Game 1 - St. Louis - Cardinals hosting the Los Angeles Angels at #15 - Busch Stadium

One of the more iconic backdrops is at Busch Stadium where the Arch is clearly visible.

The first stop on our 2019 trip would be in St. Louis where we would see at least 3 first ballot Hall of Famers (Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Mike Trout) play.  The boys were ready to get started and what a treat we would have.  As usual, we head to the stadium early hoping to take in Batting Practice, but the weather did not cooperate.  There were thunderstorms all morning leading up to the 1:15 game, but the weather cleared out right before first pitch which was good for getting the game in but neither team took BP.

Albert Pujols at the plate on his return trip to Busch since he signed with the Angels.

It did not occur to us as we were planning this trip, but the series that would feature the return of Albert Pujols to St. Louis for the first time since he left as a free agent in 2011.  So the Cardinal fans really turned out to welcome back their hero who won two MVPs during his time there.  It was really cool to see.  Every time he came to bat, the fans gave him a standing ovation.  And in the 7th inning, Pujols hit a home run and the fans went wild!  The amazing part was that the home crowd gave him a curtain call, unheard of for an opposing visiting player, but it was really neat to see.
Let me just say how impressed I was by the Cardinal fans.  They have one of the most dedicated fan bases of any team in the Major Leagues.  I would say that 95% of the people in attendance at Busch Stadium that day had some article of clothing on that was red or said Cardinals on it.  It was most impressive.  The Cardinals went on the win the game 4-2 and there were 3 home runs hit (Marcel Ozuna, Albert Pujols, and Justin Upton).  The kids were allowed to run the bases which Tate participated in (Trey felt like he was too old) and we had a really enjoyable time.
Busch Stadium is a very beautiful ballpark.  The grandstands are fairly steep, which makes every seat pretty decent to watch a game from.  To see the Arch in the backdrop from centerfield is also very impressive.  This was stadium number 15  which marks the halfway point in all 30 stadiums.  In my opinion, it would rank in the upper third of all stadiums I have been to based on atmosphere and aesthetics.  It is a great baseball experience in St. Louis.

Tate on the field preparing to run the bases.

Tate running the bases after the game.

So after our time in St. Louis, we got in the car and headed west toward Kansas City.
Historical Side Trip:  Before going to the stadium, we (I) wanted to take a little field trip to the Cahokia Indian Mounds.  This is an archeological site located just east of the city of St. Louis that marked the site of an ancient Native American civilization that existed around the years 1050-1200 AD.  This was a civilization that was one of the largest that ever existed in North American history.  Not much is known due to lack of historical writings, but it was a fascinating place for history buffs.

Jensen Family Baseball Trip - Year 5 - The Midwestern Tour

Baseball, a spherical shaped bundle of twine, tightly wound, wrapped in two figure 8 pieces of leather that are bound together by 108 stitches.  It is a little over 9 inches in circumference and weighs a little over 5 ounces.  It is a rather insignificant object when you get right down to it.  But not at our house.  The spring and early summer of 2019 has been dominated by the game of baseball.  Trey and Tate both played for the Heritage Middle School team and have also played travel ball since those seasons finished up and have played nearly every weekend since.  And I just finished coaching the high school team and have been helping out with two travel teams since then.  So it is only fitting that when those activities wind down, we should begin our annual trip to fulfill our quest to see as many major league ballparks as we can before the boys graduate from high school.

To recap, in 2014 we began our endeavor with the Northeastern US where we saw Philadelphia, New York Mets, Boston, New York Yankees, and Baltimore, all while getting in a trip to Cooperstown to see three of my beloved Atlanta Braves being inducted: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Bobby Cox.  The next year (2015) we went to Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.  In 2016, we went on a family cruise and left out of Florida which allowed us to take in Miami and Tampa.  In 2017 we decided to take a year off from Stadium Touring in order to save up for the big trip in 2018 - that being the MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.  Of course, we usually made a trip or two to Atlanta each year to see the Braves, which we did in 2018 to see the opening day at Suntrust Park where we saw a walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies.  So, if you're counting, that brings the total number of stadiums that our family has visited to 14.  This year's trip would be the most involved yet as far as how tight the schedule would be as well as the number of miles we would be driving.  But that has never been a deterrent before.  It just makes it more of a challenge.  This year, we are going to attempt to see St. Louis, Kansas City, Minnesota, Milwaukee, and both Chicago Stadiums - all in 7 days!!

Day 1 - Friday, June 21st - We head out from Rutherford College at about 8:30 in the morning and drive just about all day to Fairview Heights, Illinois, which is just about 10 miles from St. Louis where we bed down for the night to see our first game the next day.  It took about 12 hours to get there if you factor in all the times we stopped for meals and to stretch our legs.  The next day we would be heading to Busch Stadium.