All-American adventure

+Drew Hill’s top stadium picks 

Best Stadium — Comerica Park, in Detroit, because of its pre-game amenities, including a home run derby, batting cages, radar gun, merry-go-round and Ferris wheel. 

Best Concessions — Citi Field, in New York, for its team-colored ice cream sprinkles. 

Best Seats — Fenway Park, in Boston, where they had field box seats thanks to the Emmons family, who are season ticket holders. 

Best Overall Experience — Rogers Centre, in Toronto, for its hotel inside the stadium, which allowed the Hills the opportunity to watch the last four innings of the game from their room, and its extensive gift shops. 

Cleanest Stadium — Marlins Park, in Miami 

Best Non-Game Entertainment — Citi Field, in New York 

Most Expensive — Yankee Stadium, in New York

Least Expensive — Marlins Park, in Miami

+Map

Tropicana Field, in St. Petersburg, Fla. 

2013

Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia

Nationals Park, in Washington, D.C.

Orioles Park at Camden Yards, in Baltimore

2014

Comerica Park, in Detroit, Mich. 

Progressive Field, in Cleveland, Ohio 

PNC Park, in Pittsburgh

2015

Marlins Park, in Miami

Fenway Park, in Boston

Citi Field, in New York, N.Y. 

Yankee Stadium, in Bronx, N.Y.

Rogers Centre, in Toronto, Canada 

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Sitting in his field box seat on a cold and rainy Monday evening last month, at historic Fenway Park in Boston, Drew Hill turned to his father, Chris, and asked the question that had haunted him for three years. 

“Why can’t I get a foul ball?” The Out-of-Door Academy fifth-grader says. 

Chris Hill reminded his son that he had been to a couple hundred baseball games in his lifetime and still had yet to catch a foul ball. It’s all about location and above all, luck. 

Drew Hill turned back to the game in progress, wondering when luck would finally be on his side. He didn’t have to wait long to find out. 

In the top of the next inning, Atlanta Braves outfielder Kelly Johnson sent a foul ball up into the stands along the first base line — right where the Hills were sitting. 

“I couldn’t believe it,” Chris Hill says. 

Boston was the second stop on the Hill’s five-game tour of America’s Major League ballparks June 14 through June 18. 

The Hills started at Marlins Park in Miami before traveling to Boston, Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, Yankee Stadium and Rogers Centre in Toronto. 

Chris and Drew Hill began their stadium tour three years ago in Philadelphia, when they were visiting family over the Fourth of July holiday. On a whim, Chris Hill looked up the schedule for the Phillies. He then checked on how long it would take them to get to Washington, D.C. 

With a plan in place, Chris and Drew Hill caught a Phillies game before heading to Washington, D.C. to watch the Nationals and then Baltimore to catch an Orioles game. 

At that point, the two decided to make it an annual trip, picking three to four different ballparks to visit every year until Drew Hill is a senior in high school.

“I was really excited because I really like baseball, and it’s hard to travel to all of the ballparks,” says Drew Hill, who plays for Lakewood Ranch Little League. 

Last year, the Hills visited Detroit, Cleveland — the home of both Drew Hill’s favorite team, the Indians, and player, Nick Swisher — and Pittsburgh. During their stop in Cleveland, the Hills faced their first and only rainout thus far. Instead of catching the Indians in action, the Hills went to a local arcade and bowling alley to catch some of the College World Series. After hearing their story, the manager gave Drew Hill enough free coins to play all night in the arcade. 

“That’s one of the nice things about this,” Chris Hill says.”We’ve met so many people along the way.” 

This year, the Hills attended five games in five days — the most they plan to do in one trip. 

So far, the Hills have visited 12 of America’s 30 Major League ballparks, including multiple trips to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. 

Chris and Drew Hill begin planning their trip as soon as the MLB schedule comes out. Each trip lasts approximately five days, but the Hills have learned to allow for possible rainouts. In addition, the Hills try and stay as close to the stadium as possible to soak up as much of the MLB experience as possible. 

The two will sit anywhere in the stadium, as long as it’s the first row of a section, so Drew Hill can see, and stay for the duration of the game no matter what the scoreboard says. 

“He never says he’s bored or tired,” Chris Hill says of Drew. “He enjoys every minute of every game.” 

During each stop, Drew Hill gets a new ball cap to commemorate the ballpark. This year, he also started getting a T-shirt with his favorite player. 

In addition to catching a baseball game, the Hills also try to see some of the city they are visiting, when time allows. This year, Drew Hill visited Canada for the first time; and in addition to staying in the hotel inside Rogers Centre, he also got to visit the CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

Throughout the course of their travels, Drew Hill has had the opportunity to meet Billy Marlin, the Miami Marlins mascot, ride the subway, see a grand slam, watch a play get overturned and see a game end on a walk-off walk. 

Next year, the two plan to make their first trip to the West Coast. And Drew Hill already has begun planning he and his father’s next adventure once they complete their stadium tour. 

“After I graduate college, I want to go to all 30 stadiums in 30 days,” Drew Hill says. 

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].