I hit my thirty. I finished the circuit. I have nowhere new to go — until Las Vegas, Nashville, and Portland/Salt Lake City/Vancouver go online. I still find it funny to wrap my head around the concept.
As an aside, if you want to win the opportunity to do what I did over the last five years, T-Mobile and MLB have come up with the most bonkers sweepstakes I have ever heard of: a grand prize of attending games at every MLB Ballpark.
Sensing that this sweepstakes was a little too good to be true, I looked at the fine print, and I was pleasantly surprised by the terms. If you’re like me, the prospect of seeing a Royals vs. Rays game in Tampa is as exciting as the prospect of preparing one’s taxes.
For “legal residents of the United States (including its commonwealths, territories, and possessions) and Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec)…who are eighteen (18) years of age,” “[t]he grand prize winner will receive thirty (30) trips for winner and one (1) guest to attend games at each of the thirty (30) MLB ballparks, with the trip to the Athletics’ 2028 Opening Day counting as one (1) of the thirty (30) trips.
Each trip will include: i) round-trip coach class air transportation for winner and one (1) guest between a major U.S. airport nearest winner’s residence in the U.S. and the host city of the selected game; ii) up to two (2) nights hotel accommodations (i.e. one (1) standard, double occupancy room) at a hotel to be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; and iii) two (2) tickets for winner and guest to the applicable game (subject to availability and blackout dates).
Winner must submit their guest paperwork and request for each game through Administrator no later than one (1) month prior to the applicable game date, and all trips must be completed by September 30, 2029. (Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the grand prize: $75,000.)
[Emphasis added.]
All things considered, the option to go with a plus-one, airfare and hotel included, and game tickets included, makes this grand prize a solid one. It stinks that Opening Day in Las Vegas is one of the 30 trips — really, MLB, you can’t spring for someone to go to Sacramento? Presumably, the time limit would allow one to follow their respective team to every ballpark, barring some drastic change in stadium rotation and schedule hashed out in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Fifteen first prizes will include 1/30th of the perks of the Grand Prize, but to a single stadium that the winner has never been to before, or, in the worst case, Las Vegas.
Fifty second prizes of a $100 gift card to MLB.com will also be awarded. The deadline for the contest is 11:59 p.m. ET on September 7, 2026. Now back to non-sponsored programming.
I even did an update to my season trailer, as any proper anime would do at midseason.
Why use the best hockey goal song as the intro song? Because Brass Bonanza is a bop, and honestly adding “that’s a brass bonanza / that’s not a brass bonanza at all!” to my baseball lexicon is a Roki Sasaki-glove-like improvement to my fun.
I still remember the start of this adventure five years ago like it was yesterday.
I went to the Oakland Coliseum with my friend and law school buddy Louie Ponce, as we were grateful to be out of the office once vaccinated for COVID-19. If you told me on that this April 5, 2021, blowout, where Cody Bellinger broke his leg, would be the first step of a journey that would take 1933 days over 32 cities, 112 games, three countries, two continents, and one Game 7, I would have looked at you like you had lost your mind.
We will deal with the mild existential crisis and emotional impact next time. This update is about a simple fact: I ate my way through two cities over a week. I had been to New York before, with my last visit in 2023, where nothing of note happened. At all.
A storm system put a monkey wrench into my plans while I was in the Bronx. I bought my tickets so far in advance (November 2025), I literally forgot where I was sitting. It turned out that I had the best seat of the series, with the option to do Uber Eats delivery at no charge to the seats.
The most notable food item at Yankee Stadium is arguably the Chicken Bucket, which is exactly what you think it is: chicken tenders and fries in a bucket. At almost $30, I chose to have chicken tenders and fries through different means while in the Bronx.
Screenshot courtesy of the New York Yankees
Starting this year, the Yankees offered the Dessert Chicken Bucket, a tiny replica version with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate-covered pretzel stick bone that was served with a miniature bucket, which serves as a rare accessory for Adric.
The storm caused me to miss my planned tour, a scheduled haircut that was to serve as a reunion with an acquaintance from my days in Cambodia, and prompted a marathon Sunday at the ballpark. I have been a fan of burger historian George Motz for many years now. He opened a restaurant, Hamburger America, in SoHo a couple of years ago. I figured I would brave the elements by subway to have dinner.
It went well until I literally exited the subway. Then the heavens opened.
When I arrived, I must have looked like I was thrown overboard, which would have been a feat considering that I was on land the entire time. I honestly was disappointed with the signature Fried Onion burger at the restaurant for an entirely unexpected reason: too much salt. Having an actual chocolate egg cream was a delight, though.
1/4Me, but soaked, in Hamburger America Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA
Generally, the food at Yankee Stadium was good if significantly overpriced. Considering the theme of what I was planning to do in Philadelphia, I had to try the Bronx’s answer to a cheesesteak: the Lobel’s of New York Steak Sandwich.
Lobel’s of New York Steak Sandwich Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA
It tasted better than it looked, which was odd, considering I saw the sandwich being made right in front of me when the ballpark opened for the nightcap of the doubleheader. The bread could have had more structural integrity, but otherwise, it was a solid sandwich that cost over $30 with tax.
Yankee Stadium tends to drain one’s food budget right quick, if one isn’t paying attention or is drinking alcohol.
And with the change in scenery, my wallet had to prepare for my modified search for Cheesesteak El Dorado upon my first visit to the City of Brotherly Love.
I was immediately booed and flipped off while sharing a Lyft to the ballpark. Welcome to Philadelphia, indeed. But that sour note aside, the fans and staff were generally delightful. Yes, I was chirped at appropriately, but folks instantly started bonding with me the second I said that Citizens Bank Park was my thirtieth MLB ballpark.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a variation of “saved the best for last, eh” with my stoic but polite deflection of the question that series, I would have had enough to buy myself a couple of cheesesteaks. I joked that while I was in Philadelphia, I felt like the Mayor of Baseballtown.
Staff gave me extra baubles, fans chatted me up about my travels, and I actually got to interact with Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday, but these anecdotes are for a later day.
The first thing I ate on that muggy night I completed my chase was the vaunted cheesesteak.
The cheesesteak at Citizens Bank Park. July 20, 2026. Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA
The fact that the sandwich sat for a bit being premade before I bought it was a little bit of a letdown. The stories about ballpark cheesesteaks at this venue were not misplaced, but never underestimate the value of eating something freshly made.
True Blue LA commenter Lupton Pittman suggested in my preview essay that I should get a roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone from Tommy DiNic’s.
The following day, I went to the Reading Terminal Market and, having a little Rocky deja vu, I was able to obtain the prize.
Roast Pork Sandwich. Tommy DiNic’s. July 21, 2026. Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA
If the previous two sandwiches were dense and decadent, this sandwich was surprisingly light yet filling. The previous entries were more appropriate as a rare treat, but the roast pork, at $20 with a drink, would be a staple in my weekly meals if I lived in Philadelphia. I would have given my left arm for chips, but alas, no sides were to be had.
It was a good thing this sandwich was so filling, because rain washed away my opportunities to interact with Mookie Betts and Roki Sasaki (not Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as the locals thought) and delayed the start of the second game of the series, where absolutely nothing wacky happened at all.
In retrospect, I probably should have noticed a trio of Dodgers literally pointing at second to cajole Mookie Betts to throw out J.T. Realmuto.
On the final day of the series, I ran a couple of errands before going to the ballpark because I knew I had one last sandwich to try: the cheesesteak from Angelo’s Pizzeria.
Angelo’s Cheesesteak. July 22, 2026. Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA
After paying cash and after a short wait, finding a place to sit and eat was considerably more difficult. But once I found a shaded bench around the block, I was able to marvel at this gastronomical wonder. This glorious sandwich took an hour to eat, because I was trying to prevent a mandatory nap.
It was a symphony of what a cheesesteak could be.
I could wax poetically for a few extra paragraphs, but I think I will let the picture speak for itself. Honestly, the Angelo’s cheesesteak was the best thing I ate on the trip, apart from the cherry Italian ice I had, which really hit the spot in the muggy and hot conditions.
To conclude this culinary recap, Yankee Stadium was better than I feared and worse than I hoped, while Citizens Bank Park was solid and surprised in several ways.