By Jesus Romero |Sports Editor|
Spring Training gives you a behind the scenes look on how major league ball players, work on fundamentals, take batting practice, stretch and bond as a team. The stars that kids look up to are seen as just regular guys.
There are two Spring Training locations, the Cactus League in Arizona and the Grapefruit League in Florida. Half of the Major League Baseball teams are roughly within a 19 mile radius of one another when in Arizona.
I have been going to Spring Training in the deserts of Arizona for the past 12 years.
Fans of all ages will be able to watch their favorite players and coaches as they get ready for the game.
Most of the complexes were the players practice, give a chance to interact with the fans. After the players are finished with their workouts, they usually sign autographs and take pictures with the fans, hand out baseballs or bats they may have broken and can no longer use.
When I was young, I would collect my favorite player’s autographs as well as try to get the entire team to sign a baseball.
Kids are usually the ones that ball players tend to give the most attention to, since they are the role models for them.
Some of my most favorite Spring Training moments include, playing catch with future Hall of Famer, Trevor Hoffman, talking to Tony Gwynn about my swing and even being a bat boy for a game.
Those are memories that I will have forever and will be able to tell my kids one day. In fact, I will take my kids and family to Spring Training like my dad did.
It is a tradition that all baseball lovers should experience.
It is only a four hour drive from Southern California, and could make for a relatively inexpensive road trip. Games are as cheap as $6 a ticket for lawn seats, and there are plenty of hotels nearby to choose from. You can take in sandwiches and bottled water (as long as it’s sealed), and you save money in the game.
There are still a few more weeks to go before all the major league ball clubs go back to their cities for the regular season.
So now is the best time to go for a road trip.
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