Great American Baseball Adventure, Week 14: July 5th-11th, 2010

GABA 2010 started so innocently; blissful weeks in the Midwest and on the Eastern seaboard lulled us into believing this was easy. Well, this is the week we're proven wrong. Our goal is to see every full-season major and minor league stadium in baseball, and in Week 14, that means three trips of 500+ miles... in the same week. Can we get frequent flyer miles in a car?


Monday, July 5th:
Salt Lake City, UT (534 miles from Denver)
Salt Lake Bees (AAA Angels) vs. Tacoma Rainiers (AAA Mariners)

Another schedule must after Albuquerque-Colorado Springs-Denver is to hit the Beehive State. The Bees’ stadium is nicknamed ‘The Apiary’ (grab your nearest dictionary for that one). No promotion schedule is set, but I’m rooting for ‘Dress Like Your Favorite Osmond Night’.


Tuesday, July 6th:
Travel day. Two off days in a 3-day stretch? It’ll feel like a vacation… except we have almost 800 miles to cover before the next stop. By comparison, there’s a 10-day stretch in April where we don’t cover 800 miles total. If the GABA were a song, this is where it starts being “They’re Coming To Take Me Away”.


Wednesday, July 7th:
Portland, OR (4.7 million miles from Salt Lake City)
Portland Beavers (AAA Padres) vs. Las Vegas 51s (AAA Blue Jays)

It’s actually 767 miles from Mormon country to granola heaven. Portland’s the greenest city in the U.S. (environment, not Benjamins), so we’ll ride a Smart Car to PGE Park. Soy hot dogs and no-sugar-added Cracker Jack for everyone! Game is delayed 45 minutes when the Oregon State Beavers show up instead of the Padres farmhands.


Thursday, July 8th:
Tacoma, WA (143 miles from Portland)
Tacoma Rainiers (AAA Mariners) vs. Fresno Grizzlies (AAA Giants)

Years before it became chic to put your AAA club in your backyard, the Mariners sailed into Tacoma and claimed the Rainiers (chosen over other names like Cobains and Starbucks). Nick Lachey owns a stake in this team, so it’s time to bust out the Tony Romo jersey!


Friday, July 9th:
Seattle, WA (34 miles from Tacoma)
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees

Before the game, Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr. will re-create “The Double”, Edgar’s 1995 ALDS-winning hit that saved baseball in Seattle. Griffey, now in his 40s, will need three times as long to round the bases, and will injure himself seven times along the way. Angered Yankee players will hit 20 home runs in the first inning, then try to sign Ichiro between innings.


Saturday, July 10th:
Travel day. We’re done with the Pacific Northwest (sorry, Northwest League – this GABA is for full-season teams only). It’s time to hop on Interstate 5, get behind the nearest cop, and book it for Cali.


Sunday, July 11th:
Sacramento, CA (752 miles from Seattle)
Sacramento River Cats (AAA Athletics) vs. Portland Beavers (AAA Padres)

It’s taken us almost 90 games to see our first Oakland Athletics farm team. Raley Field in Sacto is built ‘with expansion in mind’ in case a major league team wanted to relocate (hey Oakland – hint hint!). An annual attendance leader and two-time overall AAA champion, Sac-town might be the only place in the minors where players are actually upset when they’re called up to play for the major league A’s.