'08 Summer Dreamin'

While whiling the days before baseball comes back, and staring at my desktop wallpaper of Civic Stadium in Eugene, Oregon -- quite possibly my favorite of all minor-league ballparks -- it occurred to think of all the places I've seen professional baseball.

One of the first surprises was to see that I've never seen a game in Vermont or Maine. I always wanted to go up to Bangor or Portland, but given alternatives that were closer, I never made it there. Last year, I had tried to add North Carolina, but it, along with South Carolina, will have to wait until this year.

Above is a neat little widget from a site called Visited States that shows the results. The two rather obvious outliers -- Missouri and Colorado -- stem from my trip across the country in 1994 when we trekked from Massachusetts to Oregon in a not-quite-so-straight line in which we passed through 17 states and drove 4,000+ miles. We're probably still paying for it.

While eventually I'd like to games in all the Lower 48, I think the more realistic (and modest) goal is to see all the road fields in the Carolina League. In '06, I got to Salem, Wilmington, Frederick. In '07, I got to Lynchburg and was "colded out" of Winston-Salem. This year, the hope is to get to Kinston, leaving the most difficult for last: Myrtle Beach... that one, will require a bit more planning and luck. And a lot of driving.

And there's nothing wrong with trying to hit a few of the other cities and leagues in between, like my friend in Hagerstown did last summer and plans to again this summer. Last year, there was but one new destination: Harrisburg, but perhaps this summer I can hit a couple of more, such as York, PA and Waldorf, MD.

As always, life and weather will dictate, but when there's mud and snow out the window, thinking about where I'll be when the rains pass and the heat returns is what gets me through.