Postcard from Tucson – Spring Training

Know right up front that I love the game of baseball. I grew up watching, playing, and loving the game. San Francisco was my home as a little boy, long before the Giants moved from New York. I was a fan of the old San Francisco Seals, and hated the rivals across the bay, the Oakland Oaks. Many teams came to town…the Sacramento Solons, the Hollywood Stars, the Portland Beavers, and the Seattle Rainiers.

Then, the Giants came west from New York in 1958…as did the Dodgers who moved to Los Angeles, and instantly became the object my scorn. I saw my first major league game that year when my father took me to see the Giants vs the Pittsburgh Pirates. That day, I saw Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Bob Friend, Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, and other baseball legends. That day is burned into my memory.

Fast forward to 2009. Since my days watching the Giants in San Francisco, there have been eight labor disputes resulting in work stoppages, a missed season, a cancelled World Series, out-of-control salaries, and of course, steroid scandals. Consequently, I no longer follow the major leagues…they lost me some time ago as a fan. But as I said in my opening sentence, I still love the game. You will often find me watching NCAA baseball at the University of Arizona.

But, Tucson is also the spring home home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. One hundred miles north in the Phoenix metropolis, several other teams, including the Giants, train from late February to the first week of April. And they all play each other in games that don’t count the least bit in the standings. It is a time when younger players get to show their stuff hoping to make the big leagues, while older experienced players get their bodies and minds ready for the long season.

The Rockies play in Hi Corbett Field, about 5 miles from my home. How could I resist not going to a few games when they are so close. And ticket prices are so cheap for these games…far cheaper than the hometown fans will pay this summer. But, more than that, there is an air of fun about these games…old time baseball. Most seats are close to the action and fans from all over travel down here for our weather and to see their teams. You are so close you can hear players and coaches talking and you can go out to the left field line to eat a hot dog right next to the players warming up.

So far, I have seen the Rockies play the White Sox, Dodgers, A’s and of course, the Giants. These men who wear the black and orange of the Giants are a far cry from those boys of summer I saw in 1958. Those days are gone forever. But, there is still some small secret pleasure to see a Giants uniform here in Tucson, so far from my city by the bay. San Francisco never leaves you.