Cal High AP Computer Science Principles and A teacher Rae Anne Crandall is a self-proclaimed ballpark chaser.
What does that mean? Crandall visits Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums as a hobby, criss-crossing the nation as she visits ballparks from the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to historic Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Crandall has been to 16 of the 30 MLB stadiums, including the ballparks of all five California teams and the two Chicago clubs. She’s also visited the ballparks in Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and the nation’s capital of Washington D.C.
“My love for baseball initially sparked my interest in becoming a ballpark chaser,” Crandall said. “I believe every stadium I visit has its own story to tell.”
As a supporter of the San Francisco Giants, Crandall has been spoiled by attending many games at beautiful Oracle Park. This leads her to having a clear criteria of what to look for when evaluating her favorite ballparks.
When she visits stadiums, Crandall said the features she looks for are the view of the field, access to concessions and bathrooms, and traffic flow.
Crandall said her two favorite stadiums are the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park and Oracle Park along San Francisco Bay.
“I love the Giants stadium because, well, I’m obviously gonna be biased to my team,” Crandall said. “But I love the Pittsburgh stadium as it has an amazing bridge over a river to get into…and has a great view.”
Crandall said the two worst stadiums she has visited are the Oakland Coliseum and the Los Angeles Angels Stadium, two of the older parks in the league.
“It’s not about the age of these ball parks, but a lot to do with design and the enjoyability of the ball game,” Crandall said.
Crandall plans to visit other stadiums around the country based on locations of computer science events, conferences, and training. The Computer Science Teachers Association has a conference in Cleveland in summer 2025, so Crandall sees this as the perfect opportunity to visit Progressive Field, home of the Guardians.
“I plan around these conferences, events, and training and where they are happening,¨ Crandall said. ¨If one of the games is happening in a place where I haven’t already been to a ball game, I will most likely do the thing that’s happening then hit the stadiums near it either after or before.”
Crandall makes sure she also purchases a souvenir from each stadium, as it serves as a memory and keepsake from all the ballparks she visits.
“I always make sure that I buy the team’s hat before I leave,” Crandall said.
Crandall also stays at games she attends until the very end, causing her to leave stadiums at odd hours of the day.
“One of the Giants games I went to had 12 innings which ended around one in the morning,¨ she said.
Junior Taij Singh, one of Crandall’s students, finds Crandall’s dedication to stay until the end of games remarkable.
“It’s really impressive that she stays at each game which takes a long time,” said Singh. “If I were to try to stay at a baseball game I think I would fall asleep midway.”
For company at these games, Crandall said she usually attends with her husband, Jim Crandall, or people she knows from conferences or trainings.
Crandall’s students also have found her hobby to be very unique.
“It’s really interesting that Mrs. Crandall does visit stadiums,” junior Rohan Prabhu said. “It seems like a lot of work, but [it] also seems fun.
Junior Luis Daluyaya agrees.
“I thought teachers usually just always work or try to get rest because they’re tired from working,” Daluyaya said. “So when Mrs. Crandall told us about this hobby of hers I found it really cool.”
Other students, such as junior Karan Kulkarni, have developed a similar goal of visiting stadiums because they’re inspired by Crandall’s passion for baseball.
“I’m a big basketball fan, so I want to visit all my favorite teams or see them play,” Kulkarni said. “When Crandall told me she did this sort of thing, it kind of sparked the idea for me to visit all the NBA basketball stadiums.”
