Baseball Travel Guide

I've always wanted to know if there are ballparks close to where I'm traveling. My wife isn't always fired up about finding out new places to see games, but she manages to let us squeeze in a few games on trips. I also have noticed that there is not a good directory of Baseball's shrines and museum. Sure we know where the Hall of Fame is (though I would have a tough time locating Cooperstown on a map), but what about other places, like the Negro League Hall of Fame, the Softball Hall of Fame and many others. People would enjoy visiting those places as well.

This is my humble contribution (much humbler than those who create the museums and play in the games). To find out what can and can't be entered into the database please view my submissions policy. It is pretty lenient. In fact, if you know of a hidden gem or a semipro league or some such thing let me know, and I'll try to get it into the database.

I sincerely apologize to Canadian and Mexican baseball fans. My currently setup isn't able to accept postal codes from those countries, and the mapping program I use won't map those countries either. I have some ideas on how to fix this, but it could take a little time to remedy the situation.

In case you are wondering how this works. I accumulated all the data from various sources and means. Mostly from other websites. Please note that there are no guarantees as to the veracity of the data in the database. I've tried my best, but I have a finite amount of time to double check stuff.

To make a search, you should enter either a zip code or a city name and optionally the state's two letter abbreviation (comma optional). The zip code data I have is from 1990 (thanks Census Bureau), so there have been some changes as the United States has added many new zip codes. If someone wants to donate the money for me to purchase up to date zips (~$300) I would gladly do so. Why the post office doesn't do this is beyond me.

Distance Calculations

Since I have zip codes along with latitude and longitude data, I am now able to use simple mathematics to compute the distance between to zip codes (thanks Dr. Math). This points out a serious flaw in the calculations. Everything is in a straight line (as the crow flies), so everything is an underestimate of the actual distance you would have to travel to make it to the attraction.

That is why you should double-check all directions and locations either with the official website (which should have a link) or elsewhere. Don't cry to me about driving three hours only to find that the stadium was torn down three years ago.

The maps are another service of our Census Bureau (THANKS!). I generate a center for the map along with a width and height and then a list of marks to make and the census bureau does the rest. So ten years from now when the hard working census taker comes by thank them for their time.

If you have questions or comments, I would love to hear them.