Great American Baseball Adventure, Week 15: July 12th-18th, 2010

One of my favorite weeks of GABA 2010 is Week 15. I must've rearranged the schedule ten times to get us to the All-Star Game on the 13th, but we also get a night in Reno and a weekend in San Francisco. Is the West Coast really the best coast? We'll find out in Week 15:


Monday, July 12th:
Modesto, CA (75 miles from Sacramento)
Modesto Nuts (A Rockies) vs. Stockton Ports (A Athletics)

Welcome to the California League, which we will see in its entirety in just 20 days. Some great promotions in Modesto, including a $10 All-You-Can-Eat night on Wednesdays and $2 tacos and Tecates on Tuesdays. On Mondays, you can donate two items to a local charity and get in free. I plan on donating two Oakland A’s relief pitchers.

Tuesday, July 13th:
Anaheim, CA (338 miles from Modesto)
The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game

I know, I know… I cheated again. We could’ve stayed in Northern Cali and gone to a hundred different places. But it’s the freakin’ All-Star Game! It could be the single greatest game of the entire trip… unless it ends in a tie. And if that happens, we’re calling the rest of the trip off. The baseball purist in my would like to proudly point out that this is the ONLY interleague MLB game scheduled for the entire trip, 0utside of the state of Florida. And let's face it, who's really watching baseball in Florida?


Wednesday, July 14th:
Travel day. Or, more appropriately, “soak-in-the-fact-that-we’ve-seen-90-plus-games-on-this-trip-including-the-freakin-All-Star-Game” Day. Great name. It would look nice on a banner.


Thursday, July 15th:
Reno, NV (544 miles from Anaheim)
Reno Aces (AAA D’Backs) vs. Tacoma Rainiers (AAA Mariners)

In 11 days, we’ve seen the Rainiers in 3 cities that are at least 500 miles apart. I swear, PCL teams travel enough to do a GABA every season. If only the Aces played the Clinton Lumber Kings. Aces and Kings… blackjack!


Friday, July 16th:
Stockton, CA (179 miles from Reno)
Stockton Ports (A Athletics) vs. Visalia Rawhide (A D’Backs)

We went three months without seeing anything related to the A’s; now we can’t seem to get away from them. The Ports’ Banner Island Ballpark isn’t actually on an island. And I was all ready to unleash a diatribe about a team called the Ports in a city that’s 75 miles inland, until I found out Stockton actually is an inland sea port. So I’m backing off, Stockton. I’m backing off.


Saturday, July 17th:
San Francisco, CA (83 miles from Stockton)
San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets

Nothing like a baseball game on a mid-summer’s night that’s 45 degrees with a 30 mile an hour wind. Really, AT&T Park is like the city itself – beautiful and well-designed. Just bring a hoodie… or three. And don’t think I won’t adjust our trip to match this stadium with a Tim Lincecum start.


Sunday, July 18th:
Travel day. Oh, who am I kidding. If you plan a six-month long cross-country trip, you’d better build in a day for the Wharf, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz, Lombard Street… really, we could spend a week there. Of course, by mid-July, we might want to just sleep for a week.