On the Road with Eli(zondo) and Adric: The 2023 itinerary of field research for the Guide

[Author’s Note: this essay was updated due to recent events as referenced in another article.]

Introduction to this year’s arc

No Matter Where You Go... There You Are...

-Peter Welker, “The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai”

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It might seem premature to post where I am going to go for the next season before this year’s postseason is even over, but sadly, I have more time on my hands than I anticipated. In any event, I learned an important fact when interacting with folks on the road this year: more people want to join me on the road, but they need more lead time to do it properly.

I hear you and frankly, giving folks more time to prep to potentially join the fun is something I can easily accommodate. With the new, “balanced” schedule, I will not have to wait six years if injury, illness, or personal tragedy keeps me at home. However, I must come to terms with a lasting truth about myself — I am getting older.

Even with the six games that I missed this year, I would have been scheduled to attend 24 games. I love going to Dodger games, but that is far too much baseball and travel both in terms of physical and monetary cost. But as you can see, I had a good time.

So sustainability is the theme for the coming year. I am trying to limit myself to around 15 games going forward.

Travel Dates

Last year, I had a rule that I would not travel during the week unless I could help it. When the 2023 schedule dropped in late August, I set to work with the above restriction in mind, as this restriction mostly limits my trips to weekends. I even stated on Twitter that my first trip of the 2023 season would be in Tampa for Memorial Day 2023.

Then I started planning and I realized something terrible: I have basically been to every ballpark west of the Mississippi River, with three exceptions: Seattle, Houston, and Arlington. As such, the easy trips are over and I do not feel like going to Texas this year. While planning, even with all the lead time, I found that the costs were prohibitive to just fly out to the East Coast and back for the weekend. And looking over the total expenditures these past two years, I was chagrined. I have certainly had fun, but I should not just jaunt off to the East Coast on a whim. So some painful cuts were made and a final decision was reached. The end result of this planning is shown below.

As you can see, I am pacing myself this year with the majority of my travel set for after the All-Star Break. With the above schedule, I will be going 18 games in six* entirely new cities. To make my life easier, you will see that I fare-hacking my way back east on three occasions.

Moreover, you will also notice that I am not be returning to Denver or Phoenix in 2023. I am currently not scheduled to return to Anaheim either. Anaheim and Denver are not weekend series this year, so it is far more inconvenient for me to go. It is a shame because I have friends I enjoy seeing in both places. The most opportune time for me to go to Phoenix would be at the beginning of the season but I have to keep that month clear for personal reasons. However, my friends in Anaheim might schedule a game in that series, so I will see if anything happens.

Once again in April, there are back-to-back series at Wrigley in Chicago and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The only reason I have not returned to either location is that there are other places that I need to see first.

In May, the Dodgers have a four-game set in St. Louis followed by a three-game set in Atlanta. The Dodgers then go to Atlanta and Tampa Bay, and I will be meeting up with the team for the conclusion in Atlanta before heading to Tampa.

In 2022, I had initially planned to try to go to Philadelphia as it was set for a weekend series in June 2023. But again, cost and health factors are prohibitive. I debated first returning to Cincinnati for a couple of games and then I decided against it because I honestly did not care for Great American Ballpark the first time around. So I will try to get to Philadelphia in 2024. At the end of June, the Dodgers return to Kansas City. I would recommend that people go there if they have not already been, but I do not need to return any time soon.

Therefore, in July, after the All-Star Break, I hit the road with two games in Queens, and return to Citi Field for the first time since 2015. Then I will take the train to Baltimore for three games at Camden Yards. I have not been to Baltimore since Mr. Obama’s second inaugural back in 2013.

At the beginning of August, there is a four-game set in San Diego, which I would heartily recommend to everyone else. In August, I return to the road to catch three games in Cleveland, before meeting up with my mother in Boston to see the series at Fenway Park. She had so much fun with me in Milwaukee, she said that she wanted to treat herself for her birthday and rejoin me on the road.

In September, I will close out the fun with a three-game set in Seattle. I thought about the Miami-Washington DC road trip one week prior. Admittedly, it was the first set of destinations that I ruled out because I am already making two East Coast trips this year and I am trying to rein things back this year. I do need to go back to both loanDepot Park and Nationals Park, but not this upcoming year.

Like last year, I currently have no other plans to visit Dodger Stadium in 2023 in the regular season, but depending on family/friends, you never know.

(The Post-Season on the other hand...well, again, let us not count chickens prematurely.)

“Home” Dates

You may notice that there are currently no dates in San Francisco or Oakland. Well, technically I consider those “home” games because I don’t have to do anything apart from driving my car up the street to park at the light rail station, and then travel on the light rail train to mosey a couple of blocks to Oracle Park. Getting to the Oakland Coliseum is a bit more of a hassle, but the Dodgers are not playing there in 2023, so it is a moot point.

My general rule for Oracle Park remains: I do not go to games in San Francisco unless I am with friends and family because I have been to Oracle Park far too many times for there to be any novelty whatsoever. I covered Oracle Park in its Guide entry, and I ended up going there twice in 2022 (the night after Vin Scully died and with a friend from law school on the last trip to San Francisco for the year). If folks wish to go to Oracle Park and invite me, here are the dates for the upcoming year:

• April 10-12
• September 29-October 1 (weekend series, last series of the year)

Remember, with the balanced schedule, the Dodgers lose a home-and-home series with each National League West team, so there will be fewer opportunities to see the NL West teams going forward. If games get tacked on locally, it will likely be those, and I will look forward to spending time with friends and family at the ballpark. Please holler if you wish me to tag along on any adventure to Oracle Park.

If folks want to join me on the road, please reach out as soon as possible. The more, the merrier is what I always say.

As for upcoming Guide entries, that will get its own post soon, but considering that the Dodgers return to Anaheim, San Diego, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Denver this year, you can bet I will have something to share in the offseason. Please look forward to it!