Happy Wednesday, road trippers!
Alright, y’all… it’s time to get down to business.
We’re moving up to the big leagues this week. 😏
The Major League, in fact.
Because while some people are on a mission to hit all 63 national parks, others dream of catching a game in all 30 MLB stadiums.
Me? I’m just here to help bring all road-trippin’ dreams within reach.
So, with that in mind, let’s check out some multi-park road trip itineraries to help make those dreams a reality.
📍 The Route Report: Baseball pilgrimages
Firstly, I acknowledge that there are a variety of ways to hit multiple parks in one go.
These are merely a few options neatly packaged into itineraries to check off multiple parks on your MLB Bucket List.
The SoCal Sweep: 3 teams, 1 state
Start this route with a flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), though compare other airports nearby to find the best option for you.
Los Angeles is the jumping-off point for two MLB teams, though technically one is located in nearby Anaheim.
And whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, this route takes off with last year’s World Series champs — the LA Dodgers.
Dodger Stadium is the biggest ballpark in the country by far, capable of holding 56,000 people — and you’ll get to wave at all of them in traffic trying to leave the park. 🙄
After catching a Dodgers game, you could build in a few sightseeing days, with famous stops at Griffith Observatory, a look at the iconic Hollywood sign, and a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
With extra time, you could visit Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier (the landmark finale of the historic Route 66).
The second stop on this Southern California baseball crawl is just down the road in Anaheim, home of the Angels.
And if you’ve got an extra day between games, Disneyland is just 10 minutes from Angel Stadium.
After a few days in LA, head south down the freeway to San Diego for a Padres game at Petco Park, one of the best baseball stadiums in the country.
Located right in downtown San Diego, the open-air park has impressive skyline views, local cuisine and craft brews, and a grassy park inside the stadium to enjoy.
San Diego is also home to the world-class San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, and some of the best coastline in the U.S. if you need an excuse to spend more time there.
When it’s time to head home, you can either drive back to LAX (or your airport of origin) or save yourself the extra drive time and book open-jaw return flights from San Diego International Airport (SAN).
All three stadiums are connected via I-5, making this an easy swing to pick up multiple stadiums in one trip, with a little driving and plenty of sightseeing if you wanted to turn this into a bigger trip.
The Classics Corridor: 5 greatest hits
This route hits 5 MLB stadiums, including the legendary Camden Yards. If you drive, that’s approximately 5-6 hours of total driving time.
Fly into New York and see a Yankees game in their newer home, and plan accordingly to be able to catch a Mets game at Citi Field in Queens during the same trip.
From there, head south to Philadelphia, home of the Phillies, the oldest American professional sports team to have operated continuously under the same name, in the same town.
After Philadelphia, continue down to Maryland to see the Orioles play at Camden Yards, the stadium that served as the blueprint for modern-era baseball stadiums.
Wrap up this run with a fifth and final game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
As the greatest parks-per-mile option, you could potentially squeeze this into a tight 4- or 5-day itinerary if the home game schedules lined up.
But there are enough high-value stops in this region to easily stretch this into a two-week trip or longer.
I won’t even begin to list New York area sights, but there’s certainly something for everyone in the Big Apple.
If you're looking for sightseeing in Philadelphia, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are a must-see for history buffs and anyone who passed 5th grade. Then, grab a bite at Reading Terminal Market, one of the oldest food hall markets in the country – it’s been continuously operating for the last 133 years.
In Baltimore, you can take an Inner Harbor Cruise, visit the National Aquarium, or walk through Fort McHenry National Monument – the inspiration for the U.S. National Anthem.
As for DC sights, you have your pick of 17 Smithsonian Museums – including the National Zoo – as well as the National Gallery of Art and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, all of which are free of charge to enter.
Note: Some of the popular Smithsonian museums like the National Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo do require free advance timed entry reservations to help reduce crowds.
And that’s barely scratching the surface of what you can see and do along this route.
The real move here, though, is to ditch the car altogether and take Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line that connects all of these cities straight into downtown.
Once in each city, public transportation, taxis, or ride shares can get you to your final destination without ever worrying about parking.
Not to mention that taking the train can save you one-way rental car fees, parking fees, and the headache of dealing with traffic in major metropolitan areas.
The Great Lakes Grand Slam: a tale of too many cities
Like New York and LA, Chicago is home to two MLB teams, making it easy to cross off two stadiums in one trip.
Fly into ORD or MDW and make your way into town, before heading to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field — the second-oldest active ballpark in the country.
Less than ten miles away is Rate Field, home of cross-town rivals, the White Sox.
Both stadiums are within walking distance of stops on the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line, meaning a car isn’t needed for these two.
Stop by Millennium Park and see ‘The Bean,’ walk the Chicago waterfront, and head to Navy Pier (catch a free fireworks show in the summer months).
Visit the Shedd Aquarium or the free Lincoln Park Zoo, or take an architecture river boat cruise for the best views of the city skyline.
After exploring Chicago, pick up a rental car and decide which stadium you’d like to check off your list next.
Head north for less than 2 hours, and you can be at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Sample local craft beers, snack on delicious cheese curds, and visit the Harley-Davidson Museum if that piques your interest.
For what I’m dubbing a ‘Great Lakes Grand Slam’, you could aim to visit all the stadiums in U.S. cities on The Great Lakes on a single trip.
To do so, continue to Detroit to catch a Tigers game at Comerica Park and then on to Cleveland, Ohio, to Progressive Field to see the Guardians play.
Add in stops at the Motown Museum, Henry Ford Museum, or the Detroit Institute of Art for a sample of what Motor City has to offer.
And be sure to check out the Eastern Market, an open-air public market that’s been operating since 1841 – one of the largest in the U.S. and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Don’t miss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while you’re in Cleveland, in addition to the Cleveland Art Museum and a show at Playhouse Square – the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. behind Lincoln Center.
And if you aren’t interested in the longer route to Detroit and Cleveland, you could detour west from Chicago for 3 hours to Dyersville, Iowa, to visit the Field of Dreams filming site for more baseball nostalgia.
The filming site is open every day of the year, with a restaurant and the option to stay in the farmhouse itself.
Plus, a brand-new permanent stadium just opened this summer and will host the MLB Field of Dreams Game as it makes its return next week on August 13th, featuring the Phillies and Minnesota Twins.
Bottom of the 9th
The trick here is obviously lining up home games for each of the teams, ensuring they’ll be playing in town when you plan to visit.
Oh... and affording the trip to begin with, what with flights, lodging, transportation, and tickets to all the games.
But that’s where the points and miles come in. 😏
🚗 The Roadside Assist: The card for baseball fans
While there are a lot of cards you could use to save money on this trip, there is one that stands out above the rest for me.
And that’s the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Lemme explain why it’s my pick for a baseball pilgrimage road trip. 👇
Reason #1: It’s straightforward
The Venture X card earns 2x miles on everything.
Dining, lodging, parking, trains, admission tickets, foam fingers… You name it. 2x miles.
No debating which card to use as you bounce from ballpark to Disneyland to Amtrak to your fourth food establishment in 3 hours.
It’s the set it and forget it card in my wallet and my go-to when I freeze and don’t know which card to use.
Reason #2: It pays for itself
In addition to being an easy autopilot pick for everyday spend, the Venture X is widely acknowledged to be one of the easiest cards to break even on.
Before you even redeem any miles, you get a $300 travel credit to use in the CapitalOne Travel portal.
And it doesn’t have any of those other premium cards’ nitpicky rules.
It’s a full $300, all at once, not broken up into biannual credits, with no minimum 2-night requirement.
That means on a road trip where you’re moving around every night, you can save on multiple stays.
Like this Four Points by Sheraton in Anaheim, just minutes from Disneyland and Angel Stadium.
Or this Hyatt Place in Baltimore right near Inner Harbor for just $115 a night.
Budget your credit even more, and you could stretch it to cover 3 nights on a trip like this.
And once you use the full credit, booking hotels through the portal will earn 10x miles, which is the best earn rate for a non-cobranded card out there.
Plus, it comes with 10,000 anniversary miles annually that automatically get added to your account after you’ve had the card open for a year.
Those miles can also be used — along with all the others you’ve earned along the way — to book hotels and flights for your trip.
So, as I said, it pays for itself. 🤷♀️
Reason #3: You can buy baseball tickets with miles
Capital One has a deal with MLB to sell baseball tickets through its Capital One Entertainment portal.
Now, to be clear, the majority of the tickets available are sold through VividSeats at subpar redemption rates that would only get you about 0.8 cents per mile.
But they sporadically release cardmember-exclusive tickets that can actually be a pretty good deal.
There are usually only 4 seats per game, but they’re in desirable infield sections. The best part? They’re only 5,000 miles a seat.
Take this seat at an Angels game in Anaheim — paying cash, it would cost you $102.50 for one person.
Or you can pay 5,000 miles, a redemption of 2.05 cents per point.
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Or these seats in my hometown that are worth $155.76, a 3.12-cent-per-point redemption.
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The value varies based on how much the cash price of the ticket would be.
Compare any seats you want to redeem miles for with the cash price of available seats in the same area on the team’s MLB website to get a feel for the true cash value.
It’s important to note that because there are only a few exclusive-cardholder tickets per game and they’re prime seats, they go quick.
The ones I could find for August-September were mostly on weekdays or for teams that… let’s just say probably won’t be winning the pennant any time soon.
But if you have the flexibility to take advantage of a weekday game, you could snag some pretty great seats for a steal.
Otherwise, keep an eye out for future dates and be prepared to book ASAP when they appear.
They’re typically dropped in 2-month batches, with June/July games dropping mid-May, August/September dates available mid-July, and Opening Day/early games dropping in the spring.
Quick reality check
Truthfully, you could probably squeeze more cents per point out of your miles by transferring them to one of Capital One’s 15+ transfer partners and booking travel.
But if this helps you achieve your ballpark dreams, then I’d say go for it. 🤷♀️
🛑 The Pit Stop Poll: Far Out Routes
Would you go on an international road trip? |
 | Rearview RecapLast week was a cruise up the coast of Maine, for lighthouses, lobster rolls, and a national park. Plus, where to stay and eat along the way. |
As someone raised as a Texas Rangers fan living deep in Houston Astros territory, I’ve seen some baseball, but those of y’all hitting every stadium are next level!
And if America’s pastime isn’t your preferred pastime, and this one wasn’t for you, that’s okay.
Not every hit is a home run. 😉
Who knows where we’ll end up next week! 🤷♀️
Until then,
Katie Begnoche
Writer, Daily Drop
29.7604° N , 95.3698° W
With contributions from Sam Anthony.
