Games at all 30 big league baseball parks, a family tradition

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Richard Kirchner is a baseball fan. His love of the game started as a child on a farm near Canistota.

“When I was a kid it was one of the few things we had to do,” said Richard.

It’s a passion he has passed on to his sons.

“Mom and dad would always take me and my brother to Twins games in the Metrodome,” said son Eric Kirchner. “I remember going to the old Met Stadium when I was really little.”

Decades later, Eric Kirchner and his dad can say they’ve done something special. They’ve been to games in all 30 major league baseball parks.

“My brother was watching the game in Phoenix and saw us on TV.”

A goal that started 10 years ago. Eric travels a lot for his job and was on the east coast. His dad mentioned that he always wanted to see Fenway Park in Boston.

“So the next year I went out there again, I’m like okay, we got one scheduled. Why don’t we go to the game? I said Well, heck, let’s just do all of them on the East Coast,” said Eric.

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“And from there on, we just kept going, took in five or six different teams every year for five years in a row,” said Richard.

Seeing a bunch of games in a row seems easy, but it’s a lot more complicated than it sounds on the surface.

“Quite a bit of planning in that because in order to make the loop, to take in five or six teams in a week’s time, they all have to be playing games at home, of course,” said Richard.

These guys are experts when it comes to major league venues. They have even experienced ball parks that are no longer standing.

“Not only the 30 stadiums I’ve been to, with one son or the other, I’ve been to two different Atlanta Stadiums, two different Milwaukee Stadiums, two different Yankee stadiums, and three Minnesota stadiums, so I’ve been to a few games,” said Richard with a chuckle.

The tour of all 30 ballparks also gave the father and son a chance to tour the country between games, from the Space Needle in Seattle to Niagara Falls in New York.

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“It was approximately 19,783 miles that we traveled by planes, trains, automobiles,” said Eric.

At their 30th and final Ballpark in Seattle, Richard’s grandson arranged to have their names plastered on the scoreboard, congratulating them for watching a game at every Major League stadium. He wanted to make it a surprise, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

“He said he didn’t want you to miss it by going up and going to the bathroom or whatever, so I figured I’d better tell you in the 5th inning your names are going to be on the scoreboard. It was just awesome,” said Richard.

“It was just very emotional,” said Eric. “I guess because it was something Dad and I had done together,” said Eric.

Richard says a friend asked him what it cost to visit all the stadiums. Richard says he told him it didn’t matter because the experience was priceless.

“It was amazing. It was something I will never forget. You know you can’t replace memories like that.” said Richard.

“I can’t say enough about him I just love the time we’ve had together,” said Eric.

Eric is now on a quest with his sons to see games at all 30 Major League ballparks. A family tradition born out of Richard’s love for the game.

Richard says he looks forward to attending more games with his other son and grandsons.You might think he would be a Minnesota Twins fan, but the Twins didn’t come to Minnesota until 1961. So, on the family farm, he listened to the San Francisco Giants games on the radio and became a lifelong fan.