Saxony Lutheran coach Paul Sander accomplishes goal of visiting all 30 MLB Stadiums

A 25-year journey was completed this summer for Saxony Lutheran baseball coach Paul Sander and his wife, Pam.

The couple attended a game in every Major League Baseball stadium with the last one coming on June 27 in Toronto, Ontario when the couple attended the San Francisco Giants vs Toronto Blue Jays game.

While the journey wasn’t a central focus until they had visited approximately 14 or 15 of the stadiums, it was one that Sander and his wife enjoyed.

“We really didn’t start it as a stadium journey,” Sander said. “We love to travel and we would go to different places and if we went somewhere that had a stadium, being the baseball people that we are, we would go to a game.”

As they continued to travel and visit stadiums, it became clear how much closer they were getting to visiting every stadium.

“We got about half of them and just figured we should make it a goal to get all 30,” Sander said. “That’s just how it came about. We decided to keep it going and see if we can get all of them.”

The goal of visiting all 30 stadiums is a common goal for a majority of baseball fans.

A lot of people will try to get them all checked off as fast as possible, but not Sander.

“We enjoyed our trips,” Sander said. “We went to one or two a year and it made it enjoyable as a part of our trip. It took us about 25 years to get to all of them.”

One of the most interesting parts of going to every stadium is not only seeing the stadiums develop over the years, but also how the game of baseball develops over the years.

“The game has changed a lot,” Sander said. “For a long time speed and defense were a part of the game and then power came in and now you’re seeing stolen bases come back into it a little bit now. It has evolved and changed a lot.”

The couples favorite stadium of them all is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals’ NL Central foe.

“Pittsburgh is our favorite,” Sander said. “We really liked that stadium and the amenities they had at the stadium. It was a real beautiful stadium with absolutely beautiful views.”

When asked what his least favorite stadium was, Sander acknowledged that there aren’t any bad MLB stadiums.

“If you’re in a stadium and you love baseball the way my family does, you’re just happy to be in any major league park,” Sander said. “But, as far as stadiums that need work and updating, Oakland is on top of that list. Tampa is not an ideal situation either.”

The top five list for the Sander’s is Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Minnesota, San Diego and St. Louis.

Over the course of the journey, there have been moments at the games that have stuck out in Sander’s mind.

“In St. Louis is where we’ve seen the most historic stuff,” Sander said. “We saw McGwire’s 61st home run. That just happened by accident. We didn’t plan it or anything, we just had tickets and ended up seeing him hit that home run.”