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Florida Spring Training: Your Guide To Touring The Grapefruit League |
The competition for teams has brought about another unfortunate development for fans like you and me: a vastly different experience of Spring Training in many places. Nowadays, you have to search to find stadiums that let you enjoy the relaxed intimacy that was once a staple of the Spring Training experience. For one thing, it is extremely difficult to get close to the players in a number of the newer parks. As more and more people travel to see Spring Training, bigger and bigger parks are being built. Fans who buy the cheaper seats in these parks will find themselves a lot farther away from the players than they used to be, while fans who like the prime seats — the kind they can’t get or can’t afford in their Major League park back home — will find them harder to come by. The reason: the bigger stadiums tend to push corporate season ticket purchases, leaving fewer prime seats for the average fan. As a result, you can find yourself looking at a “sold out” section and see plenty of empty box seats.
Another reason for the lack of intimacy at many of the newer stadiums is that it is hard to come into contact with players. While you will be able to see the players joke with one another, you won’t be able to get close enough to hear the punch line. The architects apparently think that it is good to keep the fans away from the players. For instance, in most of the newer stadiums, players enter and exit the field through the dugout, just as they do in the Major League Baseball stadiums. Traditionally, players have entered and left Spring Training fields through a door in the outfield wall, putting them in close contact with fans. That’s not to say that all the new stadiums are bad or give a horrible Spring Training experience. Quite the opposite is true. All of the stadiums, new and old, have something good and something bad about them. The question is, do you want to have an experience similar to “traditional” Spring Training or a Spring Training experience that is similar to the one you will find in any Major League Baseball park? In a traditional ballpark, you are usually going to find older chairs and facilities. You’ll also be closer to the players and have more opportunities for autographs. You’ll sacrifice on food options, but you’ll make up for it when the catcher tosses your son a baseball. In the newer parks, you’re going to have plastic seats, usually with cup holders. You’ll have a choice of sushi or smoothies. You’ll miss getting Derek Jeter’s autograph, but you won’t miss a stat with the Jumbotron relaying data and images of your favorite players throughout the game. Four stadiums successfully blend the two experiences. They are Fort Myers’ City of Palms Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, Kissimmee’s Osceola County Stadium, home of the Houston Astros, Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium, home of both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins, and Clearwater’s new Bright House Networks Field, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. This book will help you determine the type of Spring Training experience you want to have and where you need to go to get it. Use it to pick the experience — or experiences — you’re after and to take best advantage of the opportunities for autographs and player contact offered by the stadiums you visit. Those of you who have been to only a few Major League Baseball games should be forewarned: Spring Training may turn you into a lifelong fan of the game. If you’re unwilling to take that risk, better stick with the theme parks and swimming holes. If you’re game, read on. Didn't find what you were looking for? Try a Google search.
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