Covering all the Bases; One Fan's Quest to See a Game in Every Major League Ballpark

Like many baseball fans, Stan Curtis caught the bug as a boy throwing a ball against a wall and imagining playing with his heroes in the storied ballparks of the 1940s: Ebbets Field, Sportsman s Park, Yankee Stadium. As a young man, he began going to his home team s Opening Day each spring at Griffith Stadium, the Washington Senators ball yard, later Memorial Stadium, the Orioles home in Baltimore. Traveling coast-to-coast for his job and catching games on the road, an idea caught fire as he watched his third World Series contest in his third World Series stadium: This is my quest to see a game in every Major League ballpark.

That was at Fenway Park in 1986, and Stan the Man, a fan for over sixty years, made good made even better than good. With the roster of Major League teams now standing at an even thirty, Stan has seen at least one Major League game in fifty-three ballparks nearly double the number of teams. That s because as a many an old park has been closed, abandoned and razed, he witnessed the last game there and often attended the maiden game in its replacement.

Along the way he has seen All Star Games, league championship games, and World Series Games. He has witnessed dozens of milestone events, from Craig Biggio getting his 3,000th hit at Minute Maid Park to Cal Ripken Jr. running his victory lap in Camden Yards to celebrate his 2,131th consecutive game. Covering All the Bases is Stan s story, the narrative of his epic quest and myriad adventures of flying to new cities, seeing new sights, exploring new ballparks. As Commissioner Bud Selig writes, You have really captured what is so remarkable about our sport. Your passion for the game is extraordinary and I thank you. As retired manager Phil Garner writes, If you love baseball, you ll love Stan Curtis s Covering All the Bases as he wanders through baseball history and lore.... I enjoyed the memories as you will too.

Stan the Man Curtis a sandlot teammate gave him the moniker as a teenager was born in 1929 and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, outside the nation s capital. He became a fan of the old Washington Senators, then of the fledgling Orioles when he (and they) moved to Baltimore. During three decades with Shell Oil, Stan traveled the country and visited many Major League cities; when he retired, he visited more. A long-time husband, father, grandfather and now great-grandfather, Stan lives near Houston, with his wife, Pat. He has full-season tickets to Astros games at Minute Maid Park, where he has thrown out a first pitch.