Mike and Tony’s Once in a Life Time Trip to Spring Training Because our Wives are AWESOME! Day One:

The weather was warm and Tony was in an unusually good mood. His mood could be associated with one of three things. Maybe it was the fact that he felt overwhelmed with joy that he was attending spring training with someone who could explain the finer points of the game of baseball to him. It could have been the fact that it was 80 degress outside as he just arrived from the frigid temperatures from a land I like to call the Great White North (AKA Colorado), or perhaps it was just the simple fact that he was about to embark on a journey that would take him to three Major League Baseball games and two college games. As we drove off towards our destination to catch the Arizona State Sun Devils take on Long Beach in a night cap, a little gleam was in both our eyes on the once in a lifetime journey we were about to embark upon.



With my trusty GPS system (Delores) in hand to navigate us to baseball glee, we arrived on the campus at ASU to find the baseball stadium completely empty. Tony instantly blamed Delores for her poor navigating skills while I demanded that he take it back! I would not stand for him putting Delores down. She knew where she was taking us and had never failed me in the past. I acted quickly on my feet and shut down my Iphone so poor Delores would not have to hear such blasphemy!



I blamed Tony for his lack of being able to read a schedule correctly. The argument went back and forth of who was at fault. The longer the argument, the more frustrated we were getting with the simple fact that we were not watching baseball as we had set out to do.



We decided that we would work together and see if we could figure out our conundrum that we we found ourselves in. It was a good thing for Tony, as he did not realize that he was very close to receiving a purple nurple for his attitude towards Delores!



We walked around the stadium to find a sign posted that ASU no longer played baseball at Packard Field. What? Where would they play? They already had an amazing field right in front of us? We found out they are going to tear the old gem down to make way for the football team. To me this is unbelievably sad. One of the best historic baseball programs in the nation has to make room for one of the more mediocre football programs?



I turned Delores back on as Tony apologized to her for his sudden outburst earlier. She calmly took us to Phoenix Municipal Stadium, old spring training home to the the Athletic A’s and new home to your ASU Sun Devils.



We both set out with different goals for this trip. I simply want to see as many games in the short few days that we are here. Tony wants fulfill his lifelong dream of getting a foul ball. Tony has tried at many a ball game to get the treasured piece of history with little luck. He has come close a few times, like the Zephyrs game in 1988 when the ball was in his grasp, but at the last second a little kid outran him to scoop it up!



Tony’s dream came close to happening at the game. A foul ball found its way on top of a slated roof. Two little kids laid claim to the ball, but were way too short to jump up and grab it. I tried twice and missed. Tony jumped and moved the ball but it would not fall down to his eager little hands. That’s when the usher came over with a broom stick and knocked it out and handed it to the kids. Once again Tony was denied!



The game was fun and had a great crowd. After a little research we found some interesting history on the field. The light stands were from the old Polo Grounds in New York. When they tore the old stadium down they shipped the light stands to Phoenix. Pretty cool stuff to think about.



The game was going well until the top of the seventh when Sparky, the team mascot made an appearance. They announced that Sparky would throw out free t-shirts to the fans who were being the loudest. Since I have a loud voice I knew that I would be wearing a brand new ASU t-shirt the next day. I yelled, I danced, I even told Sparky that he was the man. Sparky mocked me as he would pretend to throw me a shirt only to hand it to an old lady, or throw one to a little kid. There was only one shirt left when I realized I better pick up my game. To no avail! Sparky taunted me with the shirt as he shook it at me to simply hand it over to a pregnant lady.



As far as I was concerned Sparky cheated me out of the shirt! After all, the rules were clearly stated that he would give a shirt to whoever was loudest. I knew in my heart I had beat out the little kid, pregnant women and the old lady. Obviously this game was rigged. I gave Sparky a taste of his own medicine while I booed him and called him a hack.







With Tony having his doubters down over being so close to the foul ball, yet so far away, and me realizing that the rules of the universe were not always fair. We decided to console ourselves with a Famous Star and a Big Carl's burgers from Carl's Junior. After eating we went back to the hotel room to plan out the next day. Day two will consist of seeing an old friend, Scott, going to watch the Brewers and Rangers play, followed by another night cap at the ASU game. That’s right Sparky, I’m coming back for my shirt...