On June 6th, I flew out to Pittsburgh to see the Pirates play the Dodgers for the final stop in my lifetime goal to see a home game for every MLB team. What’s interesting is that the very first game I ever saw was the Dodgers vs. the Pirates in Los Angeles in 1976. So a fitting end. I didn’t plan it the way, it just happened. It took 48 years of being in the right city at the right time (due to business trips, vacations, etc.), and some extra effort for the last 10 or so, where I had to actually plan trips just to see some teams.
A few weeks before, I tweeted to MLB, to let them know about my milestone. I didn’t expect anything, but I hoped they would respond, and maybe hand out some freebies. Nothing.
I flew United out with one stop in Houston and got to Pittsburgh around 3:15 pm EST. I checked into my hotel that was right across the street from the Roberto Clemente Bridge that leads right to PNC Park, the home of the Pirates.
So, come time to go the game (about an hour before), I just walked across the street and across the bridge. Nice.
PNC Park
As you can see, it was a little cloudy, and I was little worried we might get rained out, but it didn’t happen. I would have hated to make another trip out, as I couldn’t stick around because I had to catch a plane in Atlanta in 4 days.
The Dodgers are my favorite team, and I wanted to see them with all their star players, such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the main attraction, Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani
It was a fun game to watch. Lots of runs scored with some home runs. Ohtani didn’t hit one, but Freddie did.
The Box Score
You can see all the details about the game here: MLB Gameday: Dodgers 11, Pirates 7 Final Score (06/06/2024)
I sat behind the Dodgers dugout with much better seats than I expected. They didn’t look this good on the website. For $80, it was a bargain, as I sat 10 rows from the field and just a little ways from the end of the Dodger’s dugout. There were lots of Dodger fans there and I found out that a lot of them were just following the team around. I sat next to one of them and enjoyed talking baseball with him. A lot of them were following the team to New York to see the Dodgers play the Yankees. If only I had known. I would have changed my whole trip to do the same thing. The Dodgers vs. The Yankees is my favorite rivalry in all of sports.
This trip was only partly about seeing the game. The other part was to just get out and take a trip. I was laid off in March and decided to take the summer off because I didn’t want to be stuck in the house all summer. Originally, I had planned a long trip that involved 40 hours of driving. I toned that back to just around 16. I drove down to Savannah, Georgia, stopping in Raleigh, NC for the night.
In Savannah, I stayed 2 nights in a hotel right on the river. Enjoyed some Southern food like Shrimp & Grits, and saw the famous fountain and Forsyth park.
The Forsyth Park Fountain
On Monday, I drove to Atlanta for 3 and a half hours, and met a friend of my parents at the Airport. We had some great conversation before she had to go to work. I then wait for my flight and flew home.