Fan Darren O’Donnell Seeing Every Baseball Park on a Bicycle

How big of a baseball fan do you think you are?  What kind of physical shape would you say you are in?  Whatever your opinion of yourself, we can almost guarantee you are not as big a fan as Darren O’Donnell.  We can also state pretty confidently that you aren’t in the kind of shape he will be in on Sept. 25 — the day O’Donnell is scheduled to finish his bicycle tour of all 30 Major League ballparks.

In an interview for a story with MLB.com, O’Donnell explained that the idea to pedal his way around North America and visit every big league park arose when he and his friends completed a cross-country, 1000-mile bike ride last year.  Roughly 50 flat tires and a few hundred Clif bars later, O’Donnell has taken in a game at 13 different ballparks, meaning he’s almost halfway to achieving his goal.

“I mean, you hear all the time about people who are all proud of themselves for driving to all 30 stadiums,” O’Donnell says. “But anybody can do that. Why is that a big deal?”

That’s a fair point if you ask me.  Driving to all 30 stadiums takes a lot of money and a little patience.  Riding a bicycle requires those things as well, but above all it is an incredible test of endurance — one that only people like Karl Meltzer can relate to after his ridiculous journey.

O’Donnell is already 6,000 miles into his estimated 10,500-mile trek and has been well-received at the various ballparks he’s visited.  The Rays invited him onto the field before a game and Joe Maddon presented O’Donnell with a jersey.  The Marlins interviewed him on TV and provided a tour of their facilities and a meet-and-greet with players and coaches.  Perhaps more importantly, patrons at diners and convenience stores have bought O’Donnell Gatorades and breakfasts to keep his tank full.

Who needs season tickets?

H/T to Hardball Talk for the story, pic via