Doug Booth is at it again.

A year ago, the 32-year-old Peninsula native nearly set a world record by watching 30 Major League Baseball games in 29 days, after originally trying to do it in 27.

However, unbeknownst to him at the time, an American baseball fan was attempting a similar feat and ended up watching 30 games in 26 days, thus snagging the record for himself.

Ever since that day in September Booth found out the mark wasn’t his, it’s gnawed at him.

He wanted it back. Wanted it bad.

So, against the better wishes of his family and friends – who saw how drained he was after his whirlwind trek last year – Booth will leave mid-July for Pittsburgh, where he’ll begin his run for the record by watching 30 baseball games in just 23 days.

“When I realized what that other guy had done, it unnerved me quite a bit,” Booth said this week, as he prepared for another summer of ballpark franks and popcorn.

“I had the all-star break in the middle of my trip last year, so I lost some days there, and I just wanted to give myself a real shot at it this time.”

Booth, who works at Bertolucci Pizza in South Surrey, also lost a day last summer when – instead of driving five hours to Cleveland to catch an Indians game – he chose to spend an extra day in Toronto visiting his mother, who had travelled from her home in Montreal to see her son.

“I have no regrets about that. At the time, I hadn’t seen my mom in a year so I wanted to spend some time with her,” Booth said.

“But this year, there’s no family involved – it’s all baseball.”

Though myriad roadblocks are sure to pop up on his month-long journey – from delayed flights, rained-out ball games or contests that go extra innings – Booth is more well-prepared this time around. He knows the cities, the time zones, the airports, even the exact time it takes to get from Kansas City to Cleveland.

“I’ve got all kinds of contingency plans in place for every situation,” he said. The first three days of his journey may prove the most challenging, or at the very least, the most tiring. He begins with an afternoon tilt in Pittsburgh on July 22. That game should end by mid-afternoon, after which Booth will hop a plane for the short flight to Detroit, where he’ll take in a night game between the American League’s Tigers and Seattle Mariners.

The second and third days are equally taxing. Both feature day-night doubleheaders which will see him travel from Detroit to Toronto to New York over the next 48 hours.

In order to officially break the record, Booth must watch each game in its entirety, and his appearances must be verified in a log book by stadium staff. Also, he can’t visit any stadium twice.

Though the trip – which will be 33 days long this year as opposed to last year’s 42-day marathon – will be a challenging one, Booth said he’ll still take the time to enjoy each ballpark, each game.

Along the way, he’ll watch games in baseball’s two newest parks – New Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and the Mets’ new facility, Citi Field, across town – and also spend time at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Like last year, Booth will collect donations for, and spread the word about, the HeadNorth Foundation, which supports people with spinal cord injuries.

Last year’s trip ended up costing $17,000 but this year will be “much cheaper” because of its shorter duration, and all the frequent-flyer miles and discounts Booth accrued last summer.

Booth hopes this summer’s journey won’t be as emotionally exhaustive as last year’s.

“When I got back last year, my family said I almost went into withdrawals. It took so much out of me – I was basically running around the country on adrenaline for 40 days,” he said.

“I know I can’t keep doing this year after year, and it’s pretty ambitious, but I know I can break it.”

- by Nick Greenizan

sports@peacearchnews.com