As the summer looms upon us, a fun early trip to batting practice might turn into a miserable afternoon (if the home team isn’t winning), because of the heat bouncing off of the seats. There are a few general tips that can help with these scorching day games: First, check out seats in the shade, the outfield bleachers tend to cook. Second, bring in water bottles, and find out where the facility distributes free ice or water. And third, before the game, check out the team store. Many ball parks have these open even before the gates and they are always air conditioned. With this tip, I’ll provide a warning, do not go into the team store with both money and kids: you might end up losing both (you’ll find the kids again, not so much on the money).

Several ball parks do unique things to help fans beat the heat. In a few ball parks, they’ll have misters distributed around the mezzanine, like in Las Vegas’ Cashman Field. In Lancaster, PA, there’s an independent league team that has bumper boats as a part of their park. At Chase Field, if you’re not able to get over their hot weather with their classic frozen water salesmen, you can get seats by the pool inside. Also, it helps to know that you’ll be beating the heat with a roof and an inside temperature of 77 degrees. And if you’re just trying to make the heat more comfortable, the Gateway Grizzlies, outside of St. Louis, provide a hot tub suite for a good summer time.

At US Cellular Field in Chicago, it’s a tradition to go to a humid uncomfortable day game to enjoy the outfield amenities. From the old Comiskey Park, they’ve brought back The Old Comiskey Park Shower in center field for fans to use to cool off. This shower is popular, and I’ve even heard rumors of it being duplicated. But if that doesn’t do it for you, they have misting stations all over, including the Rain Room in right field. It becomes a place where fans look forward to beating the heat.

You can take the subway to Yankee Stadium and greatly cut down on the hassle involved. I've been a couple times as an out of towner, and I can attest that paying all of the tolls and the $30+ for parking is no fun! If you don't want to fool with being in traffic and wasting gas, consider the subway.

There are a couple of options, the D or 4 train to 161st street, which is right by the stadium. There are also MTA trains on the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines that drop you at 153rd street E, which leaves you about a $10 minute walk to Yankee Stadium. If you go the subway route, make sure you buy your round trip ticket ahead of time. The last thing you want to do is be standing in a line after the game, needing to buy your return ticket.

As far as cost, your round trip subway ticket to the Yankees game is going to be about $6 per person. Here are some links to more information:

MTA Yankee Stadium Summary
MTA Sports Page
Official Yankee Page

By Christopher Mehfoud

Several months before my brothers and best friend voyaged out to Dodger Stadium, there had been a couple of violent, arrest warranting fights between fans. Baseball fans are a unique bunch, and while it wasn't something we were concerned about, it was something we were aware of. After touring Los Angeles and getting a bite at Phillipe's Originals, an outstanding and nostalgic place that is credited with original French Dip sandwich, we decided to walk to the ballpark. It was a nice day, and we could walk around for a couple of hours before the gates opened and enjoy the scenery.

One idea we always tout is to save on ballpark prices by simply carrying in your own food. Many ballparks are okay with this, while almost all of them will at least let you take in bottled water. In Cincinnati you are welcome to take your own food and snacks into the ballpark.

With the emergence of the Banks right next door, the space was begging for an affordable take away option to feed this need. I am proud to announce that it is Jimmy Johns to the rescue! The sandwich shop has opened its doors near Johnny Rockets, so you can pick up a $5 sub and take it with you to the ballpark. No doubt if that same sandwich was sold

By Chris Mehfoud

Hot dogs and baseball are synonymous. In fact, hot dogs are often a marketing tool to get you down to the stadium. Dollar hot dog night, AYCE (All You Can Eat) seats, Two for Tuesday: all promotions at ball parks to get fans to come for the hot dogs. Most ballparks serve a variety options including sausages and bratwursts, and have a variety of regional hot dogs as well. The Chicago dog is famous enough to have a specific stand US Cellular Field. A few hot dogs have even gained enough fame to be traditional, such as the Dodger Dog and the Fenway Frank.

But if you’re going into a ball park for the hot dog, you might have to leave to find the best one. Milwaukee’s Miller Park, with the basis of trying to serve fans what they couldn’t grill themselves, has an outside area called Plaza Pavilion Grill, where they create the best hot dog in baseball. In order to get there, after walking in the front gate (right behind home plate) take a right and step outside into a gated off area where they have grills and smokers, and smells like cook out/ tailgate heaven.

This hot dog would be an outstanding hot dog served plain in my opinion, juicy right off the grill with the crispy grill marks, it is then wrapped in thick strips of bacon. If you’re looking for a nice barbecue sandwich, they smoke brisket at this grill as well, and I know that the brisket is good, because they put THAT on the hot dog wrapped in bacon. They serve it with a fork, which confused me at first. The first notion is to try to fit this sandwich of delectable meats into your mouth, which fails only a little by making a mess. The fork comes in after you’ve finished the dog, to clean up the remains.

I love baseball as much as the next person, but I could very easily see fans buying a ticket as a cover charge to get a hold of that hot dog. Get more from Chris at the 30 Stadium Tour blog.

I recently got in touch with Travis who went to all 30 ballparks in just 30 days. How is it possible? He is about to give us a glimpse into what goes into planning such an adventure. Click "read more" below and read what he has to say...

By: Chris Mehfoud
Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati, OH
Great American Ball Park

Closest Cities: Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville
Closest Stadiums: Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians), 249 miles; Comerica Park
(Detroit Tigers), 263 miles; PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates), 288 miles; US Cellular Field
(Chicago White Sox), 293 miles

How to get to the ballpark?
Drive.
Or shuttle bus.
But the best way is to walk from a hotel.

What to do?
In my opinion, it all starts in Newport, Kentucky. They have cheap hotels, (both cost
and quality), things to do, and places to hang out. If one is aiming to keeps costs low,
and can handle a low star hotel (bearable, based on the number of Reds fans staying),
then staying at the Travelodge in Newport is the place to be. Walking distance from the
stadium (right over the Ohio River), next door from the Newport Aquarium, and right
down the street from bars and a theater, just in case you arrive early. That being said,
Cincinnati also has a lot to offer within their city limits.

At this point it is pretty common knowledge that you can bring your own snacks with you to Great American Ballpark. I'll admit that sometimes you forget to grab some things from the house, so I found a nice option by the ballpark. It is a little business called "Walgreens." I've not heard of this before, must be a local joint. I got a 24 oz bag of peanuts for $3.99 which seemed fair to me. The other thing I liked about it, was they had the typical ballpark snacks right in the front of the store, so you can't miss it. Easy in and easy out. 406 Main St. - just a couple blocks from the ballpark.

By Christopher Mehfoud

Closest Cities: Cleveland, Columbus, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore
Closest Stadiums: Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians), 133 miles; Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles), 248 miles; Nationals Park (Washington Nationals), 249 miles; Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati Reds), 289 miles; Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies), 309 miles

How to get to the ballpark?
We drove into the city from the airport of Pittsburgh on the day of the game, and honestly, unless you’re getting an Amtrak train into the city, driving might be the only option if you plan on getting to the game as cheap as possible (ruling out taxi’s from the airport). We ended up parking in garages across the Alleghany River from the ball park, and paid a little too much, we thought we observed discounted pricing for post business hour activities. If you are driving from Ohio, or through Pennsylvania, be weary of tolls. Tolls are not costs that break the bank typically, but if you’re taking a road trip, they can add up quickly.

By Christopher Mehfoud

Closest Cities: Kansas City, Louisville (Bat factory and MiLB), many other MiLB in the area
Closest Stadiums: Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals), 241 miles; US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox), 295 miles; Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), 303 miles

How to get to the ballpark?
Driving to St. Louis’s Busch Stadium is pretty accessible, and there are a lot of parking options. However, the MetroLink is also a great method of transportation. You’re able to go from the airport to the ballpark, and you get to experience the nice ballpark atmosphere before the game (and after).

What to do?
Around St. Louis, there are many things to do, so if you can get there early morning for a night game, that’d be the best option to enjoy the city.