Twenty-one years ago, a father and his eight-year-old son set out on a quest that would span two decades, countless miles, and every corner of Major League Baseball. That journey reached its grand finale last weekend in Toronto, where John Aschbacher and his father finally completed their tour of all 30 MLB ballparks and what a finish it was.
Fittingly, their last stop coincided with a special moment in Toronto baseball history: the Blue Jays clinching the American League East title. The energy inside Rogers Centre was electric, the fans welcoming, and the city itself the perfect backdrop for the culmination of a dream that began when John was just a boy with a glove and a love for the game.
“It couldn’t have been scripted better,” his father reflects. “Every game on that last weekend meant something and so did every one before it.”
What started as a simple father-son outing evolved into a shared passion, a way to stay connected through the years as life moved forward. From the time John was in grade school through college, career beginnings, and adulthood, baseball remained their constant a rhythm of summer that brought them together again and again.
While every stop along the way offered something unique, a few moments still stand out vividly. One of the most unforgettable came on a June night in Los Angeles in 2014, when they witnessed Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies. “You could feel history unfolding,” the father recalls. “It was pure magic the kind of thing you never forget.”
Another highlight came at Fenway Park, where the pair watched the Yankees and Red Sox face off from one of baseball’s most iconic vantage points: atop the Green Monster. “To be part of that rivalry, in that atmosphere, from those seats it felt like stepping right into the heart of baseball history,” he says.
Each park offered its own character the breathtaking skyline views in Pittsburgh, the sun setting over the bay in San Francisco, the deep traditions in Chicago. Yet when asked to choose a favorite, the answer comes easily: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, their home. “There’s just something about walking into our ballpark, seeing that Arch beyond the outfield, and knowing this is where our love of the game began,” he says.
For the Aschbachers, the ballpark tour was never about checking off boxes. It was about shared experiences long road trips, local foods, unexpected friendships, and the joy of being part of something bigger than themselves.
As they looked out over the Toronto skyline that final weekend, there was a sense of completion and gratitude. “Every trip has been the best one,” he says. “But the truth is, it’s not about the parks. It’s about the time together.”