Seattle: Mariners 4, Rangers 3

Well, I did it. All 30 stadiums in 31 days, and I missed only one game -- the rainout in Cleveland early in my trip. It was certainly an exhausting trip and despite my enthusiasm about the trip I most likely would not have been able to complete it on my own and am therefore very thankful that Steve, Todd, and Rachael all took time out to accompany me on their respective legs on the trip.

The game was a great ending to my trip for me... it featured a powerful, although wild, Felix Hernandez, a comeback win for the Mariners, and ,most memorable for me, what might have been Ken Griffey Junior's final game of his career. The crowd was unbelievably emotional for each at-bat, and the place went nuts when he singled in his final time to the plate in the 8th inning. Griffey was replaced with a pinch-runner and was given a 2-minute ovation as he walked to the dugout and came back out to salute the crowd. I've never been to a game with that type of underlying meaning and it was awesome and emotional for me to see a great send-off to a player that I've respected all of his career, even through that 2-month period I cursed his name after he scored the winning run to knock out the Yankees in the '95 playoffs.

The ballpark in Seattle is definitely has all of the elements of a top ballpark for me and will most likely end up in my top-10 list when all is said and done. I will be compiling rankings of the different ballparks for different criteria, and if you have any suggestions please forward them on to me.

San Diego: Padres 2, Giants 0

My second-to-last game on my trip saw a great pitching duel in San Diego last night. One half of the matchup, Matt Cain, was expected while Wade LeBlanc of the Padres put up a much stronger performance that I had expected and I definitely did not expect him to outduel Cain. The game moved very fast, as most National League games do, and before we knew it it was time to move on to our other evening activities.

My friend Dave joined Rachael and I at the game and afterwards for drinks in the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego's bar and restaurant district located adjacent to the ballpark near the waterfront downtown. It was my second chance to enjoy this upscale dining area - I had been in San Diego for a conference several years ago - but as with last time I passed on the upscale and pretentious clubs in the area and settled on Dick's Last Resort for some great bar food and drinks, as well as the unique back-and-forth with the bar and wait staff that I couldn't get enough of.

Rachael and I flew to Seattle this morning and are currently at a bar in the waterfront neighborhood waiting to make our way over to Safeco Field and my last game and stadium for the year.

Los Angeles: Rockies 4, Dodgers 3

Tonights victory over the Dodgers by the Rockies took the Dodgers' lead in the NL West down to 1 game. It'll make for an interesting end of the weekend, and it's a shame I won't be around to see the end of the series. I honestly can say that today's experience converted me from an impartial baseball fan to someone that will root against the Dodgers in any situation I possibly can. They've secured a place in my heart that has been reserved for the Red Sox only for my entire life, and that's a pretty major accomplishment in my eyes.

My entire experience with the game today was a complete mess, and I honestly don't know how folks can ever look forward to going to a game at Dodgers Stadium. There was a 10-mile backup to get to the stadium down highways 110 and 101 and it took over an hour to go the last 5 miles of our trip from San Diego. Parking was unmanagable for us and not one person that we encountered, from fellow fans to staff working at vending, had a nice thing to say to us. I've heard broadcasters state on TV that people file into Dodgers games in the 4th inning and leave in the 7th because its the hip thing to do, but I am here to say that its because the traffic is so horrendous that folks show up late and leave early to avoid a similar logjam after the game.

Our arrival to San Diego had been delayed on Tuesday because of snow in the Colorado and Utah mountains, so I had to switch my schedule around a little bit. We will instead be doing the Padres game tomorrow and flying to Seattle on Sunday to watch the Mariners game rather than driving tomorrow. It will give me a chance to spend an extra day with my buddy Dave and someone else to accompany to my final California game tomorrow evening.