Dad, sons bond over baseball
From left, Josh, Jordan, Don, Tyler and Justin Schrader travel to a major-league ballpark once a year to spend time together. Don Schrader, the father of the four men, was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for his work with youth baseball.
Four of the Schraders stand atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston. From left are Justin, Don, Tyler and Josh.
There are some things in baseball you can count on.
Ivy on the outfield walls at Wrigley Field. Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak remaining unbroken.
And Don Schrader and his four sons taking their annual road trip to catch a baseball game at one of Major League Baseball’s 30 ballparks.
The Schraders began their baseball travels in 1992, when Don Schrader came up with the idea that he and his father, Don Sr., should take his oldest two sons (then 14 and 8) to Wrigley to watch the Chicago Cubs play at the iconic park.
Inspired by the fun the foursome had on that trip, Schrader decided to make their journey a yearly event.
“Baseball is our common denominator,” said Schrader, who lettered in the sport at Trinity High School, coached and managed in Washington Youth Baseball leagues (including two Pony World Series teams) for 23 years, served as president of Washington Youth Baseball and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 for his service to youth. “We have always been big baseball fans.”
The Washington man’s sons – Josh, Justin, Jordan and Tyler – played baseball growing up, and three played on PONY League World Series teams. Justin pitched for the Washington Wild Things in 2006. Schrader grew up going to games with his father at Forbes Field and later at Three Rivers Stadium, and he enjoyed watching the Pirates play at PNC Park. But he always wanted to take in a game at Wrigley.
So far, the Schraders have visited 10 stadiums.
He’s not worried about “touching ’em all” and visiting all 30 parks. Schrader is as content to revisit the guys’ favorite ballparks as he is to see new ones.
They’ve visited Wrigley Field and Fenway Park in Boston twice.
On more than one occasion, the Schraders visited two parks within close driving distance on a single trip – a Friday night game in Detroit and a Saturday afternoon contest in Cleveland among them.
In July, they will travel to Washington, D.C., to watch the Washington Nationals play at Nationals Park.
“One of the things we’ve always enjoyed is the car ride to and from our trip. We play trivia games, talk, laugh,” said Jordan. “The best part of the trip is being with my brothers and my dad, and now my two sons are going. We always have a good time. We’ve never had a bad time.”
Nearly as enjoyable as the car ride, said Jordan, is Schrader’s quest to find a good local diner.
Schrader doesn’t like to eat at chain restaurants, so he searches out local eateries.
One of their favorites is Dianna’s Deli, outside of Cleveland, where Schrader ordered a foot-and-a-half-tall Manhattan sandwich loaded with meats and cheese.
“He’s found a few places that were really good, and then we’ve had some places that weren’t very good,” said Jordan.
Schrader enjoys planning the trips, and he sets the itinerary, makes hotel reservations, orders the tickets and does all the driving.
Schrader’s favorite ballpark? Historic Fenway Park, built in 1912. A close second is Camden Yards, in Baltimore.
Still on the bucket list are Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, both in New York, Coors Field in Denver, and Turner Field in Atlanta.
Because of work schedules, some of the boys have occasionally missed the trip.
And Don Sr. – who accompanied Schrader and the boys on the first two adventures but remained behind on subsequest trips to care for his wife, Anna – died in August.
“He was a tremendous father, husband and son,” said Schrader of his father. “He didn’t get to play organized baseball himself, but he loved the game. He threw catch with me and went to all of my games. I’m very glad for the example he set for me as a father and as a husband.”
A fourth generation of Schraders now accompanies the group. Two of his four grandchildren, Benjamin, 10, and Zachary, 7, will join the men on their upcoming Washington, D.C., trip.
Next year, Schrader’s sons are planning a special baseball trip for their father to Field of Dreams in Dyerstown, Iowa, a baseball field and popular attraction built in 1989 for the Academy Award-nominated film that bears the same name.
This time, Jordan said, the boys will drive.
“I’m so glad my boys fell in love with baseball,” said Schrader. “I look so forward to these trips. I plan on doing them for as long as I can.”