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Florida Spring Training: Your Guide To Touring The Grapefruit League |
In addition, this ballpark gives you wonderful behind-the-scenes access. You can stand next to the team’s batting cages and watch players practicing and being coached. You can stand two feet from the bullpen to watch the Pirates’ pitchers warm up and hear the pop of a fastball in the catcher’s mitt. You can watch the players work out in a small courtyard by their clubhouse (at the end of the stadium on the first base side). I noticed that many used nontraditional items, such as a bungee cord, as they prepared for the game. I even watched a worker cleaning the team’s shoes. He would take a pair, polish it, work the grass from the player’s cleats, and then line the shoes up for the player to pick up.
This is a good park for home-team autographs. To get them, head for the end of the stadium on the first base side. Every player has to walk past this area through a section about 20 feet wide. Players have to go out of their way to avoid signing here and most will give you an autograph. There are two serious drawbacks to McKechnie Field, both involving the seating. The seats are the most uncomfortable of any stadium I have ever visited. They remind me of a McDonald’s booster seat — small and made of hard plastic. Their inflexibility forces you to sit at a 90-degree angle. If you have any girth to your backside, you will probably not fit into them. Save yourself the pain and sit in the bleachers. The one relief comes in the form of a seat cushion the stadium rents. It’s only a dollar and well worth every cent. In addition to the hard plastic, you will suffer from an obstructed view if you get an aisle seat near the top of the reserved sections. Poles similar to those found at Fenway Park in Boston partially block your view. Tip: The Box Office will not mention the obstructed view when you purchase tickets. So make sure you ask before you pay. While those flaws are significant, they do not erase McKechnie Field’s many charms. In fact, it is the best value in baseball for my money. It has the cheapest reserved seats in the League, by several dollars, plus great atmosphere. I recommend incorporating a visit here into any Spring Training vacation. Just remember to buy bleacher seats if you want room to spread out. Didn't find what you were looking for? Try a Google search.
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