Ryan Treat's MLB Ballpark Quest

This 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 until I notched the fifth with a visit to see the Harkriders, my friends who were living in the Houston area, that it became a "thing". 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 has given me the opportunity to see 7 more after helping various customers to be successful (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 and Angels Stadium in Anaheim with my love, Carlyn, who has quickly become a True to the Blue Mariners fan just like me :) Tridents Up!

Only 2 ballparks remain... which one do you think will be next?

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 20-8 at games I've attended on my Quest. 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). The only team I haven't seen so far is the Kansas City Royals.

Now you might be wondering about the rules for my Quest and there's actually only one—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. 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 a very real gamble with 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 Atlanta Braves and Texas 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 will look for opportunities to "true-it-up". The Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Kansas City Royals are all trying to get new stadiums and possibly relocate, so this may continue to be a (slowly) moving target. I have to say the Ray's and A's have the worst stadiums I've visited so I would welcome an opportunity to go back for something better (the proposed stadiums look great).

My Ballpark Quest