Reprint Journal Times, 7/8/2002
Trey Mireles, left, Eric Dyer, Nick Postorino,
Gino Infusino, Neil Staeck at PNC Park in
Pittsburgh May 29, 2002 when they watched
the Cubs lose to the Pirates during their
12 day tour of 11 Major League Baseball stadiums
Nick Postorino, 19, drove the Ford Expedition out of Racine around 11:30 a.m. May 21. It was a Tuesday. The Tigers played the Indians at 7 that night in Detroit. In the SUV with Postorino were four friends: Egidio "Gino" Infusino, Neil Staeck, Felix "Trey" Mireles and Eric Dyer, all 20. All but Dyer were graduates of St. Catherine's High School -- he graduated from Case High School. They were all in college: Postorino at Purdue University; Dyer at the University of Minnesota; Staeck, Mireles and Infusino at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. They were all baseball fans -- huge baseball fans -- embarking on their dream trip.
The trip would take them to 11 Major League stadiums in 12 days, starting in Detroit. The drive there would take six hours, including a gas stop in Ann Arbor, Mich. They still had to buy game tickets at the Tigers' box office.
Postorino kept a journal of the trip.
Day One, May 21:
Comerica Park -- Tigers.
-- Lots of ... seagulls.
-- Stadium is really cool.
-- Relatively cold -- 50s.
-- No tailgating -- horrible.
The idea for this trip started to grow in Infusino's and Mireles' minds about a year ago. Those seeds were planted by a Mastercard commercial -- you know, the one with the two guys visiting every Major League ballpark. Priceless.
They mentioned it to the others. Everybody liked it, so they started planning.
Postorino logged onto Major League Baseball's Web site (www.MLB.com) for the daily schedules. He drafted an itinerary that fit with everyone's schedule and got maps of all the cities.
That itinerary included games in Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York (Mets), Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and back to New York (Yankees).
Then they stocked the SUV. They borrowed a TV and loaded a portable propane grill. They bought $100 worth of food -- hot dogs, brats, Italian sausages, chips, pretzels and candy -- at Sam's Club for the trip.
For most games, they either bought tickets at the box office on game day or from scalpers on the street. They ordered tickets for three games ahead of time -- Yankees at Boston Red Sox, Red Sox at Yankees, and Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians. They worried those games might be sold out if they waited.
Actually, the Yankees-Red Sox game in Boston had already sold out. They bought tickets on eBay instead, but there was a glitch. While Postorino and Staeck got their tickets, the others' tickets were sent to the wrong place and didn't arrive until three days after the game.
Day Five, May 25:
Fenway Park
-- Only Posti and Neil able to get in.
-- Packed crowd (played Yankees).
-- Fights every 1/2 inning.
-- Got to touch the Green Monster.
-- Very hostile crowd.
There's something special about a day at the ballpark for Postorino and friends. There's usually something special about the ballpark itself.
Fenway Park in Boston has the Green Monster. Cinergy Field in Cincinnati has a family-friendly atmosphere. Cinergy Field also allowed tailgating. The Vet, in Philadelphia, did not. Shea Stadium, home of the Mets, had the best fans; Jacobs Field in Cleveland had the worst/least enthusiastic. The Skydome in Toronto had the best hot dogs. Yankee Stadium, well, it's Yankee Stadium.
They appeared on stadium JumboTrons twice, in Montreal and Toronto. "Canada loves us," Staeck said. They met people at every stadium, and talked to them about how they felt about their teams. Everybody they met wanted to know about their trip.
"My favorite part was probably all the people we met at the games, and all the interesting people we talked to at the games," Mireles said.
Postorino, Staeck, Dyer, Infusino and Mireles wanted to see the historic ballparks, like Fenway and Yankee Stadium. They wanted to see some of the new stadiums, like PNC Stadium in Pittsburgh and Comerica Park. They wanted to see the Montreal Expos play because, if the League contracts, the team may not be around next year.
The Yankees vs. Red Sox is one of the all-time great rivalries in baseball, Postorino and the others agreed. They got to see the teams play each other twice.
Day 12, June 1:
Yankee Stadium
-- Each sat apart from each other.
-- 4 home runs: Jeter (1st pitch to the Yankees), White, Wilson (grand slam), Giambi (2-run shot).
-- Yanks won, 10-2.
-- James Gandolfini from The Sopranos read Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man Alive" speech.
Yankee Stadium was a sell-out. More than 55,000 fired-up fans filled the seats. Gandolfini read Gehrig's famous "Luckiest Man Alive" speech. Staeck sat next to an old man who was there 60 years earlier, when Gehrig gave the speech.
"I just love the old ballparks," Infusino said. "I sound like an old man. I just love the history stuff about baseball."
The five have already started talking about their next ballpark expedition. Maybe they'll head west. Maybe they'll swing through the South.
"Hopefully, we'll get to do them all," Postorino said. "That would be my dream."
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