Reese Kaplan -- Spring Training Will Soon Begin

One of our co-writers, Tom Brennan, put me onto a newsletter about minor league baseball which fills in a great many of the heretofore hidden details about visits to the pre-season camps in Florida and Arizona.  Despite me living now in El Paso, TX not far from Arizona, the fact is I’ve never made the journey there for the hot and sweaty practice leading up to the start of the regular season.  I have, however, made a journey to Port St. Lucie to see the Mets when my Dad was retired in South Florida.  Let’s just say it was not exactly what could be expected.

For the past few years when the Mets held a AAA club in Las Vegas, they regularly came here to play the El Paso Chihuahuas and it was a refresher about the whole experience.  Granted, this experience included the press box and locker room access whereas the Florida jaunt was simply as a fan. 

For one thing, the games in February and March are a huge draw.  Unlike many regular season games, there seemed to be intense competition to get the tickets.  I actually saw lines of folks waiting to see a great many players who would likely never see a major league game unless they paid to go through the turnstile.  However, during the winter it’s a popular family engagement to have cold weather relatives take the three-hour flight to enjoy palm trees, shedding the winter wardrobe and get a head start on enjoying the upcoming diamond season.

Being south Florida I didn’t anticipate the weather conditions.  It’s Florida and you think hot weather, suntans and air conditioning.  I was dressed as an older teen in shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers.  Imagine my surprise to feel the hurricane-force winds that had most people in down type parkas.  Even though I had no money, I went down to the gift shop to see what I could get to help me survive the chill.  For a young teen a $65 sweatshirt was a bit stiff, but I was willing to swallow hard to get the relief.  Of course, they didn’t have my size so I had a pretty awful night.

It turns out that the game itself became a somewhat secondary experience.  There were a great many wannabes and over-the-hill folks hoping to migrate north with the Mets.  I enjoyed the time with my father and brother very much in between the shivering and wind chill. 

In a weird way, Spring Training games are a bit tough for pure baseball fans.  The multiple innings are not as much about trying to win the game as they are about seeing prospects and hanger-onners in order to determine who should make the team better.  The experience is more about the interaction with family and friends, and the enthusiasm for the season about to start. 

One truly good news thing about this game was the openness of the players.  They were very forthcoming both pre-game and even during the game to interact with fans, providing autographs and smiling from ear to ear.  It let you know that they were just as happy being back to the game they loved as we were there to experience it.  If ever you can get the opportunity to enjoy a Spring Training game, just do it.