OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS—While on a baseball trip with Sports Travel and Tours a few years back, Ted Baker of Overland Park, Kansas, began talking with the friends he’s come to know through years of traveling with the firm from Hatfield, Massachusetts.

They discussed where they might go in 2017. “We all kind of agree we wanted to go down to Atlanta and do the Major Minor Southern Swing trip there,” Baker recalled.

The group, all of whom have been inducted into the Sports Travel and Tours’ Stadium Hall of Fame for visiting all 30 major league ballparks, have grown close since Baker began traveling with the company in 2002.

This year, the Southern Swing High trip will be a little different from the trip of choice Baker and his friends took last year.

“This year we’re making it three trips in one,” explained Anthony Incampo, a member of the senior staff at Sports Travel and Tours. “All together it’s a nine-day trip. If you just wanted to do one of the splinter tours, it’s five. It’s adaptable.”

The complete Southern Swing High trip, which runs from Monday, June 11 to Wednesday, June 20, includes stops in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Colorado for a total of seven games in six different cities. The parks on the docket will be Marlins Park, Tropicana Field, SunTrust Park, Globe Life Park, Minute Maid Park, and Coors Field.

In addition to watching games, travelers will receive tours of SunTrust Park and Minute Maid Park. There will also be plenty of leisure time for travelers to rest and recharge between the many games.

Travelers who want to sign on for Southern Swing High have three trip options. The first is the full, nine-day trip. The second is the Southeast splinter tour, from Monday, June 11 to Saturday, June 16; it includes the games in Miami, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta. The third is the Texas Two Step High splinter tour, from Saturday, June 16 to Wednesday, June 20, which includes games in Dallas, Houston and Denver.

“With this format we’re hoping to give people who like to pick and choose their games those options,” said Incampo. “At the same time, we’re providing a trip for those who like to do everything.”

Baker’s love for baseball dates back to when he was just a kid in the 1950s, and would watch Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals and Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers in their newfound roles as sports announcers.

“I read a book recently that described Dizzy Dean as the best beer salesman ever,” he noted. “He’d always say ‘Pass me another Falstaff, Pee Wee!’”

For Baker, this lifelong love of baseball and Sports Travel and Tours proved to be a perfect fit. He’s now been to over 60 games through their trips, and he loves the convenience of each and every Sports Travel and Tours getaway.

“It’s an easy trip for me if I can survive the airline ride to wherever we’re going!” Baker joked. “I check into the hotel, and everything is provided for me. I don’t have to worry about driving anywhere. I just go to the games to relax and enjoy.”

Learn more about Sports Travel and Tours Southern Swing High trip.

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Not long after he returned, Laprade was at work in the U.S. Post Office in Easthampton, where he lives, and he couldn’t help but notice that a customer was sending out a lot of mail with the Sports Tours return address of Hatfield. Intrigued, Laprade started up a conversation with the man and learned he was one of the travel firm’s tour hosts; Laprade was wishing he was a tour host too.

Within a week, Jay Smith, the founder of the 20-year-old sports travel firm, gave Laprade a call. “He said ‘I heard you thought this would be a cool job because you’re a sports nut,’” Laprade remembered.

Smith asked if Laprade would consider overseeing a trip to Worcester, where the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, basketball team—very hot at that time—would be playing. Laprade jumped at the chance, and after his debut as a tour host, Smith provided him with one trip after another, to New Jersey for a UMass classic game and to Philadelphia for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. With each trip, the responsibility increased.

“I slowly became a little more involved with the overnight trips, where you have to get people to and from their rooms to the arena, as opposed to simple head checks on the bus,” Laprade recalled.

Founded 20 years ago, Sports Travel and Tours has been the official travel company of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since 2007. Its mission is to offer hassle-free sports tour options to fans across the country.

Eventually, Laprade got involved with Sports Travel and Tours’ baseball trips. Since 2011, Laprade has been working alongside Smith to create all the Major Minor trips, which take tourists to a mix of major and minor league ballparks, and then he guides the tours himself.

“We had about 50 or 60 people who’d been to all the major league stadiums and needed a new challenge,” Laprade said. “It’s been great getting to know all the travelers over the years. I consider them family.”

This year’s Major Minor trip is the Major Minor Southern Swing from May 22 to May 28. The trip includes stops in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee for four games at SunTrust Park, Coolray Field, AT&T Field and First Tennessee Park.

“It’s a cheap experience for minor league games,” Laprade said. “With the cost of major league games, you feel you have to watch every second of every game. Minor leagues are much more relaxed, but still offer good quality baseball.”

Laprade suspects a group of 20 to 25 Stadium Hall of Famers—who have visited all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and been inducted into the Sports Travel and Tours Stadium Hall of Fame at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, will make up most of the travelers, but newcomers are always welcome. 

“On the first day, everyone introduces themselves,” Laprade said. “We almost always have some new travelers who tell us about themselves and their favorite teams. Then on the bus, I’ll lead trivia contests and try to get everyone to predict the winners and scores.”

Laprade loves the tour host world. “This is a great job, and a great way to see the country,” he said. “I’ve seen the Golden Gate Bridge, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Seattle Space Needle. I’ve seen all the cities where there are major league games.”

But Laprade’s favorite part about being a tour host? The friendly faces he’s met along the way. 

“It makes it interesting that everyone comes from all different walks of life, but they all have baseball as a common denominator that binds them together,” he said. “It’s a great mix of people and generations. We always have a great time.”

Learn more about the upcoming Major Minor Southern Swing trip.

Learn more about Sports Travel and Tours.

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