Jan and Ed Piorkowski are not your everyday baseball fans.
The couple has held partial season tickets to the Detroit Tigers every year since the 90s and have been fans for decades. But they aren’t content to just watch their team at home. The Piorkowskis took their love of the game one step further when they began a quest to visit every major league team’s ballpark.
‘We just wanted to follow the Tigers,? says Ed, 59, of their journey, which began in the 80s when they traveled to see their team play the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium. It was their first time seeing a major league game played outside of Tiger Stadium.
‘We said, ‘This is fun,?? adds Jan, 58. ‘Then we wanted to catch the Tigers at other locations, like Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City.?
They visited all the nearby ballparks they could drive to, then took a trip to the Metrodome, the home of the Minnesota Twins. They then began flying to the National League parks, even though there was no interleague play at the time and thus no Tigers to watch.
In the beginning, Jan and Ed saw one or two new ballparks per year, but for their 25th anniversary six years ago, they decided to do something different, and took a group baseball tour. In a 2-week span, they visited all five major league ballparks in California (homes of the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the former Anaheim Angels), and also went to see the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field and the Arizona Diamondbacks at the formerly named Bank One Ballpark.
The couple has now gone on four different baseball park group tours.
‘Usually we take tours in the cities where it’s tougher to find arrangements and drive around,? said Jan. ‘It’s easier to let them drive around New York. They know the different sites. Group tours take you on city tours, transportation, tickets, hotels, and extras.?
It took them about a quarter of a century, but in 2007, they completed their journey, visiting the home of the Washington Nationals. Last week, they picked up a commemoration of their unique feat, a 40 inches by 30 inches shadowbox created by Sonja Pointer, owner of Plumtree Art & Framing, 1780 S. Ortonville Road. The shadowbox contains a wide array of memorabilia from the various ballbarks including tickets, pins, buttons, autographs, baseball cards, and souvenir caps representing each team.
Although there are only 30 major league teams, the Piorkowskis have been to 37 parks, as some teams moved or built new stadiums. They were at the last game at Tiger Stadium in 1999 and the first game at Comerica Park in 2000. Exhibition Stadium no longer hosts the Blue Jays and Olympic Stadium lost the Montreal Expos when the team became the Washington Nationals. Jacobs Field replaced Cleveland Memorial Stadium and the Piorkowskis can also say they have been to Comiskey Park (Chicago White Sox), the original Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals), Three Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh Pirates), Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Reds) and County Stadium (Milwaukee Brewers).
Jan and Ed are partial to Comerica Park, but each have other favorites, too. Jan favors Camden Yards in Baltimore, as well as AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. Ed divides parks into old and new. His favorite old parks are Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) and Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox).
‘They’re really nice for old parks,? he said. ‘Out of the new parks, Camden Yards is really hard to beat, and Comerica. The older parks are more like doughnuts, cookie cutters, round. In alcoves you can’t see the fields, but they still hold their charm. In Wrigley, people live next door and they puts stands on the tops of their houses and watch the games. In the new parks, you can see the field no matter where you stand and they’re more fan friendly.?
Every stadium has something unique, the Piorkowskis say, including wonderful statues, or giant bats or helmets or mitts. The food varies, too. Jan is a vegetarian, but enjoys garlic fries, which they first had in San Francisco. Ed is also usually vegetarian, but makes exceptions for ballpark trips. In San Diego he has experienced fish tacos and notes that when in Kansas City, it’s a must to have something barbecued. He also likes ‘Po? boys,? which he describes as like a hard salami sub, containing about 900 grams of fat, and notes it’s not for the health conscious.
‘Who cares when you’re at a ballgame?? Jan laughs.
They always visit the souvenir shops at every stadium, getting metal pins, or other items. Occasionally, they get a t-shirt or sweatshirt, but with a catch? they never wear them.
‘I don’t want anyone to think I’m a Yankees fan, that’d be the worst,? said Jan. ‘I wanted something that said ‘Yankee Stadium? and I finally found a cap, but I don’t want anyone to think I like them.?
Jan and Ed have seen some parks multiple times, including Yankee Stadium and Jacobs Field. They always wear shirts representing the Detroit Tigers, but say opposing fans have always been nice.
‘They razz you a small amount, but they’re mostly friendly,? Jan said. ‘We always wear our Tigers stuff, even if it’s two other teams playing, and then they wonder what we’re doing there.?
They always go for the better seats. Explains Jan, ‘How many times are you going to be there??
The cheers may be different depending on where they are. Some fans do the wave; in Atlanta, it’s the tomahawk chop; and in Cleveland, they say, there is some guy who bangs on a drum throughout the game, stopping only when the pitcher throws the ball. But what they really enjoy is just being among people who share a common bond? they all love baseball.
‘We’re always there for the excitement and the fun of the game,? Ed says and Jan adds, ‘Everywhere you go you’re surrounded by people that love the same thing you do.?
The Piorkowskis have met more than just fans during their travels. They met Tigers pitcher Nate Robinson in the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Kansas City last summer; former Tiger Al Kaline in the airport a few years ago; and at Dodger Stadium, Jan says she ran with a bunch of little kids to get former Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda’s autograph and picture.
For the most part, the Piorkowskis have had wonderful weather at the games they’ve attended in other cities, with a couple notable exceptions: In Boston, it rained an entire game and a rain delay was never called; and they missed games in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. when a hurricane hit the east coast.
They have had snow at Comerica, but it doesn’t stop them and they are eagerly anticipating opening day. This year, they will travel to the new stadiums of three teams? the Yankees, Mets, and Nationals.
‘In winter, we wait for baseball season,? says Ed.
Jan smiles.
‘We’re counting down the days to spring training and opening day.?