By Bobby Ross Jr.
SAN DIEGO — My love of baseball is no secret.
Nor is my desire to see games at all 30 MLB stadiums.
This past week I combined work and pleasure when I traveled to Southern California to work on a story for ReligionUnplugged.com on Faith Night events hosted by a number of teams.
I flew into Los Angeles and then drove to San Diego, where — conveniently enough — my beloved Texas Rangers were playing the Padres over the weekend. I attended Friday night’s game at Petco Park as a fan. Then on Saturday night, I put on my journalist clothes and covered the Padres’ faith and family event.
This marked my first time at Petco, a beautiful downtown ballpark that was just as amazing as I had heard. After finally making it to Wrigley Field in Chicago earlier this season, I’ve now checked 21 of the current MLB stadiums off my bucket list.
On Sunday morning, I headed back to L.A. to report on that afternoon’s Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium. If I’m remembering right, this was my third time at Dodger Stadium, a historic ballpark that has hosted 10 World Series.
I flew home to Oklahoma on Monday, then drove to Texas on Wednesday for more baseball — this time purely for entertainment.
On Wednesday night, my brother, Scott, and I enjoyed the Rangers game with a group of dear friends from our teen years. We all attended Keller High School and worked late nights together at McDonald’s in the mid-1980s. While catching up on each other’s lives, we took full advantage of $1 Hot Dog Night.
I returned to Globe Life Field on Thursday with Barry Packer, a Christian Chronicle trustee and Rangers season ticket owner who kindly invited me to join him at that afternoon’s game.
By my count, that’s five MLB games in seven days.
What a fun week!
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Ballparks where I’ve seen games
Current: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee, New York Mets, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Texas and Washington.
Former: Atlanta, New York Mets, St. Louis and Texas (both former ballparks).
Still on bucket list: Arizona, Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, New York Yankees, Oakland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 