Reflections on Spring Training

I have been to the Super Bowl. I have been to the NLCS.  I have been to major college football and college basketball games. For my money, none of those events compare to Spring Training.  If a regular season game at Great American Ballpark is like seeing a Broadway production in New York City, then Spring Training is like seeing the same production (with the same talent) at your local 150 seat theatre. Regular season baseball is a seven dollar beer and Spring Training baseball is a three and a half dollar beer. Regular season baseball is seeing Joey Votto from a distance. Spring Training baseball is seeing him from ten yards or closer.

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball,” said Rogers Hornsby.  “I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”  Spring has not yet arrived in Cincinnati.  In Goodyear, Arizona, however, Spring is in full bloom.  The memories of my visits to Spring Training games are fresh in my mind. I snared autographs from Tom Browning, Eric Davis, Roger Clemens, and Paul Molitor. I once sat next to an Orioles scout and watched Armando Benitez light up the radar gun. I met Johnny Pesky, Jack Buck, Joe Nuxhall, Jim Bowden, and legendary Reds scout Gene Bennett. I sat behind Jim Bowden and his wife in Port Charlotte, FL one afternoon in the Spring of 1997. That day, the Reds put Stephen Larkin, David Concepcion, Jr., Pete Rose Jr., and Eduardo Perez on the field together for a few innings against the Texas Rangers.  During the game, I struck up a conversation with Bowden.  Bowden mentioned his fascination with a  young Ranger outfield prospect named Ruben Mateo.  Bowden never could resist “toolsy” players.  Five years later, Mateo was a Cincinnati Red. I saw a young David Ortiz play 1B for the Minnesota Twins and a young Pudge Rodriguez throw from his knees. I watched Ozzie Guillen dance in between relay throws during pre-game warm-ups.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to go to Great American Ballpark, Wrigley Field, or Busch Stadium. The games count and the intensity level is high. Spring Training, on the other hand, is intimate. The facilities are small. The players are more relaxed. It is a new season and fans get to see young players, veterans, and new faces get a crack at impressing management or making the club.

Bob Uecker once joked, “The highlight of my career?  In ’67 with St. Louis, I walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in an inter-squad game in Spring Training.” By the same token, Dave Sappelt hit .564 with three homeruns in 20 spring training games for the Reds in 2011.

Typically, you can find players working out on one of the many practice fields in spring training. If you are more than a casual baseball fan, it is a unique experience. I love to watch players run through infield drills or hit from a tee in the morning hours before most fans arrive.  It gives fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse of professional baseball.  Nearly everyone who goes to Spring Training is fighting for a job.  They are fighting for an opportunity to realize their dreams.  As a result, they work their tails off every day on those far-off fields to no fanfare.

Reds fans who visit Goodyear this Spring will get a sneak preview of Reds prospects Billy Hamilton, Daniel Corcino, and Didi Gregorius a year or two before they are ready for big league duty. I will be making the trip, this year, to the Fort Myers region with friends and family. The Red Sox and Twins both train there. If you are planning a trip this Spring to Arizona or Florida for Spring Training, be sure to get there early. Take the whole family. Take your camera and/or binoculars. Take your Baseball America Prospect Handbook.  Take photos of your favorite players or baseballs for autographs. Take your sunglasses, suntan lotion, a ball point pen, and a sharpie marker. If you are going to Goodyear to see the Reds, click here for information.

What are your favorite Spring Training memories? Please share by commenting below.

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