2 Down, 28 to go. (Tropicana Field-St. Petersburg)

I'm not sure what the builders of Tropicana Field were thinking, I mean you can see that they tried, and there's been some renovations recently, but to me it's just not a pretty place to see a game. Coming down I-275 through St. Petersburg you're greeted by a large tuna can like structure, only if you mashed one side of the can with a hammer because the roof is tilted to one side. The Ebbets Field-inspired rotunda is a nice feature, but the concessions are just so-so. There is also a tank in centerfield that one can pay to go in and feel up a cownose ray. Pretty neat, even if it does leave you feeling a little dirty. There are myriad hand sanitizers and sinks in that area for that purpose. Once at your seat, you can't help but notice the catwalks up above which have befuddled many a player and umpire in their day.

Maybe I'm just bitter because the Marlins lost to the Devil Rays that day, but I couldn't help but feeling that this is what it must be like to watch baseball in a post-apocalyptic age.

Hope springs eternal. (Roger Dean Stadium-Jupiter)

Besides my goal of visiting all 30 ballparks to catch the essence of something which I do not even really fully grasp myself (life itself, or something grand like that) I also enjoy visiting minor league parks and seeing games. Back in early 2008 I visited Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, the spring training home of the Marlins and Cardinals and the Florida State League (Low A) Jupiter Hammerheads. It's close to my house, I went with my dad, and even though I'm pushing 30 it was still a nice father son bonding moment.

We went for the first spring training game, the Marlins were playing the Washington Nationals, in a downright chilly (in the 40s) night for South Florida. The stadium itself is a great place to see a ball game. There's not a bad seat in the house, concessions everywhere (notice how I keep coming back to concessions) and they do a great job with promotions and getting everyone involved. It's also really great for kids.

Especially early in Spring Training, the guys you're watching on the field, you know it's highly likely they'll never catch a sniff of a major league game. What keeps them going? It's gotta be the 1% chance that they'll make it, to have their Crash Davis moment, to have your name announced on the PA system to tens of thousands of screaming fans. It's gotta be what keeps the 40 year old grizzled vet on a team of 19 year old studs going, that maybe, just maybe, the next phone call will be for him. That in spite of 8 hour long bus rides, tired knees, tired minds, there's always hope, and if there's hope, there's life.

1 Down, 29 to go. (Sun Life Stadium-Miami)

I really don't remember what my first baseball game in person was, it was probably something my dad took me to when I was small, so I don't have that in person OMG I love baseball epiphany that some people have. That didn't come until I was 17 and I was flipping channels at my old house, home by myself, when I came across the 1997 World Series Game 7, Marlins vs. Indians, and saw Edgar Renteria knock in Craig Counsell for the winning run in the 11th. I guess it's just as simple as it brought me happiness in a very hard time in my life, and has continued to bring me happiness since then. At that moment my love for baseball and the Florida Marlins was sealed.

I've seen probably close to double digits of Marlins games, what can you say about Joe Robbie Pro Player Dolphins Dolphin LandShark Stadium? It's a football stadium in which a baseball diamond is wedged for 81 games a year. The concessions (where there are any) pretty much stink, the sight lines stink, the Dolphin-branded seats stink, but ummm...it does have a nice video board. That's like saying a girl has a nice personality, but hey, I'm a gentleman.

I cannot wait for the new stadium in 2012 and you better believe I'll be the first person in line to get in on opening day.

Regardless of all the above, I look back to fond memories spent watching Marlins games with my dad, with college friends, with newer friends. I often hear that baseball is too slow for some people, and that's fine, but I love it that way, we could all use a little slow down in our lives. Baseball is great to just sit and talk with a loved one or a date, the other sports are too fast and frenetic to really do that.

Pictorial evidence of one of the games I attended back in 2007, Giants vs. Marlins, above.

What are we doing tomorrow night, Brain?

Hello all...

What I aim to do in this simple, sleek blog is offer my observations on what (I hope) will be a visit to all 30 ballparks, to be finished sometime before I die. I'm not the first and certainly won't be the last to try to accomplish/accomplish this task, I just aim to share with the world my views on the ballparks of our great land, and if I may be permitted a dose of grandeur, use them and the best game on Earth, baseball, as a prism to view my life and the world around me.

It's just a game, but man is it a sweet game.