Joey Mellows, a 34-year-old from the UK, set out six months ago with a simple but challenging goal: to travel across the US from spring to autumn, attending 162 baseball games along the way.
Mellows He documented his trip on Twitter under the handle @Baseball_Brit.He quit his teaching job in South Korea, spent a few days in England, then flew to Tokyo to watch the season opener between the Mariners and the Athletics. He followed each team across the Pacific to Seattle, where he began his North American journey. He hasn't stopped traveling ever since.
The son of a former professional soccer player, Mellows was introduced to baseball while attending a game in Japan with his parents. That experience inspired him to follow his local team while working as a teacher in South Korea. Five years later, he decided to quit his job, use all of his savings (thanks to South Korean schools providing room and board for teachers) and take a trip most baseball fans only dream of.
We caught up with Mellows as his trip drew to a close to share his impressions of the game, the country and life on the road.
Dan Gartland:We're nearing the end of the season, are you still on track for 162?
Joey Mellows: Absolutely not, Dan. No. I think I'll finish the regular season at about 155, so I'll probably get about seven games in the postseason. But it's not up to me. It's up to the US immigration authorities to let me in from Canada.
Director:What MLB ballparks are you still stuck going to?
James: I still have to go to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit – so three cities that are pretty close together – and then I have to go to Toronto, Minneapolis, and Miami.
Director:Can you access them all?
James: I plan to go to all of them. I had to reschedule. The Toronto game is at the end of the season because of immigration issues. Whatever happens, I plan to go to all 30 stadiums. It's up to the people at the border whether I can go to the 162 stadiums.
Director:You'll meet a lot of people on this journey, how will they react when you tell them what you're up to?
James: The overwhelming response has been very positive. The people here are very nice. For the most part, they say they'd love to do it. I think it's something most baseball fans would love to do. We're very fortunate to be able to do it this year.
Director:Are they jealous?
James: I don't know if they're jealous. The day-to-day reality is probably quite different from what you see on social media. There are worries about where you're going to sleep, whether you'll let a stranger borrow your couch, etc. It's a lot of fun traveling, but the reality is probably a little different from what's portrayed online.
Director:I was thinking the same thing, but related to that, I wanted to ask you, what was the biggest challenge that you faced on this trip?
James: Honestly, Dan. I'm very lucky to do what I do. So, compared to the challenges that most people face, it's not that hard. I'm fine with driving. I eat pretty badly, but that's on me, so it's not that hard. It's just the logistics of where am I going to stay today, how am I going to get to the ballpark, do I have money to stay in a motel, is it going to be safe? The biggest challenge for me is just surviving to the end of the season, because I'm going to be driving 20,000 miles and I'm going to be driving on a lot of different roads. I don't know muchDriving in the dark, staying with people I've never met. Every day I have to quickly decide if this is okay, and every time it is, I'm very lucky.
Director:I'm interested to know what preconceived notions you had about America and how this trip changed or strengthened them.
James: What was really nice about this trip is that I'm speaking from outside the US, as someone who lived in Asia for five years, and not in the UK for the last five years. America, at least in the news, seems very divided. You're either on the Democrat or Republican team. What was nice about this trip was that I didn't ask any questions and most people didn't talk to me about politics at all. They're just baseball fans, and it's just nice to watch a game together and share a fun experience, regardless of what you think about guns or abortion or healthcare or the current president. For me, that was the best thing. I've been teaching in classrooms with kids for 10 years, so it was nice to be with adults. And I feel like being in America for so long has restored some of my faith in humanity. The people here are just so generous and warm overall. It's a real compliment.
Director:You mentioned guns, and I thought it was really interesting that you were there right after the El Paso shooting. How did you respond to that?
James: Actually, I stayed right next to the Walmart where the shooting happened. I didn't realize that when I booked the hotel. I've always wanted to go to El Paso. I was in contact with the Chihuahuas before the season started. I like the name and I like that it's on the border. I've never been to Mexico. It was a place I wanted to go to. When I was in El Paso, what I wanted to make sure was to portray the city as positively as possible. While I was there, I posted about what I like about El Paso. A shooting there can happen. It can happen anywhere, and we know that in America. I think it was important for the town to have a baseball team there and the whole community working together. To be honest, when I was there, I didn't really think about the shooting that happened. It can happen anywhere, right?
Director:What similarities and differences do you see between the major league and minor league fan experience and the experience in Asia?
James: In most countries where I've watched baseball, Korea, each player has their own song. It's a very musical song that they sing throughout their at-bat. In Korea, the teams are sponsored by companies, so away fans travel to visit. For example, the Samsung Lions are a couple of hours south of Seoul, but they have a lot of fans in the capital because Samsung has an office there. In the U.S., you don't see many away supporters, much less in large groups. Meanwhile, in Korea, on both sides of the stadium, you hear the songs of people from different companies and people from the city who support the team. It's very loud. In the minor leagues, there seems to be more of a community feel, with people gathering together to chat and drink. It's very nice to see people who live very close to the stadium hanging out at night. It's very cool. The place I'm going to is Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's my favorite minor league stadium that I visited last season. I can say that it helped redevelop the whole downtown area. When you go to a minor league ballpark, you see how important the team is not only to the people who live there, but to the local economy as well.
Director:It's interesting what you say about the away supporters, do they remind you of European football?
James: Yes. In Korea, the crowd stands during most games, especially when their team is at bat. That's not so common here.
Director:You apparently attended a few soccer games during your stay. What was your impression of American soccer fans?
James: I was really impressed. The Falcons play at the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, and I was surprised that an MLS team plays there. I looked it up and it turns out it was the 10th highest attendance in world football last season. They do cool stuff. The basketball players are hammering nails or something. We stood the whole game. In the UK you're not allowed to do that. You're not allowed to stand. In the football stands in the UK you're not even allowed to drink beer in your seat. That was cool. At the Atlanta United game I was drinking beer and standing almost at the halfway line.
Director:You told another reporter this summer that paying for the trip would be a “real challenge.” Is that still a concern?
James: I'm worried because I have no idea what I'm going to do once the season is over. I have no plan. This money is something I've set aside and I would never have set this goal if I didn't know if I could afford it. Right now I'm just enjoying the last 5 weeks and putting it off for now because there's no point. I can't do anything. I'm putting all my effort into this. I said I'd do it. I don't know what the future holds. I've been lucky enough to have lived in different parts of the world. I have qualifications. I know I'll be OK but it feels weird to think that everything I've worked for for 10 years is gone.
Director:You've said that, other than writing the book, you don't know what's next. Does that make you anxious or are you okay with that?
James: Dan, that's fine with me, because if it were me, I wouldn't have made this trip. This is essentially me rolling the dice. I've been doing the same thing for 10 years since I graduated from college. I've been teaching, I've been working with young people. I found it very rewarding and enjoyable. But when you do something for 10 years, sometimes you look out your office window and wonder what else you could have done. Baseball came to Europe for the first time this summer. Before the Yankees and Red Sox came to London, I decided to try and generate interest in baseball. I don't know if I would have been able to do that. Now I'm here enjoying every day, learning as much as I can about baseball and making connections.
By the way, I didn't intend to write a book. I didn't intend to do that at the beginning of the trip. But a lot of great things happened along the way that I wouldn't even put on Twitter, so when I get home, I could spend a couple of months working through each chapter. I'm going to write it from a geographical perspective. Even if you're not interested in baseball, you can read about Texas and the Pacific Northwest and see how a foreigner or an outsider experienced and understood the areas I visited. Because America is so diverse and big. I've been to Japan, the U.S., and soon Canada. If I don't make the postseason because of immigration issues, I'll go to Australia or the Dominican Republic and finish my last seven games there. Whatever happens, happens. I'm lucky to have a family that understands. Whatever happens, I'll be OK. I'll just be very poor.
