The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (w/ pics)

The World Series is in full swing this week with a match up between two of baseball’s oldest teams. While seeing those games in person is a hard ticket to get, there are many other baseball-related spots you can visit that have just as much significance as host sites for championships.

No other sport can claim as much history and nostalgia—baseball is a game that spans, yet connects, generations, and calls many a fan to make pilgrimages to its numerous hallowed places. In honor of the Fall Classic, we’ve put together a line up of nine of these sacred places. This is not your typical stadium tour, but instead includes locales that have helped shape the history and character of the game, as well as the love fans have for it.

To quote the Voice referenced in spot #6, “If you build it, they will come.” We built this list, so go see these iconic baseball locations, leading off with Beantown and rounding the bases of our country (and beyond) before heading back home to where it started.

1. Atop the Green Monster – Boston, Mass.

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It is among the most cherished stadiums anywhere, and watching a game atop the green monstrosity looming in left field is like hitting a ball with the sweet spot of a bat. The 37-foot-tall wall was part of the original 1912 construction and has several unconventional in-play features, such as an exposed ladder and manual scoreboard that wreak havoc on outfielders and turn ordinary home runs into singles. While there is a decades-long dispute over its exact distance from home plate, the 274 fans perched in the Monster Seats don’t care, as they’re enjoying one of the most unique views in the game.

2. Ebbets Field Apartments – Brooklyn, NY

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One of the saddest moments in baseball occurred in 1957, when the Dodgers left Brooklyn for the West Coast, leaving behind the iconic Ebbets Field. Its legacy included the annual “Wait ‘till next year” cries due to the futility of “Dem bums,” who, over a 15-year period, lost six World Series to the hated cross-town rivals, the New York [bleeping] Yankees. The two most defining moments it hosted were Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier and in 1955, when the Boys of Summer finally wrangled a championship from the Yankees. Two years later, it was abandoned then demolished altogether in 1960. Today, Ebbets Field Apartments stands atop that hallowed ground, yet many a tough-luck Brooklynite and diehard fans of the game still make the pilgrimage to pay their respects.

3. Baseball Hall of Fame – Cooperstown, NY

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There’s a reason why the National Baseball Hall of Museum is in the three-spot of this line up, the most important slot. Because when it comes to all-around baseball sites, it’s got the best of swings. While the claim that the birthplace of baseball is Cooperstown has been disputed by historians, there’s no lessening its significance, with countless artifacts and exhibits of the game, its teams, players, stakeholders, and influence on the world. There’s also Doubleday Field, where numerous old timers’ and exhibition games are held. It is a fan’s dream to walk among these enshrined icons and their achievements, and a place where shared memories and experiences cross multi-generational lines.

4. Louisville Slugger Museum – Louisville, Ky.

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The crack of the bat is one of the most distinct sounds in sports. And the place to best learn all about what makes that happen is where baseball’s bats are born. Legend has it the first bat ever made by the company that would become Louisville Slugger was a hand-crafted, custom-made work that broke the local major league team’s star out of a fierce slump, producing three hits in the first game it was used, way back in 1884. Its popularity soared form there, making Louisville Slugger the bat of choice among major leaguers. Its museum focuses on the craft of hitting, giving insights into how bats are made and the hitters that have swung them, and even gives you the chance to face down a 90-mph fastball with one of their pieces of art. It’s also home to the world’s biggest bat, making it the obvious choice for batting clean-up in this line up.

5. Waveland Avenue outside Wrigley Field – Chicago, Ill.

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There’s never been a more popular place outside of a stadium to still experience “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Ball hawks line Waveland Avenue and ready themselves with each crack of the bat in the hopes of scoring a home run ball that clears not just the ivy-covered fences, but the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field altogether—a trend that went ballistic during Sammy Sosa’s big-swinging days. Additionally, seats atop the buildings across the street from the stadium offer a festive atmosphere to view the game and wish away the Curse of the Billy Goat for the hopeless Cubbies.

6. The Field of Dreams – Dyersville, Iowa

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“Is this heaven?”

“No. It’s Iowa.”

And one place every baseball fan must see. The movie’s themes of second chances, faith, and relationships all neatly wrapped around baseball resonated with both the hardcore and casual fan alike—heck, even non-sports people. The corn rows where Ray Kinsella first heard the Voice and built his magical baseball field on which ghost players of the past continue practicing their beloved trade is located on a farm owned by the Lansing family. Twenty years later, fans still hear the Voice and go the distance to witness the setting in person, an attraction that draws thousands annually and serves as a playing field for pick-up games. Baseball heaven? No. But close. Very close.

7. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – Kansas City, Mo.

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Some of the game’s greatest talents never stepped between the foul lines of a major league diamond. The reason? Because the tone of their skin didn’t match the color of the ball. While hundreds of African American players missed opportunities to shine on the biggest baseball stage, millions of fans missed out as well, never having the opportunity to appreciate their skills until Jackie Robinson integrated the national pastime. A few managed to follow Robinson’s footsteps, but sadly, the great majority did not. In an effort to recognize the achievements of players from the numerous Negro Leagues that were in existence in the early half of the 20th century, and the impact they had on the game that’s still felt to this day, the Negro League Baseball Museum opened its doors and has scored a huge hit with fans.

8. Parque Central’s Esquina Caliente – Havana, Cuba

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It may be America’s national pastime, but it’s the national passion in Cuba. See this in action at the section of Havana’s Parque Central known as Esquina Caliente. The “Hot Corner” earned its nickname by being more than a reference to slang for third base, thanks to the daily heated debates that have so much emotion, unfamiliar witnesses might expect them to come to blows (it’s an unwritten rule that they never do). Topics range from local team performances to defecting nationals who’ve made it to the big leagues, as well as strategy, Major League standings, and even some politics. There are travel restrictions to Cuba, but anyone who calls themselves a fan of the game needs to mira what real fanaticism for the sport really means.

9. Hank Aaron’s 715 Spot – Atlanta, Ga.

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Back before juiced baseballs and juiced players were associated with home runs, there was a number that stood for nearly 50 years. It was 714, and many thought it would never be broken. Atlanta Braves outfielder Henry “Hank” Aaron never hit more than 47 in a single season, but he was incredibly consistent with his long-ball stroke. On April 8, 1974, Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record amid intense pressure from baseball purists, racists, and pitchers hurling 90 mph fastballs. The spot where his record homer cleared the fence at Fulton County Stadium is now a parking lot for Turner Field, the current home of the Braves, but it has been memorialized. If you call yourself a fan, come marvel at this feat (and not accept homer totals from people whose name rhymes with Larry Ponds).

OK, I’m no Yankees fan. By any means. But no matter how much you loathe the franchise (admit it, we’re all really just jealous), it’s impossible to exclude the impact they’ve had on the game, and neglecting a visit to old Yankee Stadium as part of a hardball pilgrimage is like a Catholic skipping the Vatican City when in Rome. So we’ll round third, and head back home to the Northeast where this trip started by making this an American League line up with 10 starters and add old Yankee Stadium to the DH spot on this list—an obvious choice since New York is where the World Series is taking place…

10. The House That Ruth Built – New York, NY

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It’s where the Bambino reigned as baseball king, Lou Gehrig gave his heartbreaking speech, Don Larsen tossed his World Series perfect game, and Reggie Jackson launched three dingers in a single, title-clinching evening. It also is where legends like Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, Hideki Irabu, and Mickey Mantle roamed the field. Host to 37 World Series and 26 championships, the Bronx Bombers may have moved to fancier digs next door, but all the great ghosts of the game reside here. Plus, it was regularly featured on Seinfeld. Visit it before it’s razed and turned into parkland—hopefully, they won’t build apartments on this sacred ground too… though that would be sweet, poetic justice in the eyes of those who have ever worn Brooklyn Dodger blue.

Have you visited these places? What are your cherished baseball sites and the stories behind them?

This story was originally published HERE at vacation.com. We thank them for sharing this with us!

Since failing to realize his dream of playing centerfield in the big leagues (it was obvious in college this wasn’t going to happen), Matt’s been writing about places, people, and things at Vacations.com. He enjoys journeys down hiking trails, bike paths, and two-lane highways with his wife and kids to wherever they might lead, and has never met a road trip he didn’t like (except maybe that overnight jaunt to Pangburn, Ark.). Raised and well-traveled in the Southeast, he’s anxiously awaiting the day the Dolphins win another Super Bowl, Ric Flair runs for office, and good Cuban food comes to North Georgia.

November 2, 2009 – Matt Wilson The World Series is in full swing this week with a match up between two of baseball’s oldest teams. While seeing those games in person is a hard ticket to get, there are many other baseball-related spots you can visit that have just as much significance as host sites [...]