While it was a disappointing summer for us as Braves fans, we made progress on our quest to see every team play a game in their home ballpark. A few years back we modified our goal of seeing a game in every major league park since so many teams built new venues after we made what for us was a once-in-a-lifetime visit to certain cities.

In May we traveled to Cleveland for a game at Progressive Field, and then in September we wandered out west for a game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Progressive Field, originally known as Jacobs Field, opened in 1994. It replaced Cleveland Stadium, derisively known as the Mistake by the Lake, which had been home to the Indians since 1932. The night we were there, the Guardians were hosting the Los Angeles Angels, and things did not go so well for the home team. Jorge Soler, hero of the 2021 World Series, launched a majestic home run in the top of the ninth that gave the visitors a 4-0 lead. The Guardians dented the scoreboard in their half of the inning but lost 4-1.

Behind us, a couple of older fans (by that I mean two guys about my age) kept asking each other what the OPS on the scoreboard stood for. One of them finally asked me, and I told him it was for on-base plus slugging percentage. He responded with an unenthusiastic grunt.

There is much to do in Cleveland besides going to a baseball game. One afternoon we went over to “good old Cleveland Street” and toured the house where Ralphie, Randy, their mom, and the Old Man resided in the holiday classic, A Christmas Story. When I entered the kitchen and saw the turkey in the open oven, I half expected the Bumpus hounds to burst through the back door and make off with the Old Man’s feast.

We spent most of a day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which in and of itself was worth the trip to Cleveland. The only drawback was that AC/DC had played in town the previous night, so the Hall of Fame chose to blare their music at maximum volume the whole time we were there. Nothing against AC/DC, but I would have preferred to hear some tunes from Elvis, the Everly Brothers, or Wilson Pickett.

We also took a ride on the California Zephyr, an old passenger car on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. We do not get an opportunity to ride trains very often, and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad does a nice job of preserving and restoring vintage railcars and locomotives.

For dinner one evening we drove an hour toward Pittsburgh to eat at Primanti Bros. For over two years, I had been holding onto a gift card from Primanti’s that I received as a retirement gift. During that time, I asked anyone I knew with a connection to Pittsburgh or northwestern Pennsylvania what they thought of Primanti Bros. and always got glowing reviews. I was told to make sure I had a pizza and that they had the best French fries in the world. We ordered big salads that would have made Elaine Benes proud, and they were topped with enough fries to feed a small army. We ordered a pizza to go and had it for two more dinners during our stay. Even warmed up in the hotel microwave, it was possibly the best pizza I’ve ever tasted.

So, it’s 23 cities down, seven to go. I’ll report on our trip to K.C. in my next post.