Stealing Home: Loonies!1

Loonies! The game within the baseball game. Not enough people are playing it. At least I didn't see enough people playing it on #TBRTOAL.

Read all about the beautiful game and how it's played at GlobeSports.com. And remember: Know Your Limit. Play Within it.

On Perfect Games ...

It's 3:30 in the morning, the birds outside my window won't shut the fuck up, and here's what just crossed my mind: While Jim Joyce certainly manned up to his heinous error in Detroit, and much respect to him for that, I don't think he calls that runner safe if it's Roy Halladay on the mound, in place of Armando Galarraga. And I mean that on a purely baseball level.

This saddens me.

A perfect game, lost.

Stealing Home: Braving Atlanta

The bus ride from Cincinnati to Atlanta was definitely the most harrowing on #TBRTOAL. Perhaps it was the fact that I visited Turner Field on practically no sleep, but the stadium left me feeling underwhelmed. There's nothing wrong with it, but it certainly didn't wow me.

Read all about the tomahawk obsessed folks down in Atlanta, my bus ride, chicken and waffles, and why you always want to arrive at downtown ATL's Greyhound station before dark, at GlobeSports.com.

Oh, I almost forgot: cheers, Atlanta; to 1992!

PLAYOFFS!!!1

It's not only a rallying cry; it's a way of life. And now you can wear it.

Check out men's and women's designs, in all their simplicity, at http://sportsandthecity.spreadshirt.com/. Pick one up today, and in two weeks you can be rocking your new t-shirt at the SkyDome and/or BMO Field. And, come October, at the Air Canada Centre. Or anywhere for that matter. That's the beauty of "Playoffs!!!1" It knows no borders.

A portion of each t-shirt will be going to the Canadian Red Cross's Haiti Earthquake Fund, and to an environmental agency (yet to be chosen) helping clean up British Petroleum's epic fail of an oil spill.

Stealing Home: 30/30

Thirty MLB ballparks. Fifty-five days. Done.

I'm headed back to Toronto; due back home Monday evening. My travels are done, but Stealing Home continues. Stay tuned for the rest of the series, and thanks for coming along with me on what was one incredible journey; one that I will never, ever forget.

I'll see you at the SkyDome.

Stealing Home: The Big Red Machine

The banks of the Ohio River is where you'll find Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. Don't get too excited about the name, though; it's not what it seems.

Read all about my visit to the Nati -- where I met three baseball fans from the United Kingdom, saw a rejuvenated Scott Rolen man third base, and why, upon my return to Toronto, I'll be watching the 1975 World Series -- at GlobeSports.com.

The Atlanta experience is up next at Stealing Home, while I travel up the west coast to Seattle. I'll be home on Monday; you believe that? I certainly don't ...

Stealing Home: 27 Outs, Vol 3: Doc

That should have been Lyle Overbay smiling like a buffoon. And John Buck, or Jose Molina, embracing Roy Halladay with sheer delight.

Just when I thought I was over the Halladay trade, just when I thought I was okay with him no longer pitching for us in Toronto, Doc goes and tosses a perfect game for his new team, the Philadelphia Phillies. And I'll always remember where I was when I heard the news.

Read all about my conflicted emotions in the aftermath of Doc's momentous occasion, and how I'm no longer conflicted, at GlobeSports.com.

I read an interesting link yesterday, about Doc's perfection. One fact stuck with me, and it's one I won't soon forget: more men (24 to 20) have orbited the moon than pitched a perfect game.

Congatulations, Doc.

Stealing Home: "A drinking town with a baseball problem"

It was getaway day in the Gateway City and, on the St. Louis leg of #TBRTOAL, while sitting inside beautiful new Busch Stadium, I was reminded just how much fun weekday afternoon baseball can be.

Read all about my visit to Anheuser-Busch country, and about my chats with passionate Cardinals fans about Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols, at GlobeSports.com.

And you can take a look at my pictures from St. Louis here.

Stealing Home: 27 Outs, Vol. 2

Over the past two and a half weeks, I've traveled over 10,000 kilometres. The total for the entire baseball road trip of a lifetime is, according to my calculations, just over 16,000 kilometres.

For more thoughts from the road, a lot of the road, please visit GlobeSports.com.

Home stretch!!1

Stealing Home: They're real, and they're spectacular

I can't believe I'm writing this, but Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City might be one of the best five ballparks in Major League Baseball; it's that good. It's just a shame the Royals call it home.

Read all about my visit to The K, and its famous waterfalls and fountains, at GlobeSports.com.

Astonishing ballpark. Pathetic team.

Some links: the Stealing Home photo gallery; the Google Map; and me, on Twitter. Twenty-three of 30 ballparks are in the books; we're about to hit the home stretch. Unbelievable.

Stealing Home: My very own Brew Crew

Beer, brats and baseball. That's the Milwaukee Brewers experience, in a nutshell. And it's every bit as fantastic as it sounds.

Read all about it at GlobeSports.com.

I'm on the most intense leg of #TBRTOAL right now; 9 games in 11 nights. I just arrived in Houston. Astros tonight, Arlington tomorrow, and Phoenix on Sunday. We're just about to hit the home stretch ...

Stealing Home: For Jason Guindon

Twelve years before me, fellow Canadian and baseball lover Jason Guindon set off on his own baseball road trip of a lifetime. It was his dream, too, to visit all 30 MLB ballparks in one go.

Unfortunately, Jason wasn't able to finish his journey.

Read more about Jason, his legacy, and why I'm dedicating the rest of my journey to his memory, at GlobeSports.com.

Here's to you, Jason; cheers.

Stealing Home: The Great Outdoors

You know the famous line: "If you build it, they will come." And build it they did in Minneapolis. Target Field is a beauty. Read all about the Twins's new ballpark, why I'm grateful to the taxpayers of Hennepin County, and some unforgettable nights in the Twin Cities, at GlobeSports.com.

And, below, you can watch an interview I did with Minneapolis's Kare11 News, as I attempt to spread the gospel of #TBRTOAL far and wide ...

And remember, you can view all the pictures from #TBRTOAL at http://picasaweb.google.ca/vaswani.navin

Stealing Home: The South Side

Schaller's Pump may not look like a south side of Chicago, White Sox institution. But it is. In every sense.

Read all about my visit to the Pump, The Cell, meeting @AnswerDave, and why I hate Harold Baines at GlobeSports.com.

And how about that Alex Rios guy? He's playing like he "gives a fuck."

Stealing Home: The Throwback

"The Friendly Confines" on the north side of Chicago; Wrigley Field, baseball's ultimate cathedral. Probably the best one yet on #TBRTOAL.

My brother came down from Toronto to join me. He brought his passport. To the game. Read how important that decision turned out to be, and what makes Wrigley Field so special, at GlobeSports.com.

And, on a non-#TBRTOAL related note, but still with baseball: Playoffs!!!1

Beautiful Baseball

Precisely why I love the sport:

"The game has its own peculiar aesthetic, and these days, looking at empty seats in places that were once real baseball towns, it is easy enough to wonder if that's an asset. Baseball requires both patience and involvement. It is not something passively appreciated, not a sport that overwhelms like an action movie. Full engagement every moment isn't essential - listening on the radio on a summer afternoon while doing something else can be a perfect baseball moment - but at the same time, it provides precious little bang for those with short attention spans, who need noise, need distraction, right here and right now."

- Stephen Brunt, The Globe And Mail

Mr. Brunt, as always, nails it. You can read the rest of his column on the passing of legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell at GlobeSports.com.

Stealing Home: Twenty-Seven Outs

By my count, I've been on the bus for more than two days so far on #TBRTOAL.

You can read my thoughts from the road at GlobeSports.com.

"This is a game for all America, this baseball."

- Ernie Harwell

Rest in peace, Ernie.

Stealing Home: The Phanatics

The one and only Roy Halladay is in a better place, my friends. A place where he is revered, as I found out, and where he has a chance to win a World Series. And, to get his ring, I'm hoping he beats the New York Yankees. One more time. Except on the grandest stage of all.

Read all about my trip to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, what Phillies fans had to say about our Doc, and the baseball tailgating experience at GlobeSports.com.

I'm off to Minneapolis from Chicago. Unfortunately, I'm leaving without Alex Rios's, or Justin Bieber's, autograph. Fail.

Talk soon. Thanks for following along on #TBRTOAL.

Stealing Home: Birds of a feather flock together

"Man, I hate the f**king Yankees."

- Random Baltimore Orioles fan

Those were the words which had me feeling, almost immediately, as if I belonged at Oriole Park in Camden Yards; as if I was, in a way, at home.

Read about how for one night, and one night only, I rooted for Baltimore's birds at GlobeSports.com.

And, yes, the baseball amphitheatre down in Maryland is just as magnificent you've imagined her to be. I'd highly recommend the Baltimore baseball experience.

Philly, Friday night. I'm not going to lie: it's going to be rough seeing all those Roy Halladay jerseys. Definitely not looking forward to that part.

Chicago on Saturday. Minnesota on Tuesday. #TBRTOAL continues ...

Stealing Home: The death and rebirth of baseball

Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., was the next stop on my journey, and I found it impossible to not think about the departed Montreal Expos. May they rest in peace.

You can read my latest column where I wax nostalgic on the Expos, ponder the Blue Jays' future, and describe my visit to Nationals Park, including my brushes with Abraham Lincoln and The Roots' Black Thought, at GlobeSports.com.

Baltimore, to watch the OrioLOLes host the New York Yankees, tonight.