My journalism journey part 27

Before ripping up my right knee, I had planned a trip to three baseball ballparks and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. I wasn't going to get the knee 'scoped before the trip, but the orthopedic surgeon said I'd be OK, but I might need a cane.

So I kept the trip on schedule. I was driving into Chicago from Aberdeen, South Dakota, and then flying into Baltimore. From Baltimore, I'd meet up with the group and attend a couple of Orioles games. Then we'd take a bus to New York for a couple of Yankees games, followed by a trip to Cooperstown and a visit to the Hall of Fame. Then we spent an overnight in Albany, N.Y., and closed it out in Boston for a Red Sox game.

It was in July 1994, right before the All-Star break. The temperatures were in the 90s along the East Coast. Tempers were running hot in the baseball community as well because the baseball contract was up. There was some doubt if the players would return after the break.

But right now, I was excited. I was going to the baseball palaces: Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. Camden Yards was a new stadium at the time but reportedly state of the art. And, of course, there was the Hall of Fame. It was to be my dream vacation.

I flew into Baltimore and got a pickup from the hotel in which we were staying. I was sharing a room with one of the guides, Judy Colbert. We are still friends to this day.

The first night, I walked to Camden Yards from the Days Inn. We were supposed to have a welcome buffet in the warehouse overlooking the ballpark. The hotel was a few blocks from the hotel, but on my shaky knee, it seemed longer.

We had seats in the outfield and I was amazed to see televisions every few rows. I guess now it would not be such a surprise. I spent part of the evening roaming around the park, checking out the various concession stands, smelling the ribs at Boog's Ribs.

The next day, I had a chance to visit the waterfront area in Baltimore. Babe Ruth's Birthplace Museum was among the sites visited, as well as the USS Constellation. I took a water taxi (on which they were filming a beer commercial) around the inner harbor. I wish I had gotten around more of the inner harbor, but I didn't have enough time because I had to get back for the ballgame that evening. It was all so fascinating.

The following day, we left for Yankee Stadium. We had a day game that day and we got there just in time. There was no time to roam around the stadium and look at the monuments, but we were told we'd have some time the following day before the night game. Unfortunately, that didn't work out.

The next day, a lot of people went their separate ways for tours. I took a bus/boat tour around the city. I saw the Statue of Liberty from the boat before it started to rain and they had to bring us off the water.

Because of the rain that afternoon, we were unable to visit Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. I saw it from the gate but it was too slick to walk through it.

The next morning, we rode the bus to Cooperstown and spent the day at the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was amazing to see this shrine to the game. South Dakota even got a mention there, with the Aberdeen Pheasants noted as well as a couple of South Dakotan youth teams' achievements highlighted.

I loved seeing the Women in Baseball section; "A League of Their Own" had just come out so there was a lot of interest in this. I also sought out all the White Sox players in the Hall.

While riding the bus to Albany, N.Y., that night, we all talked about whom of the current major leaguers might be considered for the Hall: Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Roger Clemens, Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, David Cone, Kirby Puckett, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Barry Bonds.

Years later, some have been elected: Griffey, Ripken, Thomas, Maddux, Smoltz, Johnson. Yet others who had great careers have been left out, tainted by the smear of performance-enhancing drugs. Others are just recently retired and in their five-year waiting period.

Our last stop was Fenway Park in Boston. It was a hot, steamy Sunday, and the seats in Fenway were way down the right-field line. Our tour operators said they had picked up the tickets as soon as they were available, and these were the best they could get. The legroom was minimal, and with my bad knee, I was uncomfortable on all sides. I watched three innings in the ballpark, then found a brewpub across the street to watch the rest of the game on a big TV while I enjoyed better beer and nachos in air-conditioned comfort.

After the game, I picked up my bag from the bus and found transportation to my hotel for the next couple of days. I had planned to tour Boston on my own. I love history and Boston had so much to show me.

The next day, I took a trolley tour where I could get off and on, so I didn't have to do much walking. I saw the Old North Church of Paul Revere fame, ate and shopped at Faneuil Hall, took a boat ride in Boston Harbor, among other things. I did do quite a bit of walking, and on my newly injured knee, it was a bit too much. By the end of the day, I was hurting a lot.

I found my way back to a trolley stop and hopped the trolley for the home hotel. I spent the evening watching Frank Thomas in the Home Run Derby as the announcers talked about the possible baseball strike. We all hoped it wouldn't happen, but it loomed over All-Star week like the grim reaper.

A week after I got back from vacation, I got my knee 'scoped. I had a mess of weeds in my vegetable garden, and two of my coworkers came over with Subway sandwiches one afternoon to help me out by weeding my garden. Within two weeks, I was walking without crutches. I didn't even do PT other than the exercises I did at home.

But the problems with my knee would continue throughout the years. Eventually, I would require a sit-down job. Chasing after athletes ... well, they were too fast for me before; now I definitely couldn't catch them.