I am not sure she knew what she was getting into….
Was she THAT reluctant?
When I started this journey to visit all 30 Major League stadiums, I figured I’d be doing most of it solo—that’s how it started in 1986, on a family trip to California. I had just graduated high school, and of course had not met my future wife yet!
Lety didn’t grow up with baseball. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico in 2013, and when we got married soon after, she had been to exactly zero ballparks.
Today? She’s been to seventeen—and counting.
What started as a “sure, I’ll tag along” turned into something more. At first, she humored my obsession: stadium checklists, mascot photos, ballpark food rankings, and spontaneous drive-bys of old venues. In our rental car in San Diego, I just had to see “The Murph” before it was torn down. Pittsburgh? We went to the University of Pittsburgh in the rain, to find the remnants of Forbes Field—home plate (inside a college building!) and part of the outfield wall.
Somewhere between the seagulls at Oracle Park and the bobbleheads in Miami, she stopped being the reluctant one. She became a fan of the entire experience—not just the games, but the stories, the settings, and the weird little moments in between.
She’s sung along with Billy Joel at MSG (I think she liked the concert more than the tour we took in 2015!), taken the subway in Seattle to the UW campus just so I could snap a photo in front of Husky Stadium, and even spotted Citi Field from the air on a departing flight. (Yes, she took a picture.) She’s sat through blowouts, braved cold night games, and let me wander away to take pictures—and smiled through most of it.
It wasn’t just baseball. Together we’ve toured SoFi and AT&T football stadiums. We explored Madison Square Garden. We saw the Rose Bowl after an Angels game (drove to Pasadena just to take a picture outside!), and even swung by the Liberty Bowl during our honeymoon. Oh, and we saw an NBA game (Grizzlies) on that trip, too.
Her devotion isn’t limited to the U.S.! We were the only two people on a tour of a cricket stadium in Barbados during a cruise. “We don’t get many Americans,” we were told! In 2025, we went to our first NHL game—an entirely new frontier for both of us. Hey, how many arenas are there for us to chase?
She’s been to four NCAA Final Fours—all in Texas (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). Maybe she cheered for the wrong team once… but hey, she likes three-pointers. She didn’t just put up with the chaos—she leaned in. Took the photos. LOTS of photos of me. Enjoyed the fan fests. And slowly, quietly, became part of the chase.
There’s a photo of us at Yankee Stadium. She’s holding a sign that says “Stadium #15.” I’m holding one that says “Stadium #20.” She’s catching up.
This has never just been about baseball. It’s been about partnership. About jumping in together, figuring it out on the fly, and discovering joy in the unexpected.
So no, she’s not “the reluctant chaser” anymore.
She’s the MVP of the whole thing.
And when I hit stadium #30 soon, you better believe she’ll be there—and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Have a question, or want to share your own journey?
Email me at contact@yoursportsmatch.com