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Army Veteran Completes Dream of Visiting Every MLB Ballpark
A decades-long quest comes true with help from Wish of a Lifetime from AARP
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VIDEO: Veteran Completes Dream of Visiting Every MLB Ballpark
Wish of a Lifetime from AARP
Baseball has followed Ken Kroiss through nearly every chapter of his life, from childhood games with his father to his U.S. Army service along the Korean Demilitarized Zone to decades of ballpark trips with his wife and daughters.
That lifelong connection to the game turned into a personal mission more than 25 years ago when Kroiss, now 78, set out to visit every Major League Baseball stadium. He completed that journey on Aug. 7, when Wish of a Lifetime from AARP brought him to Nationals Park, the 30th and final ballpark on his list.
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The stop in Washington, D.C., capped a five-park trip that had once seemed impossible, after cancer treatment, mobility challenges and the cost of ongoing care put the required travel beyond his family’s reach.
Those five stops took him from Citi Field and Yankee Stadium in New York City to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and, finally, the Nationals’ home in Washington, where he met the players, watched batting practice and joined the umpires for the lineup-card exchange, before watching the Nats play the Cincinnati Reds.
Looking back on the moment, he says, “I couldn’t believe that it happened to me, but it did.”
A lifelong connection to baseball
Long before Kroiss began counting ballparks, baseball meant time with his father. They played catch outside their home in Harrison, Wisconsin, and his dad took him to his first game, to see the Milwaukee Braves, when Kroiss was 7 (the Braves would not move to Atlanta for another decade). From there, baseball became a lifelong passion.
Ken Kroiss waves to the crowd during his final baseball stadium visit, completing his Wish of a Lifetime to visit 30 U.S. baseball stadiums.
Courtesy Wish of a Lifetime from AARP
“I think of my dad every time I [go] to a ballpark. It’s not gonna change today and it’s not gonna change tomorrow,” he says. “It’s something that he got me involved in, and it’s something that I’ll never forget.”
Even as a boy, Kroiss found himself curious about the places where other teams played.
“As I seen the teams play, I thought, I wonder what their park is like and I wonder how it is there,” he says. “So I made it a quest that I was gonna visit all the parks.”
In 1969, Kroiss served along the Korean Demilitarized Zone as a dog handler. , helping to provide security and to support patrol operations. But in his off-hours, baseball offered a break from those demands. He and his fellow soldiers built a baseball field, organized teams and held small tournaments, connecting with soldiers outside his unit.
“Baseball was a big part of it because it brought us back to reality and calmed us down a little bit and [helped us] continue our duty,” Kroiss says. “It wasn’t just about the war. It was about communicating with other people and socializing.”
U.S. Army dog handler Ken Kroiss served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from 1967 to 1969.
Courtesy Ken Kroiss/Wish of a Lifetime from AARP
After leaving the Army, Kroiss continued bringing people together through baseball. He helped build a community baseball field in Harrison, raising money for the project through local tournaments. More than 50 years later, the field has grown into a larger complex still used by families.
A family quest interrupted
Baseball also became a family tradition. Kroiss and his wife, Vicki, spent more than 25 years visiting Major League ballparks with their daughters, placing a pin on a map in their home for each park they visited.
Along the way, Kroiss shared with his family the game his father had introduced to him decades earlier. Together they discovered the distinctive character of each park.
“Every stadium is different, but the people are the same,” Kroiss says. “They love their game.”
That momentum held until Kroiss had visited 25 ballparks; then his health intervened. In 2017 he was diagnosed with cancer linked to Agent Orange exposure during his military service. Treatment demands, diminished mobility and medical expenses made fulfilling his ballpark dreams seem increasingly unlikely.
“It come down to a point that I really love the game, but I love my health more, and I had to take care of myself,” he says.
Although the larger journey stalled, baseball remained part of Kroiss’ life. When possible, he and Vicki used his treament trips to Milwaukee to also take in Brewers games. But completing the map appeared beyond reach until Wish of a Lifetime from AARP stepped in to help Kroiss and his family visit the final five ballparks.
“When I first heard about it, I thought, Oh, my Lord. Really?” Kroiss says. “I can’t believe that there’s some people out there that are really willing to help.”
Five parks, one completed dream
The eight-day journey through five ballparks in four cities brought a series of firsts and long-awaited experiences. Kroiss flew in to New York, visited the Yankees Museum and held Babe Ruth’s baseball bat. He traveled by Amtrak for the first time, went onto the field for batting practice in Philadelphia and received a fist bump from the Phillie Phanatic before reaching Camden Yards, a park he had long wanted to experience.
But Nationals Park carried a distinction none of the other stadiums could top: It was number 30.
To mark the milestone, Kroiss met Nationals players and club leaders, watched batting practice and stood at home plate with the umpires as the managers exchanged lineup cards. The team also presented him with a personalized Nationals jersey bearing the number 30, in recognition of Kroiss completing his quest.
Ken Kroiss salutes during the National Anthem at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on August 7, 2026, during his Wish of a Lifetime to visit 30 U.S. baseball stadiums.
Courtesy Wish of a Lifetime from AARP
“It was really fulfilling, and I really, really appreciated it,” he says. “I wouldn’t want it any other way than what it was, and it was absolutely perfect.”
Having Vicki and his family alongside him made the experience more meaningful. Kroiss says he often gauged how much fun they were having by watching their reactions to his own excitement.
“If I was having fun, I took a look at them and they looked at me like, ‘If you’re having fun, we’re having fun,’ ” he says.
“It wasn’t just a visit to a ballpark,” Vicki adds. “It was a visit to a dream.”
Back in Wisconsin, the photographs and souvenirs from the trip now have a place among Kroiss’ baseball memorabilia. The final stadiums also complete the family map that has documented more than 25 years of travel.
Kroiss says visiting every stadium has left him satisfied, but he’s not finished with baseball. He plans to keep attending games — and if a new ballpark opens up, he intends to see it for himself.
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