My friend Yiming and I have shared a number of baseball field trips over the years - when I lived in Melbourne he came down for a week and we caught some games in Kissimmee and Vero Beach; and we vacationed together in Chicago for a week catching an O's game in old Komiskey, as well as a Dodgers' game in Wrigley. Not to mention my first visit to Nationals Stadium in DC last year, which I posted about.
So, I wasn't completely surprised when he texted me last week that he was on the way to LA via Scottsdale, where he was going to stop by the Dodgers, who've moved from Vero Beach this year and train in the Phoenix area. Here's a photo of Don Newcombe greeting fans.
Spring training and the minor leagues...that's really what baseball is all about. Although you get some wonderful pro games during the season, these games that are not "the show" are where the best entertainment can be found. I miss having that nearby, but hopefully can make up for it with a few Valley League games this year.
3 comments:
Jim:
My parents do the "snowbird" routine and Winter in Florida ~ Davenport, just outside Orlando and close to Kissimmee. Last week my brother and nephew were down there visiting and they all went to an Astros game (who have their Spring Training home field in Kissimmee).
Baseball ~ Spring Training, the Minors, or MLB ~ it's all good!
I love Base-ball!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M&feature=channel_page
Kissimmee is about 20 miles due west of Melbourne, so I used to go there for Astros games too. One of my co-workers at the time grew up in Baltimore, so we would go to Kissimmee for O's - Astros spring training games.
The bigger deal, in my opinion, was headed to Dodgertown in Vero Beach, which was about 30 miles south. During spring training, it was a blast...but watching the minor leaguers was even better. I watched Mike Piazza among others during one season.
I don't mind the pro game at all, but given the choice between having a minor league team accessibly nearby, I bet I would go to a game once a week during the summer...as opposed to once a month or less, as I do with the pros...
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