, but it took a commitment from a special group of friends that loved baseball,” he replied.
As Orioles fans, we attended several games at Memorial Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards. After going on some road trips to other cities, we forged a pact in Tampa in 2000 to “hit them all.” Each year when the Major League Baseball schedule was announced, we planned a trip to another ballpark. This was no easy task for four married guys living in different parts of the country. Putting this plan in motion required a commitment of time, money and patience from an understanding group of wives. This book tells our story.
Our quest was not just about baseball, although the games were the reason for it. As history buffs, we made it a point to visit national landmarks and historic sites along the way. We toured Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Antietam, hiked the Freedom Trail in Boston, went to Independence Hall and saw the crack in the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and were escorted by an NYPD Officer on an emotional tour of the national September 11 Memorial in New York City. We went to Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. where John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln and the Texas Book Depository in Dallas where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot that killed JFK. We listened to an audio recording of a sermon by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where he served as a pastor and toured Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Library and Museum.
We ate barbecue at the world famous Arthur Bryant’s restaurant in Kansas City and were served Boog’s BBQ at the ballpark in Baltimore by the Orioles ex-slugger, Boog Powell. We dined on thick Porterhouse steaks and Italian roast beef sandwiches in Chicago, fresh salmon in Seattle, Cuban sandwiches in Miami, clam “chowda” in Boston, New York City pizza and Philly cheese steaks.
In the course of our quest, life happened. We shared “Wrigleyville” moments — peak experiences you will read about in the book — celebrated births, mourned the passing of loved ones and had a few brushes with our own mortality.
I can’t recall some of the details about the early trips, so most of what I wrote was from memory. To paraphrase Mickey Mantle who allegedly said, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself,” if I knew I was going to write a book, I would have taken better notes.
Some may think our pilgrimage was a childish endeavor for four grown men, and some may wonder why we did it. Understanding our “why” is easy. As the noted journalist and respected baseball author, Roger Angell, once wrote, “Baseball’s time is seamless since baseball’s time is measured only in outs. All you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive and you have defeated time. You remain forever young.”
Hitting Them All 