11 Years, 30 Stadiums, Lifetime of Memories: Trio Rekindles Friendship Through America's Pastime

It’s a real-life story no MasterCard commercial could ever encompass. One of friendship, travel, learning and growing together.

For Huntington’s Tom Fazio, the real journey began 25 years ago, when he met his University of Arizona roommates Manny and Adam. After some time in their personal and professional lives, the trio rekindled their college friendship back in the early 2000s and found a specific way to stay connected.

Through America’s Pastime.

The following was written by Fazio, one member of “The Tour,” which spanned more than a decade.

This is a baseball story. This is an American story. Most of all, this is a friendship story. It started in Arizona 25 years ago and will culminate there this spring. It encompasses reunions, weddings, kids, puppies, lost loved ones, failed businesses and of course, baseball stadiums.

Yes, baseball stadiums. There are 30 “cathedrals of the game”. We are 3 friends. Adam, Tom and Manny. With 28 down, there were only 2 left for us to visit together in 2015. Others have done this before. I know. Some did it in a month, others in one summer, and maybe some over a year or 2. Not us.

Summer 2015 will mark the 11th straight year we meet up on the road. See, this is about much more than watching baseball. This is about an enduring friendship backed by the smell of hot dogs. Backed by “the feels like the first time, every time” moment you see the lush green field of a major league ballpark. The Green Monster of Fenway. The legendary façade of Yankee Stadium. The majestic views of the Olympic mountains from Safeco Field. The energy of Wrigleyville. The intimacy of Kaufman Stadium and the unique experience of entering Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine.

There are several places that could be called the “beginning” of this story. The University of Arizona is one, where I met Adam and Manny in the fall of 1989. Or maybe it’s when Adam called me in 2002, after we lost touch for close to 10 years, because he was coming to New York and would love to get together. We reconnected in NYC, laughing and reminiscing about old times together in college back in Tucson. Or maybe the beginning was the following year when we found Manny up in Boston and he made the trip down to Yankee town for another reunion, this time the 3 of us together for the first time in a long time, sharing memories in midtown Manhattan over beers.

But the most exciting place to call the beginning of this story is Fenway Park, July 24th 2004. We were there. Our first stadium together. What a great night to start a soon to be 11 year journey for these 3 united college buddies. Fenway was everything I hoped it would be – charming and nostalgic with an energy bursting at the seams with over 100 years of disappointment. As a lifelong Yankee fan, I never thought I would be able to love it that much. But I did.

The Sox trailed the Yankees by 9 ½ games in the American League East entering that game. ARod drove in the winning run the night before. The Yankees were up 3-0 in the 3rd when A-Rod got drilled and ended up in a dust up with Varitek. We all know what happened next--the Sox came from behind, winning in the bottom of the 9th and then went on to win the World Series. It’s a game you could never forget. We were there. We were hooked. What a beginning.

And so started the annual “ATM Baseball Stadium Tour.” The Tour for short. For the next 9 years 3 friends came together once a year, never missing regardless of circumstances. 2 of us are on the east coast, 1 is on the west? No problem. We found dates and made it happen. Our goal was 2 or 3 stadiums a year over a few nights on the road. Many miles traveled across the country, many memories made along the way. There was the minivan drive through the winding mountain roads of Oregon, on through the redwoods of northern California, down the coast to San Francisco, all the way from Seattle. Or watching the Blue Jays from a sofa in our hotel suite, literally built into centerfield of the ballpark inside the Rogers Centre! Greek town in Detroit. Nationals Park and Adams Morgan in Washington, D.C. The law in Missouri. And there’s also the most awkward part of The Tour each year—Adam asking a stranger to take our picture in front of each ballpark.

Nothing would stop The Tour. Not during hard times like when the doors closed on my business, or glorious times when Adam and Manny’s children were born and my wife and I adopted a new puppy. There were sad times as well, like when my father had a heart attack 2 days before Tour 2012. As a he lay in the hospital bed he would urge me to still go, because he knew how much these trips meant. He loved to hear the stories and the stadium details when I came home from each Tour. I’m grateful I was able to tell those stories to him one more time that year, shortly before he passed away. Through it all, the 3 of us have shared much and have forged a second act to a wonderful friendship, aided by the great game of baseball.

This year on June 5th, we headed to Colorado’s Coors Field and then finished in Arizona at Chase Field, the state where it all began, capping off 11 years, 30 stadiums and thousands of miles together. We don’t know what lies ahead after Tour 2015. Maybe we start at the beginning again, maybe we choose another sport. Either way, we will cherish the moments and memories these wonderful “cathedrals of the game” have provided us, Adam Tom and Manny—The ATM Baseball Tour.

Pictured: Manny, Tom, and Adam. Photo Courtesy Adam Wegener.