Ep. 437 (8/10/26): Special Guest - Paul Hamann of Paul’s Ballparks, Avid Baseball Stadium Traveler

In this episode, Joey has the honor of being joined by Paul Hamann, an avid baseball stadium enthusiast and the founder of "Paul's Ballparks." Paul has visited over 85 Minor League Baseball stadiums and 50 Major League Baseball stadiums in his lifetime. Joey met Paul and his family at Fenway Park at a Reds-Red Sox game in June 2025!To begin, Paul outlines the start of his journey visiting ballparks (1:53) and explains what led him to write reviews of each stadium (6:40) and the criteria he uses to grade ballparks (9:45). Additionally, Joey and Paul discuss their liking of Citi Field (12:55) and contrast it with Yankee Stadium. Following that, Paul talks about his love for the Seattle Mariners (16:50) and the story behind his passion for sports (19:12). Paul mentions some of the former MLB stars that he saw play at the minor league level, including Joey Votto and Buster Posey (21:47). Then, Paul breaks down his top five MLB stadiums (23:44), which includes Fenway Park (24:14). After that, Paul chats about the origin of him scoring games (32:32) and the best experiences he has had among the 800 professional baseball games he has attended (37:56). Joey and Paul point out the danger of rising ticket costs in sports potentially pricing families out (48:42). Next, Paul gives insight into his upcoming novel, The Rules Guy, which will be published and available to purchase on Amazon in October 2026 (51:46). Paul shares his experience as an educator for three decades (54:45), a basketball official for 24 years (57:00), a national anthem singer at minor league baseball games (1:03:22), and a karaoke singer (1:05:32).Please check out Paul's reviews of professional ballparks, including 50 Major League Baseball stadiums, on Substack at https://paulsballparks.substack.com/. Stay tuned for the release of Paul’s novel, The Rules Guy, in October!