The Baseball Fan's Bucket List: 162 Things You Must Do, See, Get, and Experience Before You Die

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

1 Take A Baseball Road Trip 14

2 Visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 16

3 Go to Opening Day 18

4 Attend A World Series Game 21

5 See the Cubs Play at Wrigley Field 22

6 Watch the Ken Burns Documentary, Baseball 25

7 See the Red Sox Play at Fenway Park 27

8 Experience A Hall of Fame Induction Weekend In Cooperstown 30

9 Play Fantasy Baseball in a Rotisserie League 32

10 Go to a Major Leagure Baseball All-Star Game 34

11 Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 36

12 Learn to Keep Score 39

13 See Some Grapefruit League Spring Training Games 41

14 Watch the Movie, Bull Durham 43

15 See Some Cactus League Spring Training Games 45

16 Take a Kid to His or Her First Major League Baseball Game 47

17 Read the Book, Ball Four 49

18 Attend a Major League Baseball Fantasy Camp 51

19 Watch the Movie, the Natural 53

20 Visit Rickwood Field 55

21 Watch the Movie, Field of Dreams 57

22 See the Dodgerso Play at Dodger Stadium 59

23 Read the Book, the Boys of Summer 61

24 Own a Baseball Glove 63

25 See the Yankees Play the Red Sox 65

26 Go to the College World Series 67

27 Watch the movie, a League of their Own 70

28 See the Orioles Play at Oriole Park At Camden Yards 72

29 Read the Book, Moneyball 74

30 See the Pirates Play At PNC Park 76

31 Watch the Documentary, Viva Baseball 78

32 Watch the Movie, Eight Men Out 80

33 See the Cardinals Play the Cubs 82

34 Tour the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory 84

35 See the Giants Play at at& T Park 87

36 Attend the World Baseball Classic 89

37 Read the Book, Baseball: A Literary Anthology 92

38 See A Triple-A Pacific Coast League Game 93

39 Watch the Movie, The Rookie 96

40 See A Triple-A International League Game 97

41 See the Indians Play at Progressive Field 99

42 Coach A Season of Little League Baseball 102

43 Watch the Movie, Fob Love of the Game 104

44 Own A Piece of Vintage Baseball Clothing 106

45 Visit the Legends of the Game Museum 108

46 See the Mariners Play at Safeco Field 110

47 Learn to Figure Important Baseball Statistics 112

48 Become A Member of Sabr 114

49 Visit The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum 115

50 Go to the Midnight Sun Baseball Classic 118

51 Play in an Adult Baseball League 120

52 Attend A Fan Fest 123

53 Maintain A Baseball Card Collection 124

54 Watch the Movie, 61* 126

55 See the Padres Play at Petco Park 128

56 Attend A Theatrical Production of Damn Yankees 130

57 Attend the Hall of Fame Classic Weekend in Cooperstown 132

58 See an Interleague Game 134

59 See the Dodgers Play the Giants 135

60 Read the Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti 137

61 Visit the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center 139

62 Watch the Movie, Soul of the Game 141

63 See the Rockies Play at Coors Field 143

64 Attend the Triple-A all-Star Game 144

65 See the Mets Play at Citi Field 146

66 Subscribe to and Read Baseball America 148

67 See the Yankees Play at Yankee Stadium 150

63 Catch A Cape Cod League Game 152

69 Create A Baseball Reference Library 154

70 Visit Green-Wood Cemetery 156

71 Visit the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum 71

72 Own an Autographed Baseball Collection 161

73 Watch the Movie, Major League 162

74 Watch the Documentary, the Life and Times of Hank Greenberg 164

75 See the Brewers Play at Miller Park 166

76 Watch the Movie, the Pride of the Yankees 168

77 Visit the Field of Dream Movie Site 170

78 Attend a Theatrical Production of Bleacher Bums 172

79 Read the Book, Veeck as in Wreck 173

80 See the Phillies Play at Citizens Bank Park 175

81 Read the Book, A False Spring 178

82 Attend Jackie Robinson Day 179

83 Own A Copy of the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract 181

84 Own a Classic Baseball Photograph 183

85 See the Angels Play at Angel Stadium 185

86 Learn the Story Behind ?Take Me Out to the Ball Game? 186

87 Read the Book, the Glory of their Times 189

88 Listen to the Great American Baseball Box 190

89 Start A Baseball Bobblehead Collection 192

90 See the Cardinals Play at Busch Stadium 194

91 Attend the Little League World Series 196

92 See the Rangers Play at Rangers Ballpark 198

93 Visit Dedeaux Field and the Use Baseball Hall of Fame 200

94 Read the Book, You Know Me Al 201

95 Watch the Movie, Bang the Drum Slowly 203

96 Attend the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture 205

97 Visit the Bob Feller Museum 206

98 See an Independent League Game 208

99 Read the Book, Only the Ball Was White 210

100 Visit the TY Cobb Musuem 212

101 Umpire A Baseball Game 214

102 Join the Baseball Reliquary 216

103 Watch the Abbott & Costello Skit, ?Who's on First?? 217

104 See A Double-A Game 218

105 See the Royals Play at Kauffman Stadium 219

106 Own A Piece of Baseball Art 220

107 Read the Book, Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game 221

108 See A Durham Bulls Game 222

109 See the Twins Play at Target Field 223

110 Listen to Lou Gehrig's Famous Farewell Speech 224

111 See the Tigers Play at Comerica Park 225

112 Hit in the Batting Cages 226

113 Go to an Old Timers' Day 227

114 Watch the Movie, Sugar 228

115 Visit the Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum and Hall of Fame 229

116 See the White Sox Play at U.S. Cellular Field 230

117 Play Apba 231

118 See the Reds Play at Great American Ballpark 232

119 Play in A Vintage Base Ball League

120 See the Braves Play at Turner Field

121 Own A Baseball Antique 236

122 Read the Book, Shoeless Joe 237

123 Shop For Baseball Memorabilia in Cooperstown 238

124 Read the Book, the Summer Game 239

125 Play Strat-O-Matic Baseball 240

126 See the Nationals Play at Nationals Park 241

127 Own A Copy of the Barry Halper Collection of Baseball Memorabilia 242

128 Host A Minor League Ball Player 243

129 See the Diamondbacks Play at Chase Field 244

130 Take in A Local Museum Baseball Exhibit 245

131 Read the Book, the Teammates 246

132 Delve Into Some Baseball Scholarship 248

133 See A Single-A Game 249

134 Watch the Movie, Fever Pitch 250

135 Attend the Annual Civil Rights Game 251

136 See the Astros Play at Minute Maid Park 252

137 Catch an Arizona Fall League Game 253

138 Watch the Movie, The Sandlot 254

139 Throw Out the First Pitch 255

140 Eat at A Famous Ballplayer's Restaurant 256

141 Visit the Barnstable Bat Company 257

142 Take A Baseball Tour of Japan 258

143 Read the Book, the Science of Hitting 259

144 See the Blue Jays Play at the Rogers Centre 260

145 See A Short-Season a League Game 261

146 See the Marlins Play at Land Shark Stadium 262

147 Attend the Caribbean Series 263

148 Fix Up A Baseball Field 264

149 Visit the Gravesite of Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. 265

150 See the Rays Play at Tropicana Field 267

151 Read the Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. 268

152 Watch the Movie, Cobb 269

153 Visit the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 270

154 See A Rookie League Game 271

155 See the A's Play at the Oakland Coliseum 272

156 Visit George M. Steinbrenner Field 273

157 Attend A Negro Leagues Day Celebration and Game 274

158 Visit the Sports Museum of Los Angeles 275

159 Visit Bowman Field 276

160 Catch A Mexican League Game 277

161 Read Elysian Fields Quarterly 278

162 Visit Elysian Fields 279

The Checklist 280

Acknowledgements 288