Tag / Rate Field

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Fitbit XI – Week 35

A nice week, courtesy of the final home games of the 2025 White Sox season, which extended my 30,000-step week streak to 19 weeks.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, needing 14 additional steps to reach 4300.  Monday was in the same ballpark, finishing with 4200 steps.  A small increase on Tuesday put me at 4400 steps.  An afternoon off work to take in some baseball on Wednesday left me a single step shy of 5800.  Thursday was the low point of the week, needing 21 steps just to reach 3500.  A trip back to Rate Field and parking in an unfavorable lot pushed me up over 7000 steps on Friday.  Another trip to that same lot on Saturday, my final White Sox game of the year, ended the week with 6800 steps.

Total steps: 36,025

Daily average: 5146.4

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Fitbit XI – Week 33

A strong week of vacation helped extend my 30,000-step week streak to 17 weeks.  Things got off to a strong start on Sunday as I gathered 5600 steps thanks to a visit to Rate Field to see the White Sox battle the Yankees.  Labor Day saw me come within 23 steps of 4600 on Monday.  A small increase on Tuesday again left me 40 steps away from 4900.  A Cubs game Wednesday night left me just 27 steps shy of 7300.  Thursday saw a big drop-off, needing 13 more steps just to reach 4400.  A doctor’s appointment on Friday put me 27 steps short of 5700.  The week’s low point came on Saturday, ending the week just 24 steps shy of 3500.

Total steps: 35,857

Daily average: 5122.4

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Looking Ahead To 2026

Eschewing their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2026 schedule on a random Tuesday at the end of August.  For the fourth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With a young and improving White Sox team already looking ahead to next year and the Cubs trying to lock down a Wild Card spot, the 2026 season looks like it could be an interesting one for the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 26, the earliest North American start in league history, under the dome in Milwaukee against the Brewers, followed by a trip to South Beach to face the Marlins.  They open up their home schedule against the Blue Jays on April 2.

Aside from the Brewers and Marlins, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox going on the road to face the Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals make their way to Rate Field.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at home Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by a weekday series at Wrigley Field in mid-August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2026 season in September with series against the Twins, Guardians, and Tigers, should it matter.  The season ends at home with a three-game series against the Rockies.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Nationals and the Angels before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Angels, the Cubs will host the Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while travelling to visit the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals.

Twelve of their 24 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, with six coming against the Brewers, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention once again.  They end the year with a three-game road trip to Boston to face the Red Sox.

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Fitbit XI – Week 31

My 30,000-step week streak reaches fifteen weeks, the longest I’ve seen since before the COVID lockdowns of 2020.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, coming just 14 steps shy of 4200.  A walk around the block on Monday pushed me up to 5400 steps.  A small decrease on Tuesday left me with 4700 steps as we said goodbye to Michael before he left for school.  Another strong day on Wednesday was 22 steps away from 4600.  A big drop-off on Thursday left me an even 30 steps short of 4000.  Friday turned out to be my low point of the week, finishing with 3700 steps.  A return to Rate Field on Saturday finished up the week strong, coming just 6 steps shy of 5800.

Total steps: 32,424

Daily average: 4632

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Fitbit XI – Week 30

My 30,000-step week streak reaches fourteen weeks, despite looking a little sketchy around mid-week.  Things got off to a nice start on Sunday, scoring 5100 steps as I traveled to Rate Field for an Ozzie Guillen bobblehead.  Things came down on Monday, finishing with 4100 steps.  Another small decrease on Tuesday left me 31 steps shy of 3900.  Wednesday saw a healthy increase, jumping up to 4600 steps.  A big drop-off on Thursday left me with 3000 steps.  A last-minute invite to the Savannah Bananas “baseball game” on Friday pushed me well over my daily goal, ending with 8700 steps.  A quiet Saturday finished up the week with 3400 steps.

Total steps: 32,921

Daily average: 4703

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Reunited And It Feels So Good

The Savannah Bananas came to Rate Field last night for their first ever Chicago appearance.  The barnstorming team, playing a “game” called Banana Ball, sang and danced their way through nine innings of mostly uninspired ball while defeating their foes, the Firefighters.  Overall, it was two hours of continuous music and tomfoolery that works better as short Tik Tok clips than as a longer presentation.  That said, they did bring some excitement for the baseball fans in the house.

Former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski entered the game as a pinch hitter to lead off a mid-game inning.  He then came out to catch the following half inning and, after handling the Bananas pitcher, who managed to hit and hurt a batter in what appeared to be a real incident, he was joined in the game by former teammate and fellow 2005 World Series champion Mark Buehrle.  Buehrle faced two hitters, giving up a soft single to right before inducing a groundout to end the frame.

Seeing these two take the field together on the south side for the first time since 2011 and, one can only assume, for the final time made the whole night and covered over a lot of the warts inherent in the concept.  I can’t see myself attending another one of their shows (they never actually call it a game), but this one left me with warm and fuzzy feelings.

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Fitbit XI – Week 27

My 30,000-step week streak hits eleven, the longest such streak in over four years.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, scoring 4200 steps.  Monday saw a nice improvement, rising to 5000 steps thanks to a midday trip to Wrigley Field to get my picture taken with Carson Kelly.  The worst day of the week came on Tuesday as I needed 26 additional steps to reach 3500.  Things improved on Wednesday, going up to 4400 steps.  A small decrease on Thursday dropped me to 4100 steps.  The beginning of crosstown baseball on Friday pushed me over my daily goal, falling a single step shy of 7600.  Another trip to Rate Field to see the Cubs battle the White Sox on Saturday ended the week with 4800 steps.

Total steps: 33,768

Daily average: 4824

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Fitbit XI – Week 25

A great week which extended my 30,000-step week streak to nine while scoring my highest total in nearly a year.  The week got off to a strong start on Sunday, scoring 4500 steps.  A day off of work with a nighttime trip to Rate Field on Monday saw a nice increase, crossing my daily step goal with 8600 steps.  Another vacation day and another tilt between the Blue Jays and the White Sox on Tuesday left me just shy of my daily step goal with 7200 steps.  The end of my time off saw a big drop on Wednesday but still left me with 5300 steps.  Thursday saw me going back to work, leading to just 4300 steps.  The unveiling of Mark Buehrle’s statue on Friday put me back up to 6900 steps.  Another game, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 2005 World Series champions, got me to 5300 steps on Saturday to wrap up the week.

Total steps: 42,281

Daily average: 6040.1

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Fitbit XI – Week 22

Another good week, as I extended my 30,000-step weeks streak to six and surpassed my daily step goal for the third time over that period.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, garnering 5100 steps.  Monday saw a slight decrease, needing just 3 additional steps to reach 4700.  Another 28 steps on Tuesday would have gotten me to 4400.  My work week ended on Wednesday with 4200 steps.  Off for the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, I took in a double header at Rate Field, leading to 7700 steps.  A big fall on Friday dropped me to 4100 steps.  A lazy Saturday wrapped up the week with 2700 steps.

Total steps: 32,971

Daily average: 4710.1

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Fitbit XI – Week 20

Another good week, as I managed to extend my streak of 30,000-step weeks to four.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, garnering 5300 steps while cleaning up from the previous week’s garage sale.  Still more cleanup on Monday left me 35 steps shy of 5500.  Tuesday saw a small drop-off, finishing with 4500 steps.  Another big drop on Wednesday left me with just 3200 steps.  A trip to Naperville for a work lunch on Thursday propelled me back up to just 5 steps short of 4300.  A post-work trip to Rate Field led to my best day of the week, with 6700 steps.  A lazy Saturday wrapped up the week on a low note, falling a single step shy of 2900.

Total steps: 32,496

Daily average: 4642.3