San Diego Padres: Never too early to plan Spring Training trip

For baseball fans in general, and fans of the San Diego Padres in particular, the magic words “pitchers and catchers report” signals the end of the long, dark months without the sport.

As former MLB commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti famously wrote in Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games: “The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again.” San Diego Padres fans, what better way to greet the return of baseball than to plan a trip to Arizona?

Thanks to the popularity of spring training in Phoenix though, booking rooms earlier rather than later is imperative. In my experience, hotels used to sell out in January, but these days many fill up in December.

Of the top hotels (according to Hotels.com) near Peoria Stadium, the complex shared by the Padres and Seattle Mariners, the Residence Inn Phoenix Glendale/Peoria has already been sold out for certain dates. However several other hotels, which have sprung up within a walking distance of the sports complex, have rooms available.

Phoenix has plenty of other hotels spread out through the area. However, getting to and from those hotels means driving some distance since the city is a poster child for suburban sprawl. Scottsdale offers a number of higher-end hotels including the Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain and the Canyon Suites at the Phoenician.

Most of the hotels tend to jack up their rates during spring training to take advantage of the onslaught of visitors. A hotel, which might charge around $100-150 in December, can double in price once the games begin.

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The Padres have announced that pitchers and catchers will arrive February 14 with the first full-squad workout taking place on the 17^th. Competition will begin February 23 at home against the Seattle Mariners, the team that shares the facility with the Padres in Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix. The stadium holds approximately 12,000 fans and averages over 200,000 visitors each year.

Built in 1994, the Peoria Sports Complex covers 145 acres and includes a large grassy area with a low price tag and lots of space for kids to run around and families to picnic.

Even in March, day game temperatures can rise to the 80s, but a trellised roof provides shade for some sections.

According to the Padres, special dates next year will include Kids Days, PawParty Days (when dogs can attend games) and FamilyFun Days.

This year aside from the Mariners, the Padres will face off at home against every team in the division except the Rockies, as well as the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Games against the Cubs sell out quickly thanks to their fan’s penchant for following their team (literally as well as figuratively).

Practices are open to the public, and fans can wander from practice field to practice field checking out the minor leaguers, major leaguers and players vying for space on the big league roster. The roster for spring training has not been announced yet, but camp should be full of potential pitchers especially. After practice, the players walk from the fields to the clubhouse and readily sign autographs and visit with fans.

Next: Padres' latest prospect rankings

Best of all, spring training signals the beginning of another season, always a time of hope and new beginnings.

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