Spring Training Keeping the Fun in Troubled Sport

Alexander Cartwright gave generously to baseball history. Back in the 1840s, he supplied rules, organization and one delightful quirk.

Consider: baseball, which has given pleasure to so many people, was invented by a man whose middle name was Joy.

Alexander Joy Cartwright died in 1892 and, somewhere in the late 1970s and early 1980s, much of the other joy in baseball followed him. In its place came labor disputes, drug abuse and money in sufficient quantities to turn a game into a dreary business.

Right now, baseball people are filing grievances and arguing salaries. In a couple of months, they will be feuding with managers and blaming umpires.

In the intervening two weeks, however, players and management both savor baseball’s last outpost of joy--spring training.

From late February through early April, baseball people work hard. But they do it in warm sunshine, without the pressure that can inspire surliness in the best of them.

Fans sense it, too. Last year, 1,710,305 of them attended spring training games, a record for a fourth consecutive year. This year they will return, with suntan lotion and autograph pads.

Spring training reminds you baseball in your nicest dreams. It’s fun, a lot more fun than it often is during the regular season. Regular grass grows on the field. The weather is warm, and the parks are small.

In St. Petersburg, you’ll hear a vendor sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” while he sells you a hot dog. You can sit in Al Lang Stadium and watch sailboats on the bay. In Tampa, the Reds wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. In Bradenton and Orlando, youngsters gather outside the fence and usually retrieve at least one home run ball.

Many fans journey from cold climes to spend at least some of spring training with their team. In Lakeland, Fla., where the Tigers, train, the public address announcer asks all residents of Michigan to stand on cue. Almost everyone in the ballpark does.

The Canadian fans are perhaps the most enthusiastic about coming to spring training. At Dunedin, Fla., the Blue Jays should have more company than usual this year, after their American League East title season.

In West Palm Beach, Fla., you often hear more French than English, thanks to the many Quebec natives who are enjoying some time with their Montreal Expos.

Spring training encourages a dream. You never hear a player talk of a bad season. Manages talk about pennants, not about getting fired.