Spring Training Trip Recap

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Spring Training Trip 2016

Being that I now live in the Pacific Northwest after over a decade living in San Diego – there are a few things that have a deeper meaning (during the winter months especially) than they used to: Heat from sunshine, fresh cut grass, and In’N’Out. Luckily in Arizona, you get all that and more. I recently had the chance to spend 3 days in the desert and get 4 games in with some friends from college. We were able to take in 4 stadiums, some quality Mexican food, and two trips to In’N’Out for good measure.

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After arriving late Thursday and catching In’N’Out before it closed at 1AM which included one member of our group demolishing a 5×5, we were ready for a day of baseball on Friday.

Friday morning we knew had a fun day ahead of two games of baseball. The temperature was in the 90’s so we had to get prepared early, going to the store with a borrowed cooler for ice, beer, water, and sunscreen. You can bring water in as long as the bottles aren’t opened, though it was quickly revealed my idea of putting ice in our plastic bag with the waters was a failure as water seeped all under our seats at Talking Stick Ballpark.

The first game was the nearly hometown Arizona Diamondbacks taking on the split squad Oakland Athletics. Starting for the D’backs was their new free agent prize Zack Greinke, who allowed one hit in two scoreless innings to start the game. Another D’backs newcomer Jean Segura led off Arizona’s offense with a home run to get them on the board first, and they would never really look back en route to a 6-3 victory though Oakland tied it in the 3rd costing Greinke a meaningless Spring Training victory.

Cuban import Yasmany Tomas still looked out of shape in the field for Arizona, once bobbling an easy grounder to the outfield from Yonder Alonso before throwing Alonso out at second base after an ill-advised attempt on his part to turn his single into a double. That play seemed to epitomize both players: enough talent to be here but mental/physical inadequacies to keep them from making the next jump.

An impressive player was Gabriel Guerrero, nephew of Vladimir Guerrero, who seems to have the same body and swing. He launched a home run to left field that had distance and power behind it. So far through 10 spring games, he is hitting .278 with the one home run and predictably no walks.

Salt Water Fields at Talking Stick Park is a very nice ballpark, with a great concourse to walk around, good food options and beer choices as well. Our seats were in the shade, but we also took in an inning from the outfield grass and happened to meet the girlfriend of backup AZ first baseman Kyle Jensen.

With Game 1 in the books, it was time to head over to Peoria for the nightcap: The World Champion Kansas City Royals playing against the San Diego Padres. It took about an hour with traffic to get to Peoria from Scottsdale but with the drive the city cooled down to a perfect temperature with a great sunset beginning to take shape in the summer sky.

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Sep 1, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges (18) hits an RBI sacrifice fly in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Royals v Padres 3/4/16

I was excited to see the Padres play as according to our game plan this would actually be the only Padres action we would be able to catch this weekend. My main goals were to see their top three prospects of Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe, and Carlos Asuaje and catch a foul ball. I didn’t catch a foul ball but was able to follow through on the rest of my goals. After milling with some of the players near the fence before the game, I took my seat which was just a few rows behind the Padres dugout. Peoria has also been renovated over the last couple of seasons and is a very nice ballpark, with again a good selection of food and craft beer options.

Padres starter Colin Rea went two innings allowing no runs, 2 hits, 2K’s and a walk. He was matched by Royals starter Yordani Ventura, who struck out 1 in 2 innings and only allowed 1 hit. The Royals scored first in the third on a Kendrys Morales double off of Carlos Villanueva for the Padres, and the 1-0 score held until the 7th when Austin Hedges doubled in a run to tie things up.

In the bottom half of the 8th, Adam Rosales doubled off of Peter Moylan to bring in a second run and later would score from third on a wild pitch to give the Padres the 3-1 lead. Jose Dominguez would strike out 2 in the 9th to pick up his first save and secure the Padres victory.

The Padres have a few players they are absolutely relying on this year- but perhaps their strength might be their bench. Seeing guys like Austin Hedges and Rosales provide the Padres with key depth could be the difference between a .500 and last place finish. The bullpen also pitched admirably against the majority of the Royals regulars.

My only complaint of the experience is that when I ordered a baked potato loaded hot dog they were out of fries and even after waiting for five minutes did they just end up giving me the hot dog without french fries on it. I did not get a discount and missed the go-ahead double from Rosales. All in all though a great night at the ballpark as this picture below shows.

Next: Cubs - Reds 3/5/16

Cubs v Reds 3/5/16

Not it should come as any surprise, but the Cubs have a massive Spring Training following. We only had GA lawn seats, so we knew that we had to get there early to get seats on the grass that wouldn’t be near the back sidewalk. Sloan Park is a relatively new park after the Cubs outgrew HoHoKam Park and that was before they made it within one round of the World Series last season and are popular picks to win it all in 2016.

We arrived around 11:00 with the gates opening at 11:30 so we rushed and got good seats in left field in essentially the second row. The Cubs would end up losing the game 4-2 but 2012 1st Round Pick Albert Almora made a terrific catch in center field to keep the game closer. Catcher Miguel Montero went 3-3 for the Cubs, while Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler went a combined 0-8 at the top of the order.

The Cubs seemed to spoil scoring chances all game, getting only the 2 runs on just 5 hits and 1 walk. They also made two errors. Neither Jason Heyward or Dexter Fowler made appearances for the Cubs in Saturday’s game.

The Cubs had set a Cactus League Spring Training attendance record the previous day at 15,446 and there were just three less on Saturday. The teams fans travel well and the team has high hopes for 2016.

That night we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Phoenix called Otro Cafe after hanging out with another college friend who lives nearby before hanging out at The Lot where you can play ping pong, foosball, cornhole, and other games in a fun atmostphere. We left around midnight and called it a night after one more stop to In’N’Out.

Next: Rangers v Mariners

Mariners v Rangers, 3/6/16

Finally Sunday came and we knew we were down to our last day of baseball. The weather on Sunday was probably the best of the weekend as far as providing some relief from the sun. We had some wind and a nice cloud covering to keep the temperature in the 70’s for the afternoon game between the Mariners and Rangers in Surprise, AZ. The Rangers share the stadium with the Royals so the stadium was well adorned with Royals Championship recognition.

Former Padre Seth Smith got the scoring started for Seattle in the first with a double, and by the end of 2 the Mariners were up 3-0. Roughned Odor finally got the Rangers on the board in the 5th with a fielders choice to first base, but they were only able to mount one more scoring drive the following inning and they fell 7-3. From a scoring perspective it was probably the most exciting game we saw all weekend, with 21 hits between the two teams.

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All in all Spring Training is a great way to take in some early baseball, get some sun, and have a great time in Arizona. If you haven’t gone before, I recommend it. Ticket prices for most games averaged around $20, with the difference between $25 gets you 4 rows behind the dugout in Peoria and a lawn seat at the Cubs park in Sloan.

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