The day after I turned sixteen years old I took my driver’s license exam. That summer I utilized my license to deliver office supplies around the Bay Area and drive to Southern California with my friend. The highlight of our SoCal trip included taking in baseball games at Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego) to watch the Padres, Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) to see the Dodgers, and Anaheim Stadium (Orange County) to watch the Angels.

That’s when my goal of visiting every MLB baseball stadium in American began.

Baseball holds a special place in my heart. Playing Little League baseball as a nine-year old introduced me to American culture. I grew up in an immigrant Chinese family and faced discrimination in those early days. But baseball served as an outlet for an energetic young boy facing uphill challenges with psoriasis and bullying.

Read about My Painful Memories of Living with Psoriasis as a Teenager on my column The Itch to Beat Psoriasis at Everyday Health

My hard-working dad took me to San Francisco Giants games when I earned free tickets for good grades. The Giants gave away tickets to evening games at the frigid and windy Candlestick Park. Still, I loved going to those games watching Jack Clark, Darrell Evans, and Greg Minton out on the diamond.

As a kid I only dreamed of ever seeing a game at places like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field.

Landing in Chicago for HealtheVoices

In late April my daughter Lydia and I flew into Chicago for the HealtheVoices conference–a gathering of over 120 online patient advocates from some forty different disease states. Lydia mainly wanted to see a friend and visit Chicago sites. Since I had more time the first two days we set aside time to see the town together before I became busy with conference meetings.

The first day we went to Millennium Park and Navy Pier. Day two, after my meeting ended in the mid-afternoon, we headed out for an early Chicago deep dish pizza dinner. The walk from the hotel took a bit longer than expected. We needed the exercise so I didn’t mind. By evening, though, the cold wind whipped up reminding me Chicago’s moniker is “The Windy City.”

Riding the “L” After Dinner

I couldn’t help but think about the television show ER, set in Chicago, where the doctors would take the “L” subway system after their shift ended. I wanted to ride the “L” just once to honor that memory. A ride back to hotel turned out to be the perfect excuse to find the nearest station.

Once seated on the train I figured out our stop for the hotel would only take a few minutes. On the subway map I noticed the Addison Street station stop a bit farther north than the stop for the hotel. I also somehow remembered that the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field on Addison Street. A quick Google search confirmed we could see the baseball stadium if we took the “L” a few more stops.

Later we learned that the neighborhood around Wrigley Field isn’t necessarily the safest. Unknowing tourists traveling on a whim sometimes don’t know any better. Besides, with wanting to see the San Jose Sharks playoff game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights later that evening, we’d only have enough time to take a quick picture.

To my surprise the stadium lights lit up the night sky. People milled around the stadium and storefronts welcomed customers. All signs pointed to Wrigley Field playing host to a Cubs home game.

Buying Tickets from a Reseller (Okay, Scalper)

We ran around the stadium to find the front entrance where I could take a quick picture. The tied game against the Milwaukee Brewers had entered the bottom of the fifth inning. As soon as Lydia took this photograph of me the ticket resellers (scalpers) descended on us like vultures spotting prey.

The first offered me a bargain basement $25 a ticket for, of course, the best seats in the house. I politely said no then walked away. The second wanted to sell me lower deck seats for $10 each. I said no and walked even further away. He followed me for about twenty yards. After a short whisper deliberation with Lydia, I told him I would buy the tickets only if he walked to the entrance gate with me to confirm their legitimicy.

A few minutes later Lydia and I entered into Wrigley Field for the first time. The tickets gave us a great view along the left field line with some obstructed view only above us.

A few minutes later Lydia and I entered into Wrigley Field for the first time. The tickets gave us a great view along the left field line with some obstructed view only above us.

Singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley Field

Any baseball fan knows how iconic singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch is at Wrigley Field, especially with legendary Harry Caray. A great MLB article Famous fans stretch their pipes at Wrigley describes this Cubs tradition. I waited expectantly for the top of the seventh to finish then signaled to Lydia it’s time to sing.

Here’s a video of that memorable moment:

 

Immediately after the song ended we ran for the exits wanting to avoid the rush out of the stadium. On the way out we stopped at the gift shop, took a quick pit stop, and snapped a few more photos.

The Cubs ended up winning 1-0, with the winning solo home run by Kyle Schwarber hit in the bottom of the sixth inning.

You never really know what adventures life might take you on when you get invited to a conference because you’ve blogged about psoriasis for over ten years. Or you decide to take the train instead of walk after dinner. Or what might happen if you stay on that train for a few stops longer to see a baseball stadium.

On that late April evening in Chicago I crossed another item off my bucket list: taking in a baseball game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. All made possible because we felt adventurous after eating deep dish pizza.