Contest: Tickets To The K

Our friends at Sports Vacation Guys have made it their business to help people find their ultimate trip built around their love of sports. It is a unique idea that allows them to build your ultimate vacation and make sure you see the game you want, in the city you want, and help you see some of the sites that the area is most famous for.

The inspiration for Sports Vacation Guys was an annual trip known as The Bachelor Stadium Tour (BST). The BST takes a group of friends and builds an exciting weekend filled with baseball and big cities. This year, over Labor Day Weekend, the pals will embark to Kansas City for two games at Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals take on the Cleveland Indians. From there, they will hop a plane and head to Target Field to see the Minnesota Twins take on the Chicago White Sox in a Labor Day doubleheader.

The Sports Vacation Guys want to share the first stop of their trip with you, Royals fans. So, let us know in the comments below what your ultimate sports vacation would be. The best submission (chosen by myself and a representative from Sports Vacation Guys) will receive two tickets to the September 4th game between the Royals and Indians with The BST.

Just to get you started, here is what some of our favorite baseball people around the internet said when we asked them to do the same.

Dennis Lawson – Pitchers Hit Eighth

If I had the opportunity to take an ultimate baseball weekend trip, my destination would be New York City. I’d go for a double dip – day game at Citi Field and a night game at Yankee Stadium. Since it’s the “ultimate” trip, the scheduling would work out perfectly, so I’d get to see Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals clobber RA Dickey and the Mets in the afternoon. That should leave me with enough time to grab some New York style pizza and get to the Stadium to catch CC Sabathia and the Yankees take on Josh Beckett and the Red Sox. Naturally, the only way for that marathon to end would be with “Enter Sandman” blaring as Mariano Rivera enters in the bottom of the 9th to close it out. With all that baseball in one day, I’d have plenty of time the rest of the weekend to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Times Square.

Drew Sarver – My Pinstripes

My ultimate baseball trip would involve a Midwest visit to Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland. Starting with a day series in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. And of course one game watching from the rooftop across the street. Then on to Detroit’s Comerica Park to watch Justin Verlander toe the rubber for the Tigers, and finally back east to Cleveland’s Progressive Field to watch the Indians take on the New York Yankees. A side trip would include a trip to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Daniel Shoptaw – United Cardinal Bloggers, C70 At The Bat

Well, typically, it’d be in St. Louis. Do some shopping, see the Arch, Grant’s Farm, things like that with the family. Outside of that, I don’t know. Washington would be great with all the monuments, etc. Though if you are just talking baseball, spending some time in the Iowa cornfield diamond would be right up there.

Jason Turbow – The Baseball Codes

I’d ordinarily be tempted to say a trip to Wrigley Field, preceded by a Friday taping of Oprah. Now that she’s closed up shop, I’ll go with Boston. Fenway provides the most wondrous ballpark experience I’ve encountered, and a weekend in Beantown would allow me to walk the Freedom Trail and head to the Public Garden for a photographic recreation of “Make Way for Ducklings,” the Robert McCloskey classic I read to my kids at least once a week. (I will be taking pictures because my children will have stayed home. With this in mind, a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery might be in order, as well.)

Hilda Chester – Fan of the site

The perks of getting to see my team play the Braves in Atlanta not only allow me to see Turner Field, but I will also get to check out the Georgia Aquarium and take in the history of the south by visiting places like Martin Luther King Jr Historical Site. Most importantly- getting to ATL allows me to try the good ol’ Southern cooking first hand.

Shai Kushner – Baseball Digest

While I’m still not totally sold on west coast baseball …

I would love to take a trip along the west coast and catch as many games as I could from Seattle to San Diego, picking up some family along the way to come along for the ride.

I’ve been to Dodgers Stadium as well as Angels Stadium of Anaheim Stadium South of Los Angeles Stadium, but haven’t checked out the other new ballparks in that time zone.

Of course the drive along the coast would be almost as much of a highlight, even if it’s a little out of the way.

Michael Lynch – Seamheads

I’d love to go back to Fenway Park to watch my beloved Red Sox for the first time since 2004. I’m originally from Brookline, MA and visiting the places I used to hang out and the historical landmarks in Boston would be amazing. I’d also get to spend time with my mother and stepdad, which would make it that much better.

Rob Rains – St. Louis Sports Page
My ultimate trip that revolves around baseball would be to pack my family into an RV and go to as many ballparks as we could in one summer. We took a “Halls of Fame” trip where we went to as many Halls of Fame as we could between St. Louis and Cooperstown and you’d be surprised how many there are if you take side trips.

Jamie Shoemaker – Through The Fence Baseball

An ultimate weekend trip would be centered around the Atlanta Braves. I’ve been to the stadium twice, including a sellout against the Yankees in which the Braves won 5-2. The weekend would start off by visiting the CNN center where the Atlanta Braves clubhouse store is. They frequently have autograph signings and in my perfect weekend, Bobby Cox and the greats would be there signing autographs. This would ultimately include John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Andres Gallaraga, etc. just to name a few. During the game, Chipper Jones would win the game with a landmark grand slam that landed into my hands. I would then meet Chipper and the rest of the braves to return the ball to Larry. In the end (hopefully after receiving all the memorabilia for returning the ball) I would have a room full of Atlanta Braves signed gear and a poster of Chipper Jones and I.

To top it off, there would be a concert afterwards, in which my favorite band, Shinedown performs with Halestorm opening. Yeah, that might have been a reach, but it’s the ultimate weekend!

Michael Engel – Kings Of Kauffman

I’ve always been interested in the early history of America. If I had the opportunity to run off for a weekend, I can think of no better place to visit (that isn’t Kauffman Stadium of course) than Boston.

Naturally, Fenway Park is the baseball stop. There are few iconic locations in professional sports anymore, but Fenway may be the most recognizable ballpark in the game today.

Along with that, there’s the city of Boston itself with all the historic landmarks, the quirky street layouts, and a few dozen breweries (or thereabouts). I’m not a fan of the Red Sox in any way, but as a baseball fan, it would be tough to turn down a chance to see the Green Monster – and the rest of the city is a nice bonus, too.