Spring training is a must for any true baseball fan. Therefore, we knew we had to go, and we knew we had to drive. Arizona’s Cactus League features 15 teams closely bunched together within Phoenix’s suburbs, meaning it’s easy to drive to multiple stadiums in one day. When school got our for spring break, Alan, my mom and I took off for Arizona.
Our first game found us at Tempe Diablo stadium to watch the Angels take on their crosstown rival Dodgers. We arrived a little late coming in from El Paso, but we made it. I couldn’t believe how jam-packed the stadium was for a practice game. We sat under the bright, blistering sun enjoying Mike Trout and several other star players in the game. Later, we walked around the concourse, I bought a Cactus League t-shirt, and we discovered a spring training ballpark passport that we bought as soon as we saw. Our first game drew to a close, and after a long drive and early morning from El Paso, you might think we could take a break. However, a 6:05 pm game awaited us in Surprise.
A 45 mile drive from Tempe to Surprise is about the farthest you’ll get in the Cactus League, but the sun shining in our faces and bumper to bumper traffic made for a truly miserable drive. We arrived in Surprise pretty frustrated and worried, but we managed to get in the stadium with three lawn seats. Sitting on the grass sounded horrible at first, and during the day it probably is awful, but as the sun went down and a cool Arizona night came in, sitting on a blanket with our shoes off watching baseball is as good as it gets. The stadium was filled to capacity with more than 15,000 fans watching the Rangers play the Giants, and the modern stadium provided a very enjoyable experience. We bought a Cactus League cactus as a souvenir, got my stamp, and after a lot of indecision finally booked a hotel in Scottsdale, where we went to after the game.
Staying in Scottsdale proved to be a great decision. Breakfast at Butter’s was amazing, we drove by two more spring training stadiums, Salt River Fields of the Rockies and Diamondbacks and Scottsdale Stadium of the Giants, which are right near each other, and downtown”Old Town” Scottsdale was popping with excitement and lots of movement. After some walking around in Old Town. we picked up and headed to Hohokam Stadium, spring home of the Oakland Athletics. Again, near record heat hit Phoenix, but thankfully we found a way to sit in the shade. The Rockies scored four runs in the 9th inning to win 4-3, and the stadium surprisingly got really into the game even though it didn’t count. That’s the beauty of baseball. In no other sport do people travel to and care so much about the preseason, but baseball’s spring training is one-of-a-kind. It’s so popular that we tried to go to a Cubs game, but ticket prices averaged $100, which is insane. We drove by their stadium, but went to the A’s game instead of their game.
At the A’s game, we nervously booked a hotel for San Diego. Why? Because we decided to make the six hour drive to see the World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. When we finally got out of the Phoenix traffic, we expected a nice sun-lit drive to San Diego. Unfortunately, the sun went down at 6:30 pm, and as we approached the Southern California mountains, it got pitch dark. There were no lights, very few cars, and two very nervous people in my mom and myself. As I write this, I’m still not sure how we made it through that drive. We went up and down, left and right, and every possible combination of those at a time, all the while we could barely see the road in front of us with mountains on both sides of. Plus, we were right on the border of Mexico. Somehow, we made it to San Diego and checked into our Priceline hotel.
The following day, after some time near Pacific Beach, we headed downtown to take in the ambiance of the World Baseball Classic, and boy was there ambiance. The World Baseball Classic is a tournament played every four years and is baseball’s version of the World Cup. The tournament began with four pools played in Korea, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. San Diego hosted the two winners of the Mexico and U.S. pools for the second round, while another second round took place in Tokyo. I’ve been to a lot of baseball games in my life, but I’ve never been to a more fun environment than this United States vs. Venezuela game. The attendance was a modest 16,000, but the fans were incredibly loud, chants of “USA” roared throughout the stadium, and homers by Adam Jones and Eric Hosmer to tie and then win the game sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget, and that crazy drive to get here was worth every scare. The U.S. has now advanced to the semifinals in Los Angeles where they will face Japan.
On the way back to San Antonio, we drove by two more spring training stadiums in Goodyear, where the Indians and Reds share a sparkling facility, and then in Maryvale, where the Brewers play. On our road trip, we saw eight total spring training stadiums, three spring training games, and then one amazing United States victory in the World Baseball Classic. Once we got back home, we still couldn’t stop watching baseball because I got to cover Big League Weekend at the Alamodome for Sports With Brian. I can’t think of a better way to spend spring break than by watching endless baseball.