It’s six o’clock in the evening, Friday the 26th of July, 1996 and I’m on my way to Candlestick (3Com) Park to watch the Atlanta Braves take on the San Francisco Giants.

This is the start of a long-planned odyssey. I intend to travel to all of the Major League Stadiums in North America, witnessing a game in each and every ballpark, bringing you observations, on baseball in particular, and whatever else of interest comes up along the way. This will involve some 13,000 miles, 28 stadiums, 2 countries and 60 days!

The challenge will be to complete this venture in a very tight time frame. Juggling game dates and coordinating them with geography will be a very real challenge.

The method of travel I have chosen, via automobile, is not the fastest or the easiest way for the amount of time I have allotted, but it is certainly the best way for me to really see, smell and touch the heart of this great game of baseball.

My name is Ray Bergman and I love baseball. My love of the game began when I was a very small boy. To this day, I can still vividly remember holding onto my father’s hand as we walked into the Polo Grounds on a warm summer’s day. I can, with almost no effort, smell the odors of the old ballpark - freshly cut grass, roasted peanuts and hot dogs meant only for hungry little boys like me, and the sounds! The noise of the crowd was like thunder that roared in my ears. And the wonderful cracking sound of the bat as it connects with the ball. What heaven for a child!

I’m grown up now, the Polo Grounds is no more, and I’ve long since given up most of that little boy’s dreams. But there is one dream I have never let go of: to make my small contribution to baseball and pay homage to the game I love.

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