Spring Training

24 Hours of Spring Training

Neither Kevin nor I had ever seen a Spring Training game. I think it is safe to say that we'll be there every year from here on out. Last year for Kevin's birthday his "big present" was a trip to Scottsdale, AZ to see his beloved Giants play. We coordinated with friends (another father/son team with a similar gift idea) to see the Giants play the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. While the trip lasted just a hair over 24 hours, we packed a season of fun into a short period of time.

We flew out on a Friday evening and made our way to the Scottsdale Day's Inn (the cheapest hotel I could find). We parked our car and enjoyed the rest of the trip on foot. There must certainly be a time for every city to shine and Scottsdale was enjoying chamber of commerce weather and a personality to match.

We awoke early Saturday morning, lathered on the sun block and dressed in our multi-layered multi-logoed fan uniforms. Kevin tested his newly purchased autograph pens and carefully packed the backpack with his pristine major league balls ready for signatures. After a quick bite at the hotel, we concluded it was too early to go to the stadium. But, we decided to go anyway. We took a leisurely walk through Old Town Scottsdale snapping pictures and burning off extra energy. By the time we arrived at the stadium there was already a crowd forming outside the locked gates. The game was sold out and yet there was a long line of people waiting for an unknown quantity of tickets that might come up for sale.

We had hoped to see batting practice but discovered that the stadium would stay closed until 11:00 am, after the Giants had concluded their practice. With an hour and a half to kill the boys walked to the outer practice fields and watched the players through the fence.

When the gates opened Kevin and friend Charles made their way to the edge of the dugout and began what would become a two hour effort to coax the big leaguers into taking a minute or two to sign autographs. Of course it took much more than a minute or two because there were 50 other people hoping for autographs. Kevin got a number of signatures including his big prize--White Sox slugger Paul Konerko.

There were t-shirts and paraphernalia to buy and Kevin plopped down $12 for the official 2006 Giants media guide which he would fall asleep reading later that night. We chatted with strangers, argued about steroids and watched the Giants put 19 runs on the board to wallop the World Champions. The boys, each armed with a cell phone, ran free throughout the stadium and claimed to almost catch a homerun ball.

Once the game ended the serious autograph hunting began. Kevin grabbed a spot outside the clubhouse and patiently waited for over an hour after the game to get a few more signatures. One of those signatures was from third baseman Pedro Feliz. While he was signing Kevin's ball, Kevin said, "I have you on my fantasy baseball team." Pedro smiled and said "Cool." "So," Kevin continued, "it would be great if you had a really good year." To which Pedro agreed that that would be a good plan.

After a swim we dined at the toughest reservation in town. Don and Charlie's restaurant is a baseball collector's dream with wall-to-wall-to-ceiling memorabilia throughout the restaurant. Where else can you see a case with signed balls from Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Sandy Kofax, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Barry Bonds, Willy Mays and virtually every other name you could think of? As we waited for our table in walked Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Baseball. Surely, from Kevin's perspective, Bud has the best job anyone could ever hope to have. The boys were eager to get his signature. Kevin wasn't sure which of his two balls he wanted Bud to sign. Should he get him to sign his rookie ball or the one he reserved for the more famous signatures? I suggested the rookie ball. The boys were intercepted on their quest by the restaurant owner (Don) who scolded the boys, not for attempting to acquire a signature, but for using Sharpie pens for signatures. "You have to use a ballpoint pen when you get signatures" as was evidenced by the hundreds of balls Don had on display. Don then walked over to Bud's table and got a signature for both boys.

As the hour approached 9:00 pm and our perfect day trip was nearing an end, the boys hoped to stretch the day just a bit more. They ended up playing catch on the hotel's lit tennis court. The tennis court was surrounded by hotel rooms and one guy shouted "Hey, are you guys Giants fans?" and when they nodded he ran into his room and emerged with two Lance Niekro bats (Lance had given them to this unknown hotel guest) and he gave each boy a real Major League bat to take home. Lance's name was burned into each bat and everyone was surprised by just how heavy Lance's lumber is.

Within minutes of acquiring this new prized souvenir, both dads had grabbed the bats and began swinging the bats themselves looking more like kids than the kids. It turns out that the Giants front office thinks that this cheap hotel was perfect to house their minor league players and after a long day at the park many were sitting around watching the boys play catch. We chatted with one rookie in his first camp and got a first hand feel for what it's like to try to make it into the big leagues. We promised that we would be down to see him pitch when he plays for the Single A San Jose Giants this year.

The perfect day ended with a blaring alarm the next morning at 6:15 as we began our return trip back to San Francisco. Kevin would go on later that day to pitch two scoreless innings for his Giants Little League team.

Let the season begin!

Click on a photo to enlarge.

Dinner at what could double as a baseball collector's museum, Don & Charlies

Photos taken around Scottsdale, AZ

Kevin & Friend Charles

March 28, 2006