Four Itchy Feet

April 6, 2025. Washington, D.C.

We usually don’t seek out sporting events during our travels, but they’re certainly an attraction for many nomads. I’ve even heard of people on a quest to visit every baseball park in a single season or to travel with a team and attend every game. I imagine that would allow anyone to cover a large travel area in just a few months while following and enjoying their favorite team.

My son-in-law invited me to spend the day at the ballpark with the grandkids, and it turned out to be a wonderful and eye-opening experience. I grew up in Cuba, so baseball is practically encoded in my DNA. However, the commercial nature of the sport in the United States, the exorbitant salaries paid to players, and the slow pace of the game had turned me off in recent years. But today was different—I was there with my grandkids, ready to enjoy a day at the ballpark. Here are my three main takeaways from the experience:

1. The game moves much faster now, making it more exciting and engaging.
Major League Baseball has introduced the “pitch clock.” The pitcher must deliver a pitch within 15 seconds when the bases are empty, or within 20 seconds when there are runners on base. If he fails to do so, an automatic ball is called. The batter is also on the clock—he must be in the batter’s box within 30 seconds of the previous at-bat, or he’ll be penalized with a strike. These new rules definitely added a sense of urgency and kept the game flowing.

2. The cost of food and drinks is shocking.
It’s hard to complain about prices these days since everything costs so much, and a visit to the ballpark is a completely discretionary expense. However, two beers and a bag of peanuts for $58 was a wake-up call. Compared to all of our travel expenses, food and drinks at a ballpark are astronomical—and certainly not ideal for the budget-conscious traveler.

3. The visibility of sports betting has exploded.
Call me a prude, but betting has always seemed like something people did more privately. Now, sports betting ads are everywhere in the stadium, and many of the conversations I overheard were about parlays and prop bets—fans discussing how their bets would play out if a pitcher struck out two more batters or if a certain player got a few more hits. This isn’t a judgment, just an observation about how prevalent and mainstream sports betting has become, something I’d never experienced at a game before.

We had a great day at the park. It was Nationals Jersey Day, and we all received a very high-quality jersey as we entered the stadium—a really nice, free souvenir.