Adventures of a Baseball Fan

After seeing her first baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, in 2002, Candy became captivated by the game of baseball. Over the next couple of years, that passion drew her to ballparks all around the Northeast. The aspiration to see each team in person enticed her to venture further and further to ballparks in the Midwest and Southeast. Eventually, the yearning to visit every Major League baseball park became a mission. Traveling with a friend, family member, or alone, Candy spent her vacations over the next few years fulfilling that dream. Candy's adventures, at times, incorporated two games in two days, in two different states; five games in five days, in four different states; and two games in two different stadiums, in the same day. In total, she saw over 70 games in 36 different ballparks, as well as two spring training stadiums, all while meeting wonderful people, seeing some unique game situations and visiting amazing sites along the way. Her adventures were not without some tears, fears and unspeakable joys, however. The culmination, a dream realized and, truly, an adventure of a lifetime!

Candy VanDyke grew up in rural upstate New York, riding horses and hiking the hills with the neighborhood kids. After receiving Associates degrees in both Business Administration and Computer Science, she started a career and got married in 1985. Years later, as she moved beyond a heartbreaking divorce, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York in 2002. Always a passionate, goal-oriented person it wasn't until attending her first Major League baseball game in Boston with a friend in 2002, that baseball became an instant passion. Born of that passion, the dream of seeing every Major League ballpark came to fruition over the next several years, concluding at Target Field's inaugural season in 2010. The mission completed, the passion lives on as Candy plans to continue to visit new stadiums as they are built, as well as annual visits to some of her favorites.