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June 26, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Baseball (and football!) road trip 2026: partly rained out

I had high ambitions for my trip out to the Midwest and back this month, but unfortunately I was only able to accomplish about half of my goals as far as visiting baseball stadiums. My itinerary included only one large city while heading west to South Dakota (Indianapolis), but I made a slight detour to visit the Field of Dreams movie site near Dyersville, Iowa. Thanks to a tip from Mark London I learned that construction on the new permanent stadium is nearing completion. I must say, it looks very impressive! (The last time I was there, in 2024, I was disappointed to discover that there was nothing at the site where the 2021 and 2022 MLB games had been played there, just dugouts, light towers, and a utility building or two. As I learned, the stands themselves were nothing but temporary, removable bleachers.) In western Iowa I drove past a minor league venue: Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City.

On my way back east, on Friday June 12th, I took a northerly route through the Great Lakes region, for a variety of reasons. (These would include my interests in birds, state capitol buildings, and -- as described below -- football stadiums.) My first stop was in the Twin Cities, where I visited Target Field for a second time. (I saw a game there in August 2010, which was the very first year the Twins played there.) It being a Friday in the early afternoon, the nearby streets were all congested, discouraging me from making a longer visit there. The fact that Target Field is virtually surrounded by freeways is one of the factors weighing against it; it's just not very easy for pedestrians to get to. I was extremely time conscious, so I quickly drove a mile or two east to see the NFL Vikings' new home. (See below.)

Detroit ended up being the real highlight of my baseball stadium "chase." On Sunday, June 14th I first visited the historic Negro League venue known as Hamtramck Stadium, located in the ethnic enclave [of Hamtramck, northeast of the city center], in which Polish people once predominated but appears to be mainly Middle Eastern or East African nowadays. Then I headed downtown and drove past Comerica Park (and Ford Field next door), and finally stopped at the new "Corner Ballpark," which is located where Tiger Stadium once stood. (The last time I was in Detroit, in 2015, there was a fenced-off area with a sign indicating that the area was being maintained by the "Navin Field Grounds Crew.") The ballpark itself was fenced off, but from peeking inside I was able to determine that the original field perimeter has been replicated, evidently with the same outfield dimensions as in the old days. Indeed, "Kaline's Corner" (right field) is clearly marked! The same flagpole that once stood to the left of center field is still there. Underneath the small roof-covered grandstand along the third base side is the "Hank Greenberg Walk of Heroes." Oddly, the only seats behind home plate are picnic tables, but there is a small bleacher section along the first base side. (Future diagram? You bet!) This was part of an initiative to improve community relations with the Detroit police force. Indeed, the new building adjacent to the ballpark is labeled "Detroit Police Athletic League." Along Michigan Avenue between Cochrane and Trumbull Streets is a row of condominiums with various shops and restaurants on the bottom level.

NOTE: New photos already appear on some of those stadium pages, and others will be added soon.

It was raining [lightly] pretty much the whole time I was in the Detroit area (including Hamtramck), so my photos weren't as good as I had been hoping. [The rain got heavier as I drove into Ohio, which was] why the final phase of my trip (into Cleveland and Pittsburgh) was literally washed out. There were games in both cities that day, and I had vague notions of attending the one in Pittsburgh, but given all my other travel objectives, that just wasn't realistic. I thought I might be able to at least get some photos in either of those cities, but due to traffic delays and poor visibility, that was simply not a viable option.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Target Field in Minneapolis; Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa; Comerica Park and the Corner Ballpark in Detroit; Hamtramck Stadium in Hamtramck, Michigan; and the new (yet unnamed?) stadium at the Field of Dreams movie site near Dyersville, Iowa.

Some football stadiums as well!

As for football, I managed to see and photograph two stadiums for the very first time -- Lambeau Field, the legendary home of the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin, and U.S. Bank Stadium, the relatively new home of the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. (I was at the latter location in 2010, when the Metrodome was still standing.) While in Detroit I also got some photos of Ford Field from the north side for the first time, and while passing through Indianapolis on the westward leg of my trip, I likewise captured an image of Lucas Oil Stadium from the south. But my hopes to see either the home fields of the Cleveland Browns (First Energy Stadium*) or the Pittsburgh Steelers (Acrisure Stadium, formerly known as Heinz Field) were set aside for some future opportunity. I have at least seen the latter stadium, but the photo I took of it isn't very good.

* For some reason, probably involving money, the Browns decided they "need" a new stadium, and plans are underway to build a replacement venue just west of Cleveland near the city's main airport.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

"Football" stadium name switches

Speaking of "football," there is a big international event taking place in cities across North America: the World Cup of soccer! I was confused when I saw something on TV about a World Cup soccer match at "Los Angeles Stadium," which is officially "SoFi Stadium," home of the L.A. Rams and Chargers. FIFA (the international body governing soccer) has some kind of rule against any kind of commercial promotion via stadium names, etc., so for the World Cup they went to considerable expense to cover up the corporate-sponsor names on the various stadiums, replacing them with generic city names. And so as a public service, I present a complete list of those venues:

You're welcome!

Winter sports end in summertime

Speaking of other sports, the professional basketball and hockey seasons finally came to an end about two weeks ago. First, the New York Knickerbockers (which is what the "Knicks" nickname actually stands for) beat the San Antonio Spurs, thus winning the NBA championship (also on the road) by 4 games to 1. This series was noted for the repeated highly improbable comeback wins by the Knicks, and the fact that it was the Knicks' first championship since 1973 -- over a half century! But you probably already knew that. Second, on June 14, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0, thus winning the NHL Stanley Cup by 4 games to 2. At least I think so. Many years ago, I kept goofing up the description of hockey playoffs and gave up even trying to do so for a while.

For the record, this world would be a better place if all of the professional sports seasons would be curtailed by a month or so. NO MLB in March or November, NO NFL in February, and NO NBA or NHL in May or June!!!

The Nationals fall from 2nd to 4th place

Through the first half of June, the Washington Nationals were keeping up a solid string of series victories, managing to keep pace with the (until-recently) red-hot Atlanta Braves. After winning the second and third games of their home series against the San Diego Padres, they ended the month of May in sole possession of 2nd place. That didn't last long, however: the Philadelphia Phillies were doing even better, and pulled ahead of the Nationals in the NL East race. Getting swept at home by the Miami Marlins was a lousy way to start the month of June, but things soon got better.

Indeed, on their road trip out west, the Nats almost swept the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants, losing the third game in both series. The 14-1 win in Phoenix on June June 5 was fueled by 5 home runs, two of which were hit by Luis Garcia, one of which was a grand slam! In contrast the defeat [in San Francisco] on June 10 was a debacle of historic proportions, as the Nats had a 9-1 lead going into the bottom of the 8th inning (when relief pitcher Paxton Schultz was charged with 5 earned runs without getting anybody out), and a 10-6 lead going into the bottom of the 9th inning (when Gus Varland was charged with 3 and Mitchell Parker was charged with 2). Neither of those pitchers recorded any outs, and the game ended on a walk-off grand slam by 21-year old Bryce Eldridge. Apart from that horrifying game, the Nats' woeful bullpen had shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, managing to hold onto leads and keep the Nats' hopes alive. But as we shall see, things got a lot worse once again this week...

Anyway, the Nationals returned home on June 12 and welcomed the Seattle Mariners to town, losing the first game but taking the next two. Likewise, the Nats won 2 out of 3 games against the Kansas City Royals. In both of the losing games in those two series, Zack Littell was charged with the losses. The Nats' record after the June 16 game was 39-35 -- 4 games over .500! The Nats then faced a challenging opponent in St. Petersburg: the Tampa Bay Rays [who were in 1st place in the AL East earlier this season]. All 3 games were competitive, [the Nats winning the 2nd one], but they came up short in the final game of the series. Worth noting is that C.J. Abrams hit a home run in all 3 of those games [in Tropicana Field].

Then came what proved to be an even stiffer challenge, as the Philadelphia Phillies came to play in Washington. The Nats won the first one (on Monday), thanks to another superb outing by their ace pitcher Foster Griffin. He went 7 1/3 innings and struck out 9 batters. A 2-run homer by Curtis Mead provided enough "insurance" for the relievers to get the job done. But the next day something truly awful happened that will haunt the Nationals for the rest of this season. After both teams scored 3 runs in the 8th inning, the Nats had an 8-6 lead. [Brad Lord, one of the Nats' most reliable relief pitchers,] got the first two batters out, and there were 2 strikes on Trea Turner (a former Nat). Against all odds, he singled, and then Brandon Marsh hit a home run to tie the game. Arghhh! But then it got worse. A walk, followed by a single, followed by a home run by Bryson Stott: all of a sudden the Phillies were ahead, 11-8! But then it got even worse. More walks, more hits, and the Phillies chalked up a total of EIGHT (8) runs in the 9th inning!! Luis Garcia hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th, but it was irrelevant. Final score: Phillies 14, Nats 9.

So how would the Nats react to that punch in the gut? Pretty well, actually. Home runs by Luis Garcia and Jorbit Vivas in the first two innings put them on top, but a fielding error by Nasim Nunez in the 4th inning enabled the Phillies to take a 3-2 lead. In the 6th inning a 2-run homer by Curtis Mead put the Nats back on top, 4-3. But in the top of the 9th, the Phillies were down to their last out, and Derek Hill was sent in to pinch hit, just after Kyle Schwarber (who had a tight back) took a walk as a pinch hitter. Once again with one strike away from a victory, Richard Lovelady tossed a pitch that Hill knocked into the right field stands to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead. And that was the final score. Two straight days of outrageously improbable twists of fate!

So how would the Nats react to yet another punch in the gut? Very well, actually! In the first inning, Curtis Mead hit yet another home run, and that sparked a rally giving the home team an early 4-0 lead. In the 3rd inning Jacob Young hit a clutch 2-out RBI single to add a run. But with the Nats' shaky bullpen, would a 5-0 lead be enough? You know the answer. In the 6th inning, Brandon Marsh hit a 2-run homer, ending Cade Cavalli's bid for a shuthout. In the 7th inning the Phillies rallied to tie the game 5-5, as neither Mitchell Parker nor Clayton could throw strikes consistently enough. The tying run scored on a bases-loaded walk, and a sense of doom engulfed Nationals Park. Gus Varland pitched fine in the 8th inning, but all heck broke loose in the 9th inning when Bryce Harper hit a 2-run homer to give the visitors a 7-5 lead. The rally continued, and there was really no point in replacing the pitcher. Derek Hill hit another home run, capping the Phillies' 10-5 comeback victory. In those three games, the Phillies scored, respectively, 8, 2, and 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning: 15 runs altogether!!! I swear, this sport will drive a fan mad.

After briefly taking one of the three NL wild card slots earlier this month, raising high hopes for a return to postseason baseball in D.C., all of a sudden, the magic seem to have vanished from the Nationals' very promising season. Even with those losses against the Phillies, they were still above .500 at the midpoint of the season: 41-40. But the Miami Marlins have improved once again, pulling into 3rd placed ahead of the Nats. Playing in Baltimore tonight, they wasted a chance to score in the top of the 4th inning when James Wood was thrown out at home on a ground ball to 3rd base, where Wood had been. In the bottom of that inning the Orioles loaded the bases and took a 2-0 lead. It was a dull, uninspired game, and the Orioles came out on top, 3-1.

NOTE: Subsequent corrections and clarifications above are indicated by [brackets].

Washington Nationals page update

The Washington Nationals page will soon be updated to include the month of May.