Ryan Treat's MLB Ballpark Quest

The Quest began for me in 1998 with a visit to see my sister, Kristin, in Los Angeles that included a Dodgers game but it really wasn't a "thing" until I notched the fifth with a visit to see the Harkriders, my friends who were living in the Houston area. In all, most of my first 10 were achieved by visiting friends and family (Kristin for Dodger Stadium, AT&T Park, McAfee Coliseum, Citizens Bank Park; the Harkriders for Minute Maid Park; the Zimmermans for U.S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, and Miller Park). Nationals Park I did solo with a trip to Washington, D.C. that was primary about attending U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments. After that I went to work for Venafi and that gave me the opportunity to see 7 more—while on a mission to help various customers secure their Machine Identities— Turner Field, Rogers Centre, Orioles Park, Petco Park, Yankee Stadium, Rangers Ballpark, Busch Stadium. Kristin and I took in the game at Coors Field with weekend vacation to Denver. Chase Field was part of celebrating Mother's Day in Phoenix with our mom. Comerica Park, Progressive Field, and PNC Park were stops for my stepfather, David, and I on our self proclaimed "Rust Belt Road Trip". During the summer of 2018, my mom and I traveled all the way to Florida to do our own road trip across "Alligator Alley" to see games at Tropicana Field and Marlins Park. And most recently I visited Target Field in Minneapolis, Angels Stadium in Anaheim, and Kauffman Stadum in Kansas City with my love, Carlyn, who has quickly become a True to the Blue Mariners fan just like me :) 🔱Tridents Up!

29 ballparks down, 1 to go... Look out Fenway Park, I'm coming for ya!!!

I've been to well over 200 Mariners games in Seattle and I think the first one was in 1982 at the Kingdome but I decided to list the first game I attended at Safeco Field here since it fell nicely within the already established range. The home team is 21-8 at games I've attended on my Quest—and, yes, I always root for the home team unless they're playing my beloved Seattle Mariners (which has only happened once, in Toronto). I've seen the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins the most (4 times each), followed by the Angels, Giants, Phillies, and Reds (3 times each). I've seen every team at least one time during The Quest... the Red Sox logically being the only team I might not have seen since I've now been to every other team's home ballpark (I saw the Red Sox lose to the Yankees).

Now you may be wondering about the rules for my Quest and there's actually only one Rule—I must see an official game for every Major League team in their home ballpark. So the fact that I did the tour of Fenway Park one year a few weeks before baseball season doesn't count (although it was cool). The official game rule also proved important with my first visit to U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. I was physically inside the ballpark on game day but it was called due to rain before it even began. So that meant I needed to return to Chicago later that same year and trade-in my unused ticket for the opportunity to see a different White Sox game, and the game I happened to choose ended up being the 18th perfect game in Major League Baseball history pitched by Mark Buehrle. The Royals game Carlyn and I planned to attend in Kansas City was also rained out before a pitch was thrown. Fortunately, I planned that trip so we had the ability to go to the game the following day and was able to cross Kauffman Stadium off my list. Weather was a factor when I was in Atlanta, too. The game the night before had been postponed due to tornados so the single game ticket I had purchased earlier let me see the first (and only) doubleheader I've ever attended. For what it's worth I've also seen 2 official games at Petco Park, Oriole Park and Busch Stadium, just not on the same day. Weather is the biggest gamble on a quest like this... David and I opted to go the game the night we arrived in Pittsburgh instead of the day after because the forecast looked bad (it did rain very hard that night but they got the game in). The game my fellow Venafi product managers attended in St. Louis back in 2019 was damp but never delayed.

When you take more than 20 years to complete an odyssey like this something else happens... ballparks come and go. The Braves and Rangers are now playing in different stadiums (Truist Park and Globe Life Field) than when I saw them (Turner Field and Rangers Ballpark). Dealing with that is a secondary problem since it has no bearing on The Rule, but once I complete The Quest, I may look for opportunities to "true-it-up". Expansion, on the other hand, would be cause to continue The Quest because The Rule would clearly apply. The Athletics are in the process of relocating to a new ballpark in Las Vegas, and new ballparks are also under consideration for the Rays, Royals, and White Sox. The A's, Rays' and White Sox stadiums were among the worst stadiums I've visited. On the other hand, I thought the Royals' stadium was quite nice, especially considering its currently the 5th oldest. The bar below is my ranking of the ballparks from best-to-worst (Fenway Park is TBD).

My Ballpark Quest