Elk River man nearing goal of visiting every MLB stadium, one baseball cap at a time

ELK RIVER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Some people collect baseball cards as a hobby. But Brad Bjorkman collects baseball caps in his spare time, and he's about to reach a major milestone.

"It's been fun seeing lots of different baseball in lots of different parks and what you like and what you don't like. It's been a fun trip," said Bjorkman.

The 70-year-old started buying a baseball cap at every Major League Baseball stadium he visited while traveling for his job in medical marketing more than 30 years ago.

He eventually realized he only had a few more ballparks to go to hit all 30, so he decided to fulfill his decades-long goal of visiting them all.

"I didn't set out to do this, but when I got close, I said, ‘Well, why not?’ So when I had maybe a half dozen or so left, I said ‘I think I could do this,’" said Bjorkman.  

Last month, Bjorkman and his oldest daughter flew to the nation's capitol to watch the Washington Nationals and cross his second-to-last baseball stadium, Nationals Park, off his list.

Next month, they'll head to Florida to see the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field and buy the last baseball cap to complete his collection.

"I will put it up. It's the last peg to fill, and then I'll just be able to tell people I got them all," said Bjorkman.

Bjorkman says finishing his quest won't be his life's crowning achievement, but the memories those hats represent will be a nice feather in his cap.

"It shows how blessed I am. It's been a fun way to do things kind of outside of work and collect the hats and just have fun with it," said Bjorkman.