Major League teams train in both Arizona, called the cactus league, and Florida, referred to as the grapefruit league. The Phoenix area has the advantage of having the most ballparks in the closest proximity, as every major suburb in the greater Phoenix area has its own stadium. For the sake of efficiency, the stadiums are all co-owned by two teams. This allows every stadium to be used pretty much every day, and allows every team the opportunity to play in different parks with very little travel expense.
The Mariners home stadium, shared with the Padres, is in Peoria, about an hour away from us. But Goodyear has its own stadium, used by the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. It is a great stadium perhaps 15 minutes from our RV park. So we chose a day in the first week when the Mariners came here to play, and watched the game between them and the Cincinnati Reds.
It was a great experience. The very first game of the spring was rained out, which is extremely rare. Since then, we have had a delightful week of perfect weather. As you can see from the pictures, the temperatures were mid-60s at game time, and warm enough later that we took a brief walk to enjoy some shade to cool down. It is fun seeing big league players in a relaxed environment, with easy $5 parking, $25 box seats about 12 rows from the field, and reasonable concession prices. And autographs if you want them; what’s not to like?
Pictures don’t need much in the way of comments. Just a fun, relaxing day at the ballpark. My only complaint is that they played “Take me out to the ballgame” in the seventh inning, but they didn’t have us sing! But the rest of the day was great, and the game was pretty good, won by the Mariners, 5-3.
Come to spring training when you can. Until then, enjoy the pictures!
