So. Uncharted 2 comes out in about 24 hours, so there goes the chances of getting anything done the rest of the week. It’s not like I ever finish writing a post for this without distractions, and this will make sure I won’t (hopefully!) Instead of wasting, I figure I might as well reuse – in the form of a list. Assuming I can even finish THIS post, which seems iffy since I already have been distracted.
– one about my hard drive crash. Of all I’ve had (on every single windows computer), this was the first time where it didn’t hurt much; just needed to reinstall stuff on a new hard drive, because 90% of my data is on iPod or The Cloud, and the other 10% is stuff I wouldn’t have thought about backing up (custom dictionaries?), stuff I haven’t actually used in years, or stuff I’ve completely forgotten about and will only realize I miss a long time from now. unfinished because I couldn’t find words to express point I wanted to make; also semi-boring
– one about deciding what Win7 computer I should get next month: a small laptop so I could do the most of the stuff I do at home when not a home (though that’s not actually why I don’t do it at home, and plus I already use my iTouch for a lot of that), a tower to do the same stuff I already do slightly faster – or maybe spending that money in any one of may better ways. unfinished because of extreme boring-ness, and no one else could possible care
– one about the first round of the baseball playoffs and related news: is it neat that actual baseball writers are looking at my Bradley->Rays idea? (Yes!) Does it mean anything? (No! Writers clearly just looking at teams for dead money guys to go back the other way, but are just filling up inches and have no actual inside info) Could I be happier that this sale is almost over (Yes!) How much of the LDS have I watched? very little, because I needed some separation. Do I gain any happiness from the Cardinals being swept? (no – Cubs still didn’t win.) Do the Cubs gain anything from how the Cardinals lost? (YES, if St. Louis is silly and decides to not sign Holliday after this – and who even knows about Duncan and LaRussa.) What’s the one stat from the other playoff series that was stunning? (Chone Figgins leading the league in walks; he’s getting crazy money this offseason, and very unlikely to be on a Chicago team.) skipped because when do I ever write about baseball here? really now
– one about my new avatar, now that we totally crashed on re-entry not done because I still don’t have a new avatar, and also too obscure – no, that usually doesn’t work
– one about how Joe Versus The World is clearly the Velvet Underground of wrestling podcasts, because maybe only a hardcore group listened to them all (so thrilled when we first reached triple digits), but everyone single one of them has their own podcast on BlogTalkRadio now. rejected for not really having any more to write except the one awesome/ludicrous line
– one about how I feel about the new NBC show Community skipped because I haven’t actually gotten to watch any of the episodes yet! but I’m sure they’re great, as well as all the other TV I haven’t gotten to
– one about my fantasy football teams not posted because no one cares about anyone else’s fantasy football team, ever, we’re all just being polite towards each other
– one about the US/Honduras! not done because I’m still at least a year from faking I know about soccer on any level
– one about subject I’ve completely blanked about at the moment not done because I won’t remember this until I attempt to fall asleep. May scribble something down on piece of paper, which will promptly be lost
Yea, I think that does it.
On October 26, 2009, I had the pleasure of joining ~100 major league scouts and a similar number of parents and girlfriends at Phoenix Municipal Stadium to see the Arizona Fall League showdown between The visiting Mesa Solar Sox and The home-standing Phoenix Desert Dogs.
It was a beautiful sunny, cloudless, mostly dust-free day at the spring training home of the Oakland A’s, and the very quiet crowd made for a most relaxing afternoon. Highly recommended for those needing a day of peace and quiet in ass port where the clock does not matter.
Presuming that readers of this blog will be Cubs Fan (as were virtually all casual attendees in the crowd, as evidenced by their choice of cap and t-shirt), I have a brief recap of the performance of the three Cubs prospects who appeared in the game.
Manager Brandon Hyde of the Marlins chose 19-year-old Dominican Starling Castro as his starting shortstop for the day (Castro being the second-youngest of the 210 AFL players) and Josh Vitters for 3b. Reliever John Gaub, old for this league at 24½ – though to be sure the average age of the pitchers on the two rosters for this game was a good solid 2 to 2.5 years older than the age of the position players, came in with his team down 5-4 in the eight to keep the game close.
It is , of course, inappropriate, to extrapolate from one game, but here’s what I saw….
Well, tomorrow I’ll write part II.
The big surprise was Gaub. As I had noted, it’s unrealstic to make a conclusion based on one outing. Gaub’s 2009 AFL numbers represent a classic example of why. Gaub’s first three appearances in the 2009 Fall League had resulted in ERAs of 9, 9, and 36 and though there are far better statistics in the world than ERA, none suggest anything different the ERA numbers suggest.
But not on this Monday afternoon. With his squad down 5-4 in the bottom of the 8th inning, Gaub trotted in from the left field bullpen. Following his eight warm-up pitch, Gaub drew his breath and settled in on the mound.
150 seconds and 5 pitches, Gaub was trotting off to the dugout, inning over. And, if taking only five pitches to get three outs were not efficient enough, the middle out was a strikeout!
The first out was a fairly sharply hit ground ball up the middle than deflecte doff Gaub’s glove long enough to roll directly toward the seocnd baseman, who made a quick throw and got the runner. Then the KO. Then a line drive, not a screamer but quite solid, and right at the right fielder, who came in all of 2-3 steps to catch the fly ball.
I can see why manager Hyde brought in someone else in the bottom of the 9th (with 2 out and 2 strikes on the batter, the batter [Parmelee] for the Solar Sox in the top of the 9th stroked a clean single up the middle to tie the game.) Hyde has a large load of pitchers for whom to get as much work as possible. The picther he chose gave upa grand slam in the bottom of the 9th, and the Mesa Solar Sox lost the game. In hindsight, maybe Gaub should have gone two innings.
But on this day, he looked awesome – ready for his close-up, Mr. Hendry, should you need a LOOGY.
Tomorrow, thoughts on Starling Castro from Monday…
Can’t believe you’re teasing it out on Starling Castro. No one’s seemed to improve quite as much in the eyes of people who talk about prospects in the last couple months as Castro, and he wasn’t playing games most of that time.
Between Gaub and Stevens, Cubs actually won the DeRosa trade.
You’ll see tomorrow (it’s a really, reaLly busy week at work for technical reasons), but Castro, being 19, now getting comfortable in his 1st foreign country, is settling into the adult he will become at a fairly normal pace. However, the obvious caveat, one FAL games does not make a trend, but I was fairly impressed.
Now, on to Sterlin Castro, then tomorrow Josh Vitters, and Saturday the wrap-up, concluding with why March and October baseball is Phoenix is SO worth the trip from Chicago.
Cubs Fan(s), remember Juan Pierre? He of the smallest head in baseball? He who use to use his batting helmet as full body armor?
Well, John Peter has a rival now for the smallest head in baseball, and it is our own new darlin’, Starlin “not Ivan” DeJesus Castro (I’ll sell you a used “g” for 5 bucks. Or 70 € in France, but you can only keep the “g” for 3 minutes.).
Anyway, back to Castro, man, his head was so small he didn’t need that special David Wright late-season model to audition for Lord Dark Helmet in the remake of Spaceballs. Could not keep thinking o Pierre when I saw him.
And of course, the Pierre-like stats – 18 hits resulting in 20 total bases in his AFL games through 10/29, giving the odd .468/.465 OBP/SLG line.
Listed at 6’1” 160, he’s not quite that tall and not quite that heavy, but he’s not 20 until next March 24th.
His fielding the game I saw was fine, good but not as good as his counterpart on the other team (Danny Espinosa of the Nats). He got to most of the balls within reason, and his arm was strong.
Castro stole a base off pitcher Reidier Gonzalez on Monday, but that was hardly unusual – Gonzalez gave up 6 swipes of 2nd base in 7 innings. Frankly, with his team down a run late, Castro’s not attempting to steal 2nd in that situation actually surprised me, though this being an instructional league, perhaps he had the proverbial leash on at all times.
Castro looked like a good solid prospect (not at Grant Desme’s level, you should see HIS numbers in AFL), but a slap hitter with fair speed and good range. Good on-base potential but Rickey Henderson at the top of the lineup he will not be.
Oh, and Gaub blew up again in the bull pen today, costing his team the game. I just happened to be there for the best inning of his month.
Tomorrow, third base, and why the Marlins are crying more than the Cubs this fall….
How much stock should anyone put in a baseball player’s facial expressions while he is playing? The answer to that question might well play quite a part in how one would “rate” Josh Vitters based on his play lat Monday the 26th in an Arizona Fall League Instructional Game.
The way I took his facial expressions, he appeared a bit bored. I never saw much in the way of fire or spark or exuberation, and for that matter, that would go for his body language as well.
Was he tired after a long season, the longest calendar-wise of his young career? Was he tired of the expectations that come with being a B.A. #1-ranked-organizationally prospect? Had the duty of playing another fairly meaningless game just driven him round the proverbial bend? My general summary was this was a guy ready to go home and have a vacation. And that I shall attribute to age.
Vitters strikes me as much smaller than I expected – I guess after the past 15 years, I expect my 3rd basemen to be Adrian Beltré physically, and I suppose that era is past. He did noting particularly of note at bat in the game and, as it would happen, in the field that day each of the three fielding chances he got was low-difficulty. His one hit in 4 at bats was a gapper double to left center, well struck.
Seeing him on the same team with Marlins 3B prospect Matt Dominguez, though, might put a different perspective on Vitter’s mood. Dominguez, a #12 pick in 2007 and as god a high school hitter and fielder as I have ever seen, has seen his career take a huge dive the second half of this year, and is having an unbelievably bad AFL Of the 67 batters currently ranked in the AFL stats page, using their default sort of BA, Dominguez is #67 and is batting .129 (Starlin Castro is #1). Dominguez’s future in baseball is in serious jeopardy (even if he is 20 years, 3 months old, and looking at his fingers, you can see he has not physically matured all the way yet, not at all), and surely Vitters being on the same AFL squad, he (Vitters) can see that he (Vitters) is on Easy Street at the moment compared to Dominguez.
Tomorrow – the glory of it all – final post on this topic
What is it? Just the being away from work, away from responsibility for an hour, a day, a weekend? The attraction of our final remaining major cultural pasttime without a clock, hanging like a sword of Damocles over any fan’s desire for relaxation? The warmth of the winter sun and the dryness of the air that signifies the cheating of the season, the natural harmony? The emphasis of the youth signifying the renewal if not rebirth of the spirit (a feeling intensified by the passing of each year of the calendar, for sure)? The simplest of all games, the one with the most intrinsically complex sets of rules and statistics, and finding the joy of matching your personal rhythm against the flow of the day’s game? The inherent unpredictability of any one game, despite the mounds of research, data, analysis, and chatter?
You should go.
And so the fans drive up and down Brown Road in Mesa, past the scalpers (for a spring training game!), towards HoHoKam Park, past the middle-class (or less so, in some cases) single-family houses and the ARCO/AM-PM stations with gas prices most haven’t seen in years. People walk on both side of the road, heading to the oldest, least modern park, the one with (by far) the fewest amenities. Heavily, heavily white and old (as in retired old), though not so unbelievably all-white as Angels fans in Tempe, almost a scary sight if you ever go, with fishing hats full of pins, ticket stubs, or, in most cases, just years of wear. No matter how far they park along the mile-long rectangular expanse of green, green grass of the park, they almost all head for the central of the 3 ticket entrances, and repeat the ritual I have seen each time I have ever attended a game there. They all give their tickets up, get the stub back, go to the first vendor, and buy a scorecard and a pencil. They then walk fifteen to twenty feet and turn to the huge white dry-erase board off to their right.
There, in thin black Sharpie scrawl, are printed out the names of the eighteen to twenty players (depending on the opponent or the whims of the coaches, the DH may or may not be used that day, though the trend for DHing in any particular spring training game is a growing one) players who comprise that day’s starting lineup. Dutifully, religiously, each individual scorecard owner will take his or her pencil and write the lineup in the scorecard – and then go off to get some food or just go sit in the stands. The scorecards are not put away, however, and even in the first spring training game, even if it’s in FEBRUARY, most every one of those score cards is dutifully, religiously, filled out, to the final out of the final inning.
To most people attending an Arizona spring training game, the ones who are rabid fans of their team (say, me and the Dodgers), attending the game is an enjoyable afternoon in the sun. For Cubs fans, what I see is people going to church. From the rituals (you should hear a sober, over-65 choir sing during the 7th inning stretch, as far away in distance as it is in execution from Addison and Clark), to the small “life groups,” to their “gods,” to the resigned feeling that the ultimate reward, when it arrives, will not occur during their actual life times, and caring, really caring about the outcome of a game in FEBRUARY (or October in the AFL for their prospects).
And, yet, the thing I notice most about the spring training attendees – Cubs fans the most but all over, is how nice and friendly everyone is – we’re all baseball fans at heart here, here at the dawn of another new season, with hope proverbially springing eternal, with everyone (well, not Royals fans, but everyone else) finding reasons to herald the new campaign with unfettered enthusiasm and unguarded optimism. Here, we all have a chance. Life’s cycles have turned and here, in the dead of winter, spring has arrived, life is new again, we are all young again. Hyperbole? Not a bit. Once you go, you’ll see.
Then, after the game, satisfied, the over-60-set drive to Home Town Buffet for the $4.99 senior special. The under-60 set drive to Golden Corral for all-you-can-eat steak (and lost of other stuff) for ten bucks. All to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Today, we have baseball in the sun.
Yes, just for a fleeting moment in time, we are all young again, the world ahead of us, warm, full, no clocks, no time, just baseball in the sun.
You should go.
The first in an occasional series about Spring Training – unless you count the post above this as the first. Let me know if I should re-submt this without the bulltes and numbering
Today: The Stadia of Phoenix
Stadia (from east to west)
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs)
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants)
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels)
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s)
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers)
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners)
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox)
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals)
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians)
Food (P.S., before the ratings, let me emphasize that ALL ball park food is overpriced by double to triple. All of it. Not a single exception in any park)
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – this park has the fewest of about everything, and food stands is one of those. There’s also a very limited variety of things there. And no White Castles (Carson’s Ribs would be unthinkable here).
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – One would expect sourdough here, and there you go. It’s a bland sourdough, though, just so you know, Joe. My memory may be faulty, but I think you get more popcorn per bag here than anywhere else.
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – Generic.
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – Among the best hot dogs in the Cactus League. A few, but very few, carts. Not much shade anywhere though.
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – My favorite in the Cactus League. Lots of carts – lots of variety – and among the best things are the wurst. Also, and heaven help me why this would be the case, but this is by an order of magnitude the best Coca-Cola of all the ball parks. I regularly try to buy a new cup on the way out, but there’s a city ordinance against taking food/drink outside the stadium, so you have to be real observant and sneaky to commit this crime. Along those lines, best lemonade and lemon ice as well.
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners) – Best collection of carts by far – most recommended is the randy Jones Barbecue just to the left of the main entrance, but overall this is the park you don’t want to have a meal prior to before visiting.
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – I was there for opening day and bough one of the $90 tickets that comes with an all-you-can-eat-buffet, so I did not see or visit any of the other places. I do know that the food stands, alone among all the Cactus League ball parks, did not have a souvenir soda cup. Oh, yeah. The buffet was really nice, in the shade, and you got a not-for-sale bobble-head, but $90, sheesh.
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – except for maybe Phoenix Muni, these are the best hot dogs. This also has the bets layout of stores and food stands, and some carts. However, all the sit-down tables are in the direct sunlight
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – Haven’t been there yet, can’t say
Souvenir Stands (Every team sells a version of the current-year welcome to spring training t-shirt, the one whit a map of Arizona on it and then all the team sites marked, instead or a star, with team logos – all the same sizes, all the same prices, just slight variations in style. These go first every year. If you see one, and it fits, grab it. This would be the quintessential souvenir. An example – only a fair one, but one I’ve seen – is at http://www.wearefanatics.com/2009/01/27/spring-training-2009-t-shirts)
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – One. All the single-team parks have just one. It does have its roominess but I suspect except for the A’s there’s less actual merchandise on sale here than anywhere else. Less “current-year-specific” stuff too. But some unique things.
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – Big. Lost of merchandise with lost of sizes, and some things (like casual wear) that you won’t see anywhere else. Also, very famous for this: the first 2 games of each year, they put out everything that did not sell last year, and has last year’s year on it, for 1/2 to 3/4 off. They do have 1-2 souvenir carts.
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – Red. Or red and white. Everything is very garish. For Angels fans only.
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – Limited. Least selection, cramped room, really needs an upgrade. However, you can usually get a very good generic ST t-shirt here.)
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – Uncrowded. Though, this may be that, until the past 2 springs, their attendance has been significantly lower than any other ball park. Then in 2007 they remodeled the park and now it is my, and lot and lost of other people’s, secret pleasure. The most standard of all stores.
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners). Bring back the newspapers! Lots of stuff, but they do have two team’s work of stuff to sell. Used to be able to get the same day daily newspapers here. Will be very crowded on weekends and 30 minutes before first pitch, and they REALLY need another checkout stand.
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – Can’t pass judgment (I was there only on the day the ballpark opened when as you can imagine there was a huge line at each store) but I do remember thinking good collection, very expensive.
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – Small. There’s one small sort next to each team’s entrance near each foul pole. Due to the remoteness of this suburb, the lack of recent success of its two tenants, and the lack of snowbirds from Dallas and Kansas City, this has not become the least corded ballpark in town, and the souvenir stands are never crowd. The stuff I have bought here I can say has been for good quality and has held up well – in that regard, the t shirts I bought here held up from shrinking in the wash longer that shirts I bought elsewhere.
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – Can’t say, never been.
Seating/Watching (The cheapest seat at each ball park are grass seats beyond the outfield fences. If that’s your pleasure, a warning – the spots where you can actually see any of the game fill up VERY fast on weekends – as in 1.5 hours before game time. Many families come and bring a picnic, which is allowed in some parks. Other warning – lots of kids ages 2-12 will be running loose at all times in this section of the park.)
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – standard, very close to a Little League park layout, very little shading, they will sell you seats in the first row behind home plate the day tickets go on sale. Tickets for all weekend games, how or away, and any games, home or away, versus the Pale Hose will sell out the first day they go on sales so you must be online at 10 am the first Saturday in January to buy the tickets to those games if that’s when you want to go.
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – Long history of holding back all the good seats (lower deck, first base dugout to third base dugout, plus all shaded seats) and selling them only to season ticket holders. The average fan (i.e., me) can basically sign on the first second TicketMaster puts up tickets and the best I can get is well down one of the foul lines. Also, oddly, easily the most picky and disgruntled fans. By leaps and bounds best location as far as being easy to get to and near things. This is the place to go and make a whole day out of seeing Scottsdale with the game the centerpiece of the day. Best parking too but I’ll get to that below. And even though they have lights for night (often translated as split squad) baseball, in 2010, they will have exactly one (1) night game.
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – What is this, 1959? Where did the rest of America go? If you go to a game here, you’ll see the most unbelievably Caucasian assemblage you will ever see the rest of your life. Made me very uncomfortable – and that was even after I, a Caucasian, bought an Angels souvenir t-shirt and hat to put on. Nice little mountain out beyond the fences. Nice interstate, also, out beyond the fences. Lots of shaded seats too.
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – Due to its construction, most close to “minor league stadium” feel. Last year I counted, I think, 93 separate signs in the outfield. Most direct sunlight, easiest to burn here, followed by HoHoKam. Most laid back fans by far. Not so bad as Scottsdale, but very hard to get right-behind-home-plate tickets here too.
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – Not laid back, but quiet and attentive. The last two years, this has been a very enjoyable place to attend a game. Much like some of the older major league stadiums, in a residential neighborhood with no other businesses immediately surrounding it. Not too much shad though. Will sell you the best seats in the house the very first day.
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners) – Very fan friendly. Runs way more night games these days than any other park, so much so that I have not seen a day game there in 3-4 years. I think they have some good shaded seats, but not needed at night. Very good sight lines and good foul ball potential. Also, in the smack dab middle of Peoria yuppie-ville with the attendant watering holes and restaurants to boot. Just ask former #1 draft pack Matt Bush (http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2008/07/27/matt-bush-injured-in-a-bar-fight/) .
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – Well, for 90 bucks (some games 100), those seats should be good. They are fine, padded, and can handle the heat. Brand new and likely to be nearly full every game for the next 2-3 years.
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – by far the best set if, and highest number of, shaded seats. Even in tiers! Sections 202-206 on the Royals side are arguably the best daytime seats in the entire Cactus League. If I remember correctly, for this stadium, on TicketMaster, you can specifically search for shaded seats. In my opinion, worth the extra money. All seats except the very furthest-away bleachers down the right field line are excellent view. Decent foul ball potential here too.
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – can’t say
Catching Foul Balls
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – not easy – every seat is taken, basically you have to be right above 1st or 3rd base and have it hit right to you.
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – good potential, and one of the few that has a true fast ball alley right behind home plate (if you can get seats there)
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – see HoHoKam Park
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – absolutely no fats ball alley, so it’s just down the lines, but if the game isn’t too full, you can run and get one in the plaza behind the seats
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – good, with a fast ball alley, and on not-full days, very good potential
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners) – now that the two Tucson stadia are folding next year, this park now takes over for Tucson Electric Park as having the number one single spot to stand for catching foul balls – down the first base line, behind the stands, to the right of the souvenir shop.
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – standard issue. With a full crowd, you’re not getting ine unless it’s hit to you.
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – though Peoria has the single best spot, this is the single best stadium for catching foul balls and home runs. Symmetrical like Dodger Stadium, roomy, lots of walking room.
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – no idea
Parking / Ease to Reach (PS. Bus service on Sundays in Maricopa County is so spotty as to be non-existent. There, I warned you ahead of time.)
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – in a crowded residential neighborhood. Very easy to navigate up to 45 minutes before game time, then a nightmare. Decent bus service too on Brown Road and nearby. 5 bucks IIRC. On-grass in-park parking in a mile-long rectangular stip. You might have quite a walk from your car to your seat. DO NOT park on a nearby side street – heavily patrolled by cops and towers.
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – by far the easiest. Free. 3-story garage next to park (put beyond left field fence). Lots and lots of buses.
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – how L.A.-ish. You really need a car. Ten bucks. Convoluted with lots of left turns. Closest park physically to the airport, to Greyhound, and to Amtrak.
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – was very easy to get to, but after attending an AFL game there in October, there is long-term road construction on Priest drive that’s going to throw a wrench into traffic. Plan on getting there an hour early, and having to go east on East Van Buren then south on Priest Drive, because that may be literally the only way to access the stadium. Poor bus service around here.
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – decent bus service, easy grass parking, which was free last time I went. In a not-so-crowded residential neighborhood that used to be, I am told, really down in the dumps, but I see signs of being on its way back. Easy access to the 10 freeway and to all parts of West Phoenix and its suburbs. No need to aprk on nearby side streets.
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners) – five bucks, maybe ten now. Most parking of any park. Easy access to the Loop 101, Bell Road, 83rd, and thus the 10 Freeway. Lots of bus service. Fairly easy entrance/exit access.
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – see Tempe Diablo.
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – hardest park to get to. No possible way to avoid suburban clogged traffic. Most zealous parking attendants too. That may be due to the loads of trouble they had the first few years with fans who tried to park for free across Litchfield at the library. Entrance is fairly easy, but they route you out of the park oddly and if you’re a newbie, this is the one park you could literally get lost coming out of. Some GPS don’t have this park in their data banks, as the whole subdivision it’s in is still being built out. One bus on Bell Road every hour or two goes within half a mile of the park, but I thihk the last bus passes by before the last pitch of a typical night game.
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – IO can say this, having driven by the park – very little if any bus service but easy access to the 10 Freeway.
What’s Nearby
HoHoKam Park, Mesa (Cubs) – homes and cheap gas stations. Very little, in other words
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale (Giants) – this and Peoria are WAY, WAY above the other parks. Anything and everything is close by, within walking distance.
Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe (Angels) – not walking distance, but go north about 1-2 miles and every fast food restaurant is there. WalMart and drug stores within 2 miles too.
Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix (A’s) – the closest stadium to The Chicago Hamburger Company (http://www.chicagohamburger.com/), an absolute must-do for first-time visits to phoenix. Otherwise, nothing near by.
Maryvale Stadium, Phoenix (Brewers) – go in a circle about a mile out and lots of cheaper (price and quality) Mexican Restaurants. Working class neighborhood – more likely to find a grocery store and a barber shop than a restaurant. At the moment, cheapest gas in all of Maricopa County is at stations within a mile of here.
Peoria Municipal Stadium, Peoria (Padres, Mariners) – this and Scottsdale are WAY, WAY above the other parks. Anything and everything is close by, within walking distance.
Camelback Stadium, Glendale (Dodgers, White Sox) – Nothing within a mile
Surprise Stadium, Surprise (Rangers, Royals) – Nothing within two miles
Goodyear Stadium, Goodyear (Indians) – go north about .5 to .75 miles and you get some typical fast food restaurants, but this is a new area under development, and there will be more stuff as the years go by.