Major League Baseball

Couple visits all MLB stadiums

Published Oct. 17, 2010 10:12 p.m. ET

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It took most of the summer, 30 games, 15,000 air miles and 8,000 miles in cars to accomplish it, but Susan and David Casselman now have the photos to prove it: In one season, the Roswell couple saw a game in every Major League Baseball stadium.

David Casselman, 61, is a self-proclaimed baseball nut and a Braves fan since his days growing up in Wisconsin, where he listened to games on his transistor radio. His wife is a 58-year-old fan who remembers sitting in the Detroit Tigers stadium when it was snowing and being in the crowd at the infamous Cleveland game when 10-cent beers created crowd meltdown.

Their dream of visiting every stadium has been on a "bucket list" for some time, but this was the year they decided to make it happen.

"What got us started thinking about this trip was learning that Bobby Cox was retiring," said Susan Casselman, referring to the final year for the Braves' manager. "We decided to do our own mini-tribute to Bobby by going on tour."

After months of logistical planning, they kicked off the tour at Turner Field on Opening Day in April and saw their last game Sept. 17 in St. Louis. Along the way, they were challenged by game cancellations, tight plane connections and a grueling travel schedule.

"It was pretty tightly sequenced, and we almost had problems with a rainout in Denver that was followed by snow," David said. "We were able to tack that city back onto the Kansas City and St. Louis trip. But we also dealt with scheduling problems in cities where there are two ball teams. The Yankees and Mets don't have games at the same time, so we had to catch one coming off a homestand and the other going into a homestand to make it work. It still worked out to 80 percent baseball and 20 percent travel, with a little sightseeing thrown in."

The tour didn't feel like vacation to Susan Casselman.

"This was not a relaxing trip; it felt more like being a member of the team," she said. "If we had games in different cities on consecutive days, we'd go to the game, eat at the stadium and be up at 4 a.m. to get on the plane to go to the next ballpark."

During the trip, the couple ate a lot of ballpark food (fresh corn tortillas stuffed with grilled mozzarella in Miami and thinly sliced roast beef on fresh buns in Baltimore) and saw two exceptional games, including a one-hitter and another with a triple play.

But they had the most fun taking pictures of their miniature Bobby Cox doll in every venue.

Susan sewed "Cox" on the back of the doll and photographed him with her husband in front of each stadium.

"Then I'd find something bizarre to pose Bobby with," she said. "In San Diego, they have a pool and a hot tub in the outfield, so while the game was going on, I got a picture of Bobby diving into the pool."

The Casselmans also became experts on the best features of ballparks across the country.

"Wrigley is baseball at its absolute purest," said David. "The scoreboards are 99 percent manually done, and the lights are only on the field, not on the fans. The stadium is on the streets of Chicago, so it's a neat atmosphere. But we also liked Camden Yards in Baltimore, where there's also a lot of history, and AT&T Field in San Francisco, where you're right on the bay. We came in on the ferry, which was very cool."

Along the way, the couple followed two rules: They sat through the entire game, and they rooted for the home team.

"We only had one exception to the home-team rule," said David. "We were in Cincinnati, and it was the only game where we saw the Braves on the road. So we cheered for them, and they won."

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