30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Road Trip Pt. 1: Dodgers Baseball

Ugh.  Next week I go back to work.  Don't get the wrong idea.  I love approximately 92% of my job and that includes hanging out with my friends, meeting my new students, and hopefully making a difference in at least of a few of their lives.

But the other 8% wishes I had a few more days off to just sleep in, read blogs, knock out a few posts, grab lunch, take a nap, sort some cards, watch some Netflix, eat dinner, tidy up, check the scores, hit the sack, and then start the process all over again the next day.

The three weeks I had off since late July were plenty entertaining, but not exactly relaxing.  First I went up to Oregon to visit my best friend and her family.

Seaside Beach

My wallet card finally got a chance to breathe in some fresh air when we took the kids to Seaside Beach, which is about ninety minutes west of Portland.  During that trip I ate a lot of delicious food, bonded with my nieces, and even had the opportunity to meet and hang out with Rod over at Padrographs.  Hopefully I'll be able to meet Gavin (Baseball Card Breakdown) and Kerry (Card on Cards) on one of my future trips.

I flew directly down to Las Vegas to hang out with my dad.  We sat down and had some really deep conversations about life, religion, politics, money, and my mother... with a little bit of sports and food thrown in.  We also went shopping, gambled a little, and went out to dinner for his birthday.


My dad also showed off his cooking skills by making the best shrimp scampi I've ever tasted.  He's been practicing the past few months and there's not a doubt in my mind that my mom would have been proud of him.

After four days of bonding with Papa Fuji in triple digit temperatures, I flew back to the Bay Area.  Which brings us to the road trip mentioned in the title of this post.

The goal was for my buddy Mike and I to hit up a Dodgers game, go to the Frank and Son Collectible Show, meet up with Ryan (aka SumoMenkoMan), hit up some antique stores and card shops, and check out the Rose Bowl Swap Meet.

The good news is we pretty much accomplished most of our goals.  The bad news is this post is running way too long, so I'm going to cut it short.  But not before I share the first day of our three day road trip.

Day 1Dodgers Baseball


Mike and I hit the road at around 8am and were in the LA County by the early afternoon.  After checking into the hotel and grabbing some food, we headed over to Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks.


Since I don't go to Dodgers games very often, I ended up buying the best seats I could find for under $50 (each).  I was pretty satisfied with our view.


Tony enjoyed it too.  Here he is chilling with my first Dodger Dog in more than two decades.

2016 Bowman Chrome Prospects Blue Refractor #BCP78

I was hoping to see Clayton Kershaw or Kenta Maeda take the mound, but Walker Buehler was a reasonable consolation prize.  My buddy noticed before the game that he had only walked twenty batters the entire season.  We must have jinxed him, because he ended up walking three more in this game.  Although I was pretty impressed with his ability to get himself out of the jams he put himself into during the 2nd and 3rd innings.

There's a chance we also jinxed the Dodgers, because we left after the 7th inning with the Dodgers clinging onto a 2-0 lead.  By the time we got back to the hotel, Carson Kelly had hit two home runs to lead the Diamondbacks to a 2-3 come from behind win.

In our defense... the game was slower than molasses and it had been a long day on the road.  Plus I wasn't feeling good after devouring the Dodger Dog and some nachos before the first pitch was even thrown.

I'll go ahead and pause things right hereStay tuned though.  On Saturday, I'll share Part 2 our road trip which involves hanging out with Ryan, going to two different card shows, visiting a card shop, and checking out some antique stores.

Until then... here is today's question of the day...

When you go to MLB or MiLB baseball games, what percentage of the time do you actually stay for the entire game?

I'd say 40% of the time.  This includes all professional sporting events (ex. Sharks, Earthquakes, A's, SF Giants, and SJ Giants).  If it's a mid-week game during the school year, I never stay the entire game.  However I'll usually get my money's worth if I don't have to work the next day.  It also depends on who I'm hanging out with at the game.  Some of my friends insist on staying the entire game, while others are ready to leave after an hour or so.

Okay... that's enough writing for today.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

24 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Don't believe I've ever left a game early. I did leave a concert one time just before the headliner (George Straight) came on stage. Tim McGraw (and Faith Hill who wasn't on the ticket) were on stage probably half way through when my then wife got in a pissy mood, so we left and went back to the hotel. But, pretty sure never left a ball game early. p.s. sorry I got side tracked.

night owl said...

I stay til the game is over 100 percent of the time. There'd have to be an emergency for me to leave early. The obsession with leaving early (it's not just games) I'll never understand.

bbcardz said...

Dude, I wish I had known you gonna visit SoCal. I would have liked to have met you and your buddy. It's probably just as well since my work schedule is so hectic. You guys went to the Dodger game on 8/9. I went to my 1st game this season on 8/6, so I missed you guys by a few days.

I also stay for the entire game 100% of the time. In fact, we usually arrive when gates open and leave about 15-20 minutes after the last out. We just love Dodger Stadium!

SumoMenkoMan said...

I’m a stay to the end kind of guy. Looking forward to when we can meet up again! Wish I could have swung going to the game with you.

Sean said...

Looks like a fun trip!

My general rule is to stay until the end of the game. Though now that I have young kids, this isn't possible. The last game I went to (when my son was just shy of his second birthday) we could only keep him out until the 5th inning. When they are older, and if they want to go to games with me, we'll be staying til the end.

The Shlabotnik Report said...

i used to be 100% stay-until-the-end guy, but I'm a tiny bit more open to leaving early... Especially if I'm with someone else (I often go to minor league games on my own). Overall, I'd say my stay-til-the-end percentage is 90%.

The Lost Collector said...

I usually stay the entire game. I've probably left early a few times when I have a meeting the next morning, or the first time I took my kid to a game (he was 1.5 and couldn't sit still). But for the most part, I stay.

GTT said...

I try to get my Mom and Dad to let me stay for the whole game. I'd say I get to stay for the whole game about 50% of the time or more.

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

My stay rate is equal to yours Fuji. I have a great time and have no guilt about leaving early. But I’ll stay til the end for any number of reasons.

Matt said...

I think the only time I left a game early was because my daughter was getting tired/cranky.

AdamE said...

If it is a Red Sox game I stay until the end no matter what. (I've even sat through a 3 hour rain delay once)

But if I'm at a random game (which is usually the case since I live in AZ and the Sox have been here exactly once in the last 10 years) I go home if the score gets lopsided. In my defense I usually have a kid with me and they usually get board by about the 4th inning.

gcrl said...

i've been to three games this year (one at target field, one at great american ballpark, and one at chase field), and i am two for three in staying for the whole thing. i left the game at target field early, but even then that was in the 13th inning of what would be a 15 inning game. i will admit to having left games early in the past as well, but not too often. thanks for the photos of dodger stadium, by the way.

Fuji said...

johnnys trading spot - that sounds like an excellent blog post ;)

night owl - i hear ya. i have friends in the same camp as you. for me it's all about how tired i am and what i have going on the next day.

bbcardz - not sure when i'll be making another trek down to socal, but i'll keep that in mind. i actually thought about you when we went to the rose bowl swap meet on sunday, but wasn't sure if
you lived in the area or not. email me if you're ever in the bay area and i'll give you a tour of our local flea markets

sumomenkoman - it was fun hanging out bro! hope you're able to come up here in september

sean - if we ever go to a game together, i'll plan on staying to the end :)

the shlabotnikreport - 90% is a pretty solid number.

the lost collector - so far it sounds like young kids equates to leaving early.

gtt - i wish my parents took me to games. well... i guess they technically drove me to my little league games. ;)

steve at 1975baseballcards.com - lol. finally someone who wouldn't be annoyed by me leaving in the 7th

matt - that's at least three people who mentioned young children. guess i won't be taking my nieces to any games until they're older

adame - 3 hour rain delay? now that's patience. i'm guessing it's about that time that the sox return to arizona

gcrl - i actually thought of you when i was at the game and took a photo. i'll email it to as soon as i finish commenting

defgav said...

Love the wallet card pics! Bummed I didn't get a chance to see ya.. hopefully someday!

Chris said...

Nice to see you making the most of your time off!

I don't go to enough games (and I don't live in CA) so I never see any reason to leave early - unless my team is just getting destroyed.

The Snorting Bull said...

If I take my kids and it's not run the bases day: 0% of the time

If I take my kids and it's run the bases day: 100% of the time. Even once stayed for a 15 inning game.

If I do not take my kid: 100% of the time I stay until the end.

CrazieJoe said...

Very kid dependent - with kids never except the one time for running the bases afterwards. If I go myself, most of the time will be the entire game (I think one or two extra inning affairs I couldn't).

arpsmith said...

Outside of one or two kid created issues, I never leave the game early now. When I was young, my dad made us leave a Giants game early because we had our 2 hour drive back to Sacramento and they ended up coming back to win the game. I pledged to never allow that to happen again.

Billy Kingsley said...

I don't attend sporting events very often, but I will always stay to the end. I wouldn't pay for something and then not get it...on my own choice.

I remember when the Heat were in the NBA Finals, with LeBron, and were trailing badly. Many of the fans left, but then the Heat came charging back...the fans that left tried to get back in but they had locked the doors, and didn't let the fans back in. I thought that was one of the funniest things ever. I don't even remember who won that game, I just remember the so-called fans who bailed on their team being all dejected in the parking lot. I'm still laughing about it now, and that was already at least 4 or 5 years ago.

Fuji said...

defgav - should be there next summer. i'm going to try and time it with one of those mall shows.

chris - i honestly don't go to enough games either.

the snorting bull - kids are definitely a major factor

craziejoe - i'm starting to think baseball needs to start doing something about the issue about kids and families leaving early.

arpsmith - yeah. that's happened to me on more than one occasion.

billy kingsley - that's one thing about people leaving early... more room for the fans that decide to stay.

Hackenbush said...

Late again. I haven't been to a game in years. My wife got is tickets to a Cubs game. The people in front of us were obnoxious and we left early. We enjoyed the time before the game started more than after.

Fuji said...

hackenbush - better late than never. oh man... i can't stand obnoxious fans.

Hackenbush said...

Adult age men and women were throwing peanuts in the shell at each other. I don't think they cared a bit about the game.

Fuji said...

Yeah... I would have either moved or left early too.