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10/05/2006TC man is batting .933Ingersoll has visited 28 of 30 MLB ballparksSpecial to the Record Eagle 
Rick Ingersoll, center, has been to every professional baseball stadium in the country with the exception of two. TRAVERSE CITY — Like it happened yesterday, Rick Ingersoll vividly remembers his initial trip to a ballpark — not only did it involve a legendary park, but a legendary player. "My first ballpark was Fenway Park," Ingersoll recalled. "I loved the whole experience. I remember, Ted Williams struck out and threw his bat, which landed in the stands and hit Mrs. Yawkey, the wife of the Red Sox owner." Since that first game almost a half century ago, Ingersoll has forged hundreds of baseball memories, many since 2003 when he began a horsehide odyssey that has taken him to 28 of the 30 major league ballparks. The retired mortgage banker needs to visit Turner Field in Atlanta and catch a game at Dolphins Stadium, a football field that is the home of the Florida Marlins, to complete the baseball marathon. "It all began three years ago when I ruptured an Achilles tendon and was laid up for a while," Ingersoll said. "I began planning how to visit several ballparks during a trip and really got caught up in the planning, the logistics of each trip. I only use public transportation — cabs, trains, subways, airlines." One of the first ballparks on the list was Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati where he saw a Reds game with his son Aaron in 2003. It was Ingersoll's only trip that involved seeing a single game. Every other trip has involved multiple games in an impressive itinerary of multiple cities. In 2004 he visited 12 ballparks, then went to 16 last year. "Actually I went to 17, but was rained out in Florida, so I have to go back to that one again," he said with a smile. Some trips make good geographic sense, such as seeing the Yankees and the Mets in one trip to New York or catching the Cubs and White Sox in a single jaunt to Chicago. But other times, his trip itineraries can get pretty elaborate. On one trip Ingersoll visited such geographically diverse cities as Tampa, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. "That was because of the airline, Delta, didn't require a two-way ticket," he said. "So I was able to buy one-way tickets and go from city to city." Another trip saw him flying from Traverse City to southern California, with a change of planes in Dallas. He was able to schedule a six-hour layover in Dallas, enough time to catch part of a Texas Rangers game at Ameriquest Field in Arlington. After the game he got back to the airport, flew to California where he caught an Angels game. The next day he caught a train to Los Angeles, then cabbed it to a Dodgers game. After the game he went to the Burbank Airport, caught a cheap flight to Oakland where he saw the A's play the following day. That night he jumped on another cheap flight to San Diego where he watched the Padres. "There's something about being at the ballpark that is so relaxing. I just love the ballpark atmosphere," he explained. "I go early, get there for batting practice. I might stay three innings or five innings or seven innings. I get there early and leave early. I like to beat the crowds out." Some special stadiums trigger special memories for Ingersoll. "Yankee Stadium was really something," he said. "We sat in the second deck behind home plate. Boy, that second deck is so steep. We got there 90 minutes before the game and hoped to tour the memorial park they have in centerfield, but there was quite a wait so we passed. It's a very old stadium with steel pillars, similar to Tiger Stadium. "In Milwaukee we sat right under Bob Uecker, who was announcing the game," Ingersoll recalled. "And I love Dodger Stadium. I love the way it sits up on a hill surrounded by open land. It's a unique setting. Pittsburgh's ballpark is great — the way it sits right on the river." It takes a lot of fortification to maintain this hectic horsehide pace, so Ingersoll makes a point of savoring food from each ballpark. "I always have the local specialty," he explained. "In Milwaukee, ya gotta have a brat. The most unusual food I tried was in Cleveland at Jacobs Field. They offer a chicken waffle that's folded over like a sandwich, then topped with syrup and tobasco. You know what — it was actually pretty good." Wherever he goes, Ingersoll meets other fans who have been on a similar baseball odyssey. "You'd be surprised the number of guys I've met who are doing this," he asserted. "You talk to people and there are guys who have been to 18 or 20 ballparks. Everybody likes to talk about the parks they've been to." Ingersoll, who was born in New Hampshire and lived in several cities as a youngster, has some special memories of baseball in Detroit. "I went to the Series in '68," he said. "On that day the Tigers beat the Cardinals. And the last time I was at Tiger Stadium I caught a baseball. It was during batting practice. The White Sox were batting and I got a ball hit by Frank Thomas." What does he think of Tiger Stadium's replacement? "Comerica is a great ballpark," he said." I really enjoyed it." And what about the Tigers chances of advancing in the playoffs? "I see 'em getting swept by the Yankees," he said. "I'd really like to see the Yankees and Mets in the World Series, or maybe a classic Yankees-Dodgers Series." Ingersoll winters in Hilton Head, S.C. and plans to visit the final two ballparks in the coming spring. Then he'll begin planning another cross country adventure. "National Parks is next," he says. "I've been to Acadia in Maine, Redwoods in California, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone and the Great Smokey Mountains. It'll be great."
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