Here’s What You Need to Know Before Heading to Cactus Country
Let’s go to the video!
This video is no more exciting than a test pattern, frankly, but every local newscast in America will go to the video this week, showing pitchers practicing their fielding.
Why? Because baseball is back, and the video proves it. As pitchers and catchers arrive for spring training--the Angels and Dodgers report today--snowbound fans around the nation start the countdown to opening day.
But why should Southland fans wait? The Cactus League isn’t far. You can jump into your car, take Highway 91 east to Interstate 10 east, and six hours later you’ll be at spring training. Or, jump onto a flight to Phoenix, and you’ll be there in an hour.
Just don’t rush off before you get some sunscreen and some answers. The sunscreen is up to you, but we have answers to your Cactus League questions.
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The games are just exhibitions, so the tickets are cheap, right?
No more. The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, who share a spring home in Peoria, have the gall to charge $19 for their best seats, even though stars like Tony Gwynn and Alex Rodriguez may play three innings--or not at all. The best seats in each Cactus League park exceed $10; bleacher seats--generally down the foul lines, not beyond the outfield fence--range from $4 to $9.
The best bargains are lawn seats, providing plenty of room for fans to work on tans and kids to run around when the game staggers into the eighth inning with a bunch of anonymous minor leaguers on the field. The Angels sell lawn seats for $3, the lowest-priced tickets in the Cactus League.
So, if the prices are so high, do the games sell out?
Not usually, with the occasional exceptions of Saturday and Sunday games and Chicago Cub games. Weekend travelers fill stadiums, particularly Bay Area fans when the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s play each other. The Cubs are by far the biggest draw in the Cactus League, thanks in part to the Chicago retirees who colonized Mesa, the team’s spring home.
Seven teams train in the Phoenix area, so fans can always travel on a whim and find a game to attend. But, if you must visit on a particular day and you must see Sammy Sosa, you can order advance tickets to Cactus League games by phone or on the Internet.
Can I see Randy Johnson?
Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks train in Tucson, along with the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies. Tucson is 114 miles down I-10 from Phoenix; how fast you get there is up to you and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Why would I want to see the White Sox?
No good reason, really, but perhaps White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler could help you understand Bill Stoneman, the Angels’ new general manager. Stoneman inherited a team that lost 92 games but made no trades and no major free-agent signings. The White Sox lost 86 games, but the well-respected Schueler made one trade, to dump pitcher Jaime Navarro, and no signings.
Can I see any games for free?
Here’s the best-kept secret in baseball: Minor leaguers also play exhibition games to prepare for the season, all for free and all in obscurity. You can sit wherever you like, talk to the players and, if you’re lucky, see the next Kerry Wood.
Minor leaguers generally train apart from major leaguers, sometimes on adjacent diamonds and sometimes in separate complexes. The Angels’ minor leaguers work out at Gene Autry Park in Mesa, where parking is free and plentiful. Concessions are available for minor league exhibition games (call 480-830-4137 for schedule information); the next issue of Baseball America analyzes the Angels’ minor league system and provides a list of top prospects (now available online at www.baseballamerica.com).
Say, whatever happened to Kerry Wood?
He’ll be in camp with the Cubs, one year after surgeons rebuilt his elbow and two years after he tied Roger Clemens’ major league record with 20 strikeouts--in his fifth major league start. Most pitchers need 12 to 18 months to recover from the Tommy John procedure, so normal rehabilitation means Wood could return in April, September or any time in between.
With Wood, Ismael Valdes, Kevin Tapani and Jon Lieber, the Cubs have an enviable starting rotation. Without their phenom, the Cubs might have to start 1991 Oakland phenom Todd Van Poppel and 1994 Angel phenom Andrew Lorraine.
If the Mariners and Padres share a stadium, how can you tell which team is at home that day?
Count the television cameras. If there are none, the Padres are at home. For the second straight year, the Padres lost their best pitcher--Kevin Brown last year, Andy Ashby this year. They’re building toward a new stadium in 2002, and they’re honest in saying so.
If the Mariners are at home, you’ll see a three-ring media circus. Hey, Mike Cameron, how do you feel about replacing Ken Griffey Jr. in center field? Hey, Alex Rodriguez, do you see $150 million or $200 million in your future? And those dozens of other cameras, the ones nowhere near Cameron or Rodriguez? That’s the Japanese media following Kazuhiro Sasaki, Japan’s all-time save leader and the biggest name to defect to the majors since Hideo Nomo.
Who’s the happiest player in the Cactus League?
That’s easy: Eric Young, traded from the Dodgers to the Cubs. Dodger Manager Davey Johnson belittled Young’s defense at second base last year, but Young also stole 51 bases. The Cubs, as a team, stole 60, fewest in the major leagues. Don Baylor, the Cubs’ new manager, wants his team to run more and stop waiting for Sosa to hit a home run.
Didn’t Baylor want to manage the Angels?
He sure did. But by the time the Angels got around to offering him the job, he had gotten tired of waiting and had already agreed to take the Chicago job.
How about Davey Lopes, the Brewers’ new manager? Did the Angels have any interest in him?
As a manager, no. But the Angels might have offered him a minor league contract, an invitation to spring training and a chance to compete for the second-base job with Scott Spiezio, Pat Kelly, Jason Bates, Carlos Garcia, Benji Gil, Justin Baughman and Trent Durrington.
What’s the secret to getting an autograph?
Attend morning workouts; they’re free. You can see the drills, and you can hear the players joking and the coaches yelling. After the workouts--not during--players tend to be accessible. At the Angels’ training complex, you can get an autograph as the players walk across a parking lot from the practice diamonds to the clubhouse.
If you ask players to sign more than one item, they may not sign any, thinking you’re just going to sell the items later. And players appreciate hearing “please” and “thank you.”
Where is a good place to have a meal and see a ballplayer?
Your best bet is Don and Charlie’s, a carnivore’s haven in Scottsdale. You’ll find steaks, ribs, chops--and an amazing collection of baseball memorabilia, much of it donated by the players and coaches who eat there. Be warned: Weekend reservations for prime dinner hours during spring training should be placed weeks in advance. Phone: (480) 990-0900.
Where is a good place to dance off a meal and see a ballplayer?
Sosa and other players have been spotted at Axis and Radius in Scottsdale, the hot spot of the moment. This is two clubs in one: Axis is a cigar bar, while Radius has the dance floor with the million-dollar light and sound extravaganza. Dress to impress, so no baseball caps, even those worn backward. Phone: (480) 970-1112.
What if I want something more casual?
Then you want Jackson’s on 3rd, a very casual and very huge indoor-outdoor sports bar with live music and a 9,000-square-foot patio. The place is across the street from America West Arena, so it’s hopping after Phoenix Coyote hockey games and Phoenix Sun basketball games. Phone: (602) 254-5303.
And what about somewhere fun for the kids?
Try Rustler’s Rooste in Phoenix, where kids--and adults--can descend into the dining room on a slide. There’s a live steer in a pen outside, and the restaurant features country music bands, balloon artists and Old Charlie the Storyteller. Phone: (602) 431-6474.
And if I get homesick?
Go to any of the Angels’ weekday exhibition games at Tempe Diablo Stadium. I-10 runs behind the right-field fence, and you can while away the innings watching bumper-to-bumper afternoon traffic, eerily reminiscent of rush hour on any Southern California freeway.
