Spring Training

My brother is going to take my kid Chase to Spring Training in Arizona from March 25 to April 1st. Neither of them have ever been. Chase is 9. If I can get any helpful advice it would be greatly appreciated like where to go, how to get autographs and what to do. Best places to eat, what to visit and things like that.

Thank you in advance for helping me out. This should be a ton of fun as baseball is his favorite sport.

Mike

Which part of Arizona are they going to ?

Probably 20 years since I've been to a spring training game, but I'm guessing things haven't changed much. If it's Phoenix, the place is huge and goes on forever, and spring training venues are scattered, so where to eat, what to see, etc., depends a lot on where you are. Just ask the locals. Tucson is much smaller, but I'd still ask the locals.

If time allows, a major tourist spot to consider, especially if they like historical shoot-'em-up western stuff, might be Tombstone, AZ, with the OK Corral, Boot Hill, museums, gunfight re-enactments, etc. Maybe too far to drive from Phoenix, closer to Tucson, but nice desert scenery along the way. There are also many great prehistoric native sites scattered around the state...Anasazi, cliff dwellers, ancient stone ruins, etc. Most of the best are well-marked on maps.

Of course, up north is one of the planet's most spectacular natural wonders, the Grand Canyon. Involves a lot of driving (thru great scenery) no matter where you start from, deserves a trip of its own, but definitely puts the "awe" in "awesome". If the trip home means driving north, might be worth a half-day detour (north from Flagstaff), just to catch a glimpse. But don't waste time or money on the overhanging (over-hyped) Hualapai glass walkway, which is outside the national park, not on the main canyon.

As for autographs, etc., training camps and training games tend to be very informal, crowds usually very small, more like little league than MLB. Team venues and game schedules are published in newspapers and elsewhere (no doubt online these days), again just ask if help is needed. Otherwise, just show up and play it by ear...likely to be few barriers between players and fans, up to individual players how friendly they choose to be, but generally very accessible for autographs, friendly chat, etc. Just be polite, don't get in the way, walk up and say howdy.

Hope your son has a great time...should be a real thrill for a 9-year-old baseball fan!

ps: take binoculars, to enhance any or all of the above!

ESPN's Keith Law rights about AZ spring training in his personal blog. It's been a while since I've read them and I think he focuses mostly on where to eat.

http://meadowparty.com/blog/?s=spring+training

Salt River Fields where the Rockies & Diamondbacks play is a great park.

Thanks for the info.

My brother just sent the schedule.
Looks like he will be seeing the Mariners play the Royals and Rangers at Surprise Stadium.

They will also go to the Grand Canyon, Castle n Coasters and Wildlife World Zoo. He gets to miss some school also. He loves missing school .