Royalty is heading to out to the Midwest to start the new baseball season!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the first week of April.

I'll be driving out to Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinnati & Columbus, Ohio to see some major league & minor league baseball to start the baseball season before returning to NYC early Friday morning in time to be at Opening Day at Citi Field that afternoon.

Sunday April 3rd Cardinals at Pirates 1:05PM Opening Day

Monday April 4th Giants at Brewers 1:10PM Central Time Opening Day

Tuesday April 5th Mets at Royals 3:15PM Central Time

Wednesday April 6th Red Sox at Indians 6:10PM 

Thursday April 7th Phillies at Reds 12:35PM

                                 Indianapolis Indians at Columbus Clippers 6:35PM Opening Night

Friday April 8th Phillies at Mets 1:10PM Home Opener

                           Erie Seawolves at Trenton Thunder 7PM
                
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is heading to out to the Midwest to see baseball over Fourth of July weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the first week of July.

We'll be driving out to Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Reading, Pennsylvania & Washington DC to see some major league & minor league baseball over the weekend before returning to NYC late Monday night.

Thursday July 2nd Cubs at Mets 1:10PM

                               Rangers at Orioles 7:05PM

Friday July 3rd Marlins at Cubs 1:20PM Central Time

                          Orioles at White Sox 7:10PM Central Time

Saturday July 4th Orioles at White Sox 1:10PM Central Time

                             Marlins at Cubs 6:15PM Central Time

Sunday, July 5th Brewers at Reds 1:10PM

Monday, July 6th Trenton Thunder at Reading Fightin Phils 9:35AM

                             Reds at Nationals 7:05PM
                
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty does another baseball doubleheader on Sunday in Trenton and the Bronx!

Prince at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton

 After getting back late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, the King & I went to play softball bright and early after we got three and a half hours sleep. When we finished the King drove us to Yankee Stadium where we met up with our pals Bryan Gilligan and Vincent Ascanio who came with us down to Trenton, NJ.

We went to see a minor league baseball game between the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees Double A affiliate in the Eastern League and the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the San Francisco Giants' farm club that afternoon at Arm & Hammer Park which was previously called Mercer County Waterfront Park.

As for the game we saw, the Thunder scored early and often as they beat up the Flying Squirrels, 15-1.

Prince at Yankee Stadium

After the game, we drove to the Bronx where we saw game two at Yankee Stadium as the Yankees were hosting the Orioles in the rubber match of their three game set on Sunday night baseball on ESPN. We met up with our friends Phil Butleman and Larry Peim who were there.

As for the game we saw, Hiroki Kuroda threw a five hit shutout. He went the distance despite only having a 3-0 lead. It was shocking because in this day and age, the closer always comes in the ninth inning when the lead is three runs or less so they can attempt to pick up a save. Much to our surprise and delight, Joe Girardi decided to stay with Kuroda who was in cruise control. Thanks to Jayson Nix who hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning and Brett Gardner who followed him with a two run homer that hit high off the foul pole in right, the Yankees had all the run support they needed to beat the Orioles as they won the series, two games to one.

In addition, they played the game in a manageable 2 hours and 38 minutes which gave us more time to make our way towards Boston for their annual Patriots' Day game that Monday morning.

Stay tuned for the special post that we'll recap the game we saw at Fenway Park.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty officially starts our 2012 baseball season at Citi Field on Opening Day!

Prince at Opening Day at Citi Field

As much as the King and I would loved to have been at the new Marlins Park to officially open the season, it wasn't meant to be. The King and I had personal streaks to keep intact. Since the Mets were opening the season at home, we didn't want to risk missing it by flying down to Miami and not getting back in time. Instead we're planning to go there in the middle of July.

As for me, I've seen every Met home opener since 1982 which includes the one in Tokyo, Japan back in 2000. As for the King, his streak dates back into the late '70's. In addition, he has a streak of over 220+ straight games at Citi Field since it opened in 2009. In matter of fact, he has missed only one game there in that time. In addition, he plans to see all 81 again this year he said.

Since I had to work a half a day, I barely got to the game on time. The MTA did their best to cost me some precious time on my way there on the 7 train. Luckily everything worked out for me.

Upon arrival, I got to say hello to my favorite security guard and big fan of royalty, Sam Citron. I hadn't seen him since the end of September but I know he's been following my whereabouts here on my blog. It was an absolute pleasure to see him again. Seeing his friendly and familiar face put me in the comfort zone before I headed inside to see the game.

Once I got in the building, I went up to my familiar surroundings in section 516 row 3 where the King and I have had our full season tickets since the ballpark opened. Our seating area is affectionately known as the "royal box" thanks to my pal Michael Longo who gave it that name.

In addition, we got to see many familiar faces where we sit. Despite low expectations, other people who sit by us still decided to renew their season tickets like we did. With that being said, there's always something to look forward to every game. We can't control what happens on the field but at least we know we'll be seeing some good people in the stands on a daily and nightly basis all spring and summer long.

Amongst them were our friends Ralph and Vincent Ascanio, who are back for another season of Mets baseball as the team celebrates their 50th Anniversary of playing here in New York.

In addition, I got to meet some new people. First of all, our buddy Eddie Pelle who I met thanks to my blog in December 2010 was on hand with his friend and co-worker Fredy Sanchez who he introduced to the King and I to. It was great to have them join us in the "royal box" for this Opening Day. We enjoyed their company immensely throughout the game.

Furthermore, I got to meet and greet another person I met online recently. Her name is Lori Martini. She's a lifelong Met fan who lives in Brooklyn. She happens to be a screenwriter and songwriter. She wrote the song, "Believe" that the Mets' Justin Turner came up to when he batted last summer. She recently wrote a short film called "Caught" as well. I look forward to seeing her more often at Citi Field this season.

As for the game we saw, Johan Santana who missed all of last season, started and he pitched five shutout innings. After struggling with his control in the fifth inning, manager Terry Collins decided to take him out in a scoreless game against division rival, the Atlanta Braves. The Mets proceeded to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when David Wright delivered a run scoring single. That proved to be the difference in the game as the new look Met bullpen shut down the Braves the rest of the afternoon. The Mets won the game, 1-0.

After the game, our friend Bryan Gilligan who also renewed his Met season ticket was present and accounted for as well, took the King, Vincent Ascanio and I down to Trenton, NJ to see the Trenton Thunder, the Double A affiliate of the Yankees play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays' farm team on Opening night in the Eastern League.

As for that game we saw, the Thunder took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning but that lead disappeared as the Fisher Cats scored a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings to take the lead for good. They went on to win the game, 5-3.

It was a perfect way to start the new baseball season with a doubleheader. Thankfully mother nature cooperated with us.

Stay tuned as I will be writing some more special posts regarding my memorable weekend where I entertained some other very special people I just met for the very first time. It will show why the royal way is the way to go if and when you want to attend a live sporting event regardless of the sport.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

The Journey Continues

The Journey Continues
 
The Journey continued as we headed from Somerset, PA to Baltimore for a another first visit for me, as we headed out for our first doubleheader on this journey. We would be visiting Camden Yards in Baltimore for the first part then visiting the Orioles AA affiliate, the Bowie Baysox in the evening.
 
We got a little bit of a late start heading to Baltimore so I was afraid I wouldn't get to enjoy the royal breakfast at the Eichenkranz Restaurant, but boy was I wrong. Royalty Tours has its perks. Breakfast at Eichenkranz usually ends at 11:30, we made them aware we were on the way and they extended their great breakfast another thirty minutes for us. If you are in Baltimore a meal at Eichenkranz is a must, it is great food at a very affordable price. When we stopped at Eichenkranz I got to meet up with some of Royaltys' fans, Peter and Carmen Agnew. Both Peter and Carmen are great people and made this breakfast even more worthwhile for me.
 
As for the game at Camden Yards it was unfortunately another blowout loss for the home team. The Orioles kept the game pretty close till the 8th inning when the Angels put 5 runs on the board. Three of those runs were attributed to MLB's number one prospect Mike Trout's first career major league homer. The final count was the Angels 9 and the Orioles 3. It was another interesting game in which Royalty met some new friends. During the first inning a gentleman two rows behind us asked if we kept our ticket stubs. At that time we got into conversation and introduced ourselves to the gentleman and went over some of the King and Prince's credentials. The man's name was Steve Porcelius and he was on a Winnebago baseball road trip with his two boys and his brother in law Mark and his son.
 
After that game we headed 30 miles south to Bowie for the second game of the doubleheader. After game one we stopped right by Bowie and had a light pre-game meal at McDonalds. Then we headed over to Prince George's Stadium to watch the Bowie Baysox play the Trenton Thunder. When we arrived Trenton's radio play by play announcer Hank Fuerst made sure to note to listeners that a special guest the Strikeout Man (Mike Casiano) was in the house. As for the game. it was close one that Trenton pulled off in the top of the 9th thanks to a wild pitch. The final in that one was Trenton 5 and Bowie 4. We then headed back into Baltimore and had some great burgers at Looney's Pub then headed into Aberdeen to get some sleep and refuel our bodies before heading out on another doubleheader Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Royalty sees the Mets down in the City of Brotherly Love!

Phillie Phanatic

Saturday morning I went to Avis and I rented a car for the weekend. I picked up the King and off we went to another one of our many second homes, this time we went to Philadelphia to see the Mets play the Phillies in an early afternoon affair.

We got to see the best pitcher in the major leagues pitch. I'm talking about the "Doc" aka Roy Halladay. He didn't let us or the fans in jammed packed Citizens Bank Park down either.

Doc pitched a gem of a game as he went the distance in beating division rival, the New York Mets. He struck out eight batters as the Phillies backed his great pitching with just enough run support to beat the Mets, 2-1.

Thankfully the game took only 2 hours and 25 minutes to play. My rule of thumb is to allow 3 hours on average. As I like to say, a baseball game can go two hours or five hours. I just hope that it goes fast when I want it to. Unfortunately for the King and I that doesn't seem to be the case that often. This time we got a break.

Since the game went so fast we had plenty of time to get to our next game which was in Trenton, New Jersey, 40 miles away. In addition, we were able to sit down and enjoy a quality meal at a rock bottom price. We wound up going to the Golden Corral for dinner. Stay tuned as I'm going to write a special post about that unique experience.

After we ate, we continued on our way to Trenton to see a minor league baseball game between the Trenton Thunder who are the Yankees double A affiliate and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the farm club of the Toronto Blue Jays who we saw play a few weeks ago in New Britain, Connecticut.

The last time we saw the Fisher Cats win. This time they lost to the Thunder, 4-1. We even got to see former major leaguer Kei Igawa pitch and he picked up the win in relief because starting pitcher Manny Banuelos didn't get the last out in the fifth inning to qualify for the victory. He pitched effectively for the two and a third innings he threw.

He pitched in Japan before the Yankees brought him to the States back in November 2006. Since he signed a huge long term contract, the Yankees are stuck with him. He didn't cut it in the big leagues, now he's pitching in the lower minor leagues after spending time in Triple A. He turned out to be a total bust.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. This time the Yankees beat the Jays, 5-2.

After the game, we went back down to Philadelphia to see if the Mets could savage a game in their three game series with the Phillies. After facing the best pitcher in baseball, the Phillies followed up by sending their next best pitcher to the mound, that being Cliff Lee.

Fortunately for the Mets, Cliff Lee didn't have his best stuff on this night. The Mets managed to take a 1-0 lead but the Phillies fought back to tie the game after Lee departed for the night.

The game remained tied when we were forced to leave the ballpark after watching the game for four hours after the Mets batted in the top of the 12th inning. The King had to get to work. He works overnight at the Post Office. He starts at 2AM.

The Mets wound up winning the game in the 14th inning when catcher Ronny Paulino doubled in the go ahead run to give the Mets a 2-1 win. Paulino finished the game with 5 hits.

We hated to leave but we had no choice. We got back to the car at 12:23AM. I had to drive 100 miles to get him back to work on time. I got him there at 1:56AM. He said and I quote "I'm impressed." It should be noted we had to stop for gas too.

I proceeded to drive myself home and I got home at 2:27AM.

Monday morning I woke up and I returned the car back to Avis and then I went to work.

Another adventurous weekend was in the memory bank.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Aeros beat Thunder, 4-2!

After the Yankee home opener, the King and I went to Trenton, New Jersey.

Trenton is the home of the Eastern League Double A affiliate of the 2009 World Champion Yankees.

On this night they were playing the Akron Aeros, the farm team of the Cleveland Indians.

Just so you know, some current Yankees have come up through the ranks with pitstops in Trenton en route to the Bronx.

Those include Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ramiro Pena.

As for the game, this one was over early when Aeros' first baseman Beau Mills hit a home run with two aboard to put the Aeros up 3-0 in the top of the first inning.

The Thunder answered with a run in the bottom half but they couldn't overcome the initial deficit the rest of the game.

The Aeros held on for a 4-2 victory.