Lifelong Baseball Fan Tastes Every MLB Stadium

Some things are worth waiting for.

After a lifelong career in school administration, one man finally found the time to go after his dream — to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in one trip.

Dave Baker completed his "Journey of a Lifetime" in 42 days the summer of 2011, and this July he will be inducted into the Sports Travel and Tours Stadium Hall of Fame.

Sports Travel and Tours is a national tour operator based in Massachusetts that arranges trips of a lifetime for sports fans, and about every four years it inducts its latest group of super fans into the Hall of Fame. 

Six fans were inducted in 2001, 17 in 2005, and 26 in 2009. This July, coinciding with the National Baseball Hall of Fame weekend, nearly 30 fans are eligible to be inducted at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., including Baker.

"We hear from our avid baseball fans all the time that their dream is to see a game in every stadium," said Jay Smith, president of Sports Travel and Tours. "So we contacted the Hall of Fame and they allowed us to to honor these special fans in Cooperstown."

There is an exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame devoted to these fans, and an official register of STAT Hall of Famers.

"Inductees come from all over the country and have diverse backgrounds," said Christopher Switzer, creative director for Sports Travel and Tours. "We have inductees from Tennessee and Ohio, Florida and Missouri, even a husband and wife from Minnesota and brothers from Texas. A resident of the U.K. Has traveled the farthest. The common thread throughout these inductees is their love of baseball and the monumental achievement of visiting every Big League ballpark."

Baker grew up with a love for baseball, but especially for the Dodgers. In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers visited his hometown to play an exhibition game against the Fort Worth Cats.

"Ever since then, I've been a Brooklyn Dodgers fan," he said. "As fate had it, the team relocated to Los Angeles, and when I was 10 years old, my family moved to Los Angeles too. So it just worked out really well."

The last game of the trip was on Father's Day at the L.A. Dodgers stadium, the perfect place for the super fan to end his dream tour.

Baker updated a blog throughout the trip, documenting and rating each stadium based off of accessibility, stadium personnel, view, food and overall stadium experience.

We, of course, were most curious about each stadium's food.

"I am a die-hard Dodgers fan, and I hate to say this, but the Giants stadium in San Francisco was my favorite stadium," Baker said. "I don't like the team, but I love the stadium."

He scored the food there a generous 10 out of 10 after eating the Chacha bowl — jerk chicken on a bed of white rice with black beans and pineapple salsa — and a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli's.

But, like any man with Texas roots, the way to his heart was through authentic barbecue.

"I'm a big barbecue guy, so those stadiums that had big barbecue sandwiches were the ones that probably got my attention," he said.

Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, stood out.

"They have a place down in right field where Boog Powell has a barbecue sandwich place," he said. "I visited there and ate a huge two-and-a-half, three pound barbecue beef sandwich — more than you could eat at one time."

Another noteworthy barbecue sandwich was found at Petco Park of the San Diego Padres. The beef brisket sandwich at the Randy Jones barbecue stand was such a generous serving that "the droppings of meat after I was done could have fed a family of four," Baker said. "That thing was huge, and very good."

The most disappointing dining experience of all the stadiums was in Oakland, home of the Athletics. He gave the food a six out of 10 thanks to unimpressionable popcorn chicken and fries.
"There was not a big variety of food at Oakland at all — horrible experience," Baker said.

The 18th stop of the tour was at Safeco Field in Seattle, home of the Mariners. Here Baker experienced the most variety in food than any other stadium visited thus far, with Thai, cheesesteaks, hot roasted peanuts, fish, and chocolate covered strawberries. He tried the Ivar Dog, which is Alaskan cod with coleslaw on a hot dog bun.
"Seattle was a little different, but I really liked it," he said.

But when it comes to Baker's perfect ballpark hotdog, all it takes is mustard, relish, and onions.