Liza Subik: An amazing journey, one ballpark at a time
- wwsmith6410
- May 17
- 6 min read
(First appeared in The Baldwin Times for Gulf Coast Media, May 15, 2026)
By Wayne Smith
Gulf Coast Media Contributor
You may never get the opportunity to meet Liza Subik. But her story is one worth discovering, one where she is circling as many bases in her life as possible.
Her goal is simple in concept, difficult in execution: visit all 30 Major League Baseball ballparks.
There’s urgency behind the journey. She was first diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2023 at the age of 34. Then in January, she was told she had an estimated six months to live.
But thanks to her best friend since fifth grade, Kerri Domingo — who has joined her on the trip — she is well on her way to completing it.
Seven ballparks remain.
Baseball fan or not, her story will inspire you.
“Take the trip while you can, while you’re able,” she told me. “Don’t put those things you’re looking forward to on the backburner. Because life is undetermined, whether it’s 70 years or five years. Enjoy what you can while you can.”
I first learned of Liza’s journey May 4 while attending a Seattle Mariners game at T-Mobile Park. That night, she threw out the honorary first pitch as part of her quest.
A few days later, just ahead of Mother’s Day weekend, Liza and Kerri graciously spent time with me on the phone, talking about friendship, baseball, hope and the importance of continuing to live life fully even in the face of devastating news.
Now, for Liza and Kerri, their baseball roots go way back, as does their friendship.
“I come from an athletic family, of coaches, athletes and loving to go to games,” Liza said. “I was keeping score at the age of 5.”
The friendship dates back to them meeting in fifth grade in San Diego. The baseball roots come from going to Padres games while growing up with their families. Kerri remains a diehard Padres fan. Liza?
“I’m a Dodgers fan,” she said. “That’s my one streak of rebellion.”
But on the night of May 4, they were both Mariners fans.
“My husband works for Costco and travels quite a bit to Seattle for business, so we’ve gone to a lot of Mariners games,” Liza said.
Throwing out the first pitch ahead of the Mariners game against the Braves, her catcher was Kerri, with the public address announcer telling Liza’s story.
I connected with it immediately.
I watched Dorinda battle cancer for 14 months, always remaining positive and upbeat, at least outwardly. Through chemo, through 40 radiation treatments. I lost her in 2025. This December we would have celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.
But amid chemotherapy, Dorinda wanted us to keep our plans to go to New York for a Yankees game and a concert in the summer of 2024.
“We may not be able to go next year,” she told me.
We went even though she had to rest a lot during the day. She wanted to keep living, not letting cancer get in the way of our plans together.
So here’s Liza, now 37, who is refusing to quit living, not letting cancer get in the way of completing the cycle of visiting each Major League ballpark. And home plate — the end of the baseball journey — is within sight: June 28 in Minnesota.
A stop in San Francisco followed Seattle. Next up is a trip to Dodger Stadium on May 30.
And while many Major League pitchers have their own personal catcher, Kerri is more than a catcher for Liza.
She made the journey possible.
When Liza used funds from her 401(k) to make way for her son to travel to Japan, Kerri stepped up to the plate and funded the trip, driving her RV to ballparks across the country. Their journey began with a trip along the East Coast last year.
“We had always talked about doing it together, but life gets in the way,” Kerri said. “We thought maybe we’d do it when we retired, travel like our grandparents did. But when she was diagnosed, I knew we had to do it now. I’m not married, don’t have any children, and inherited my house, so I was in the position to plan the trip for Liza.”
There’s more. Kerri is a chiropractor. When Liza is in pain, Kerri is able to treat her friend and help her manage it.
“She told me, ‘I will take you,’” Liza said. “She figures everything out on the trip. We chose each other as friends a long time ago. She’s always been there for me.”
Their next tour destinations include a Southern swing that will bring them to Atlanta for a Braves game on June 3. Note that one.
Along the way, supporters have learned of Liza’s journey and contributed — whether it’s sending money through Venmo for snacks or helping with tickets.
“A random woman sent us tickets for Section 112 in Atlanta,” Liza said.
They always dress in the colors and swag of the hometown team they are visiting. There’s another twist, too.
“We like to sit where the rowdiest fans are,” Liza said. “At Yankee Stadium, we sat with the Bleacher Creatures. Fenway Park (in Boston) was so welcoming to us. We had club seats, a welcome message on the scoreboard and a tour of the Green Monster during batting practice.”
Their journey has taken them to Philadelphia, Baltimore, from Cincinnati to Detroit. Toronto. San Francisco. And beyond. There was a swing up the East Coast in 2024 – 11 parks in 11 days, as well as visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
By the time their journey ends, Liza and Kerri will likely have traveled more than 20,000 miles – enough to circle the bases nearly 300,000 times.
The support she has received caused her to pause for a moment when I asked about it during our conversation.
“It has kept me going,” Liza said. “Whenever I’m down, I’ll read all the comments people have left on stories that have been written about our journey. It lets me know that I still matter and am important, that people still care. That I can still be an inspiration and that I haven’t been forgotten.”
And her friend never forgot. Kerri said Liza has approached her journey this way: Focusing on what she can do, not what she can’t do.
Liza looks for the light in her journey, not the darkness.
“She’s such an inspiration,” Kerri said. “I hope people take away from this to live in the moment, to have face-to-face time with friends outside your immediate family, not just texting and asking how they are doing. Treasure each moment with people who are important to you.”
Indeed.
And what better way to do that than through the timeless sport of baseball.
Now, they’re in what could be called the Seventh Inning Stretch of their run. By the All-Star break, they expect to be done, barring complications with Liza’s health.
And right now, Liza is still strong enough to continue her chemotherapy treatments. Kerri schedules their trips around those treatments.
“We’re going to get it done,” Liza said.
I talked with Liza on my last full day in Seattle, thanking her for taking the time to talk with me. She sent me pictures from most of their ballpark stops and thanked me for letting others know about their journey. For me, I wrote this column completing my journey home from Seattle. I was in Seattle for part of my research on my book I’m working on about my dad’s life during World War II, tracing his footsteps as a young sailor when he went through the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and spent time at the Naval hospital in Bremerton.
And I came away with the best baseball story I’ve ever written, a story about never giving up.
Oh, back to that June 3 game in Atlanta. I told Liza I might drive up from Gulf Shores, that it would be wonderful meeting her and Kerri, to appreciate their drive to keep going, to reach home plate.
Walking issues put me on the bench more often than I would like these days. But if Liza can continue chasing her dream of visiting all 30 Major League ballparks while facing a terminal illness, I want to meet her. I want to thank her for the inspiration. I want to be one of those cheering her on toward home plate.
You can follow their journey on Instagram at ballinonabudgettour.
Liza, I will see you in Atlanta.
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