Long before I found out it was going to be miserably hot today and that I wouldn’t have to work, I was pondering which of three or four (reasonably close) ball games I could attend today. Luckily, I didn’t purchase a ticket to any of the games.

As I was discussing with a friend, age gives you a certain amount of wisdom and perspective. In my case, I don’t chase after as many games and ballparks as I did a few years ago. The number of local (within 3 hours drive) minor league parks that have seats in the shade aren’t as plentiful as one would expect. Years ago, the thought of sitting in a ballpark guzzling cold beer on a hot day was pretty appealing. After all, the name of the blog, is short for I’d rather be sitting in a ballpark. It’s no longer practical to do so. As such I’m going to stick around Casa Bob where I can sample the Cubs on TV along with looks into game 2 of the CWS. I’ll also have radio access to the Sox and Brewers games as well. I am looking at games over the next few weekends and Wednesday afternoons.

I’m past needing to see a particular ballpark or city. While I’d like to get back to certain parks and cities like K.C and Pittsburgh, I’ll get there when I can. There aren’t any specific major sporting events on my bucket list, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t attend (my third) Final Four if my guys returned.

After spending a couple hours in the company of a guy who needed to better everyone else’s stories, I remembered how much I dislike that quality. I love hearing accounts of friends and relatives and their experiences. In many cases, I’m accumulating data for possible visits of my own, but prefer hearing the joy in their voice.

A couple of decades ago, fans started writing about their sports bucket lists, more specifically of their attempts to attend games in all 28 ML ballparks, some even doing so in one year. I never thought of it as a competitive race as some still do, rather I enjoyed reading about the logistics involved and the significance involved. Years before this explosion, I remember reading about a three-generation family of Orioles fans that made it to all of the local minor league affiliates within a very specific time frame. That was a more significant read as it was more about the family enjoying the experience together.

None of this is to suggest that there aren’t certain players I’d love to see in person and in some cases their natural habitats, like Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski with a little planning and luck, that may happen sooner than not.

As it happens, I’ve been able to sync up a Cubs-Cardinals game at Busch this week with a visit to an exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) and an overnight stay. And as I try and sort out my new work schedule, I hope to be on the road more often in coming months. However, I don’t expect to make as many long drives as I used to. Traffic, construction and the Indy 500 nature of today’s drivers make highway driving as appealing as pulling one’s own molars.

It seems like just yesterday when The Who announced their farewell US performance in either 1981 or ’82. I missed on the chance to work at concert at the Rosemont Horizon because I had a game scheduled that day. 42 years later, they are still rocking. Opportunities to see a favorite performer or team are more plentiful than not. With all the text/email notices, it’s much harder to miss out these days.