My Unexpected Trip to Arizona Cactus League Spring Training

I live in PA and work as a Regional Sales Manager for a manufacturer based just outside of Altoona. My job is to grow sales with key distributors within my region (TX, AZ, NM, CO, and UT). So, half of my year is spent traveling in the southwest. It sounds pretty cool, but I spend a lot of time away from my wife and 3 boys. It can be very tiring mentally and physically. However, sometimes there are fringe benefits and experiences that are priceless. One of those experiences happened this week.

I flew into Phoenix early Monday morning with plans to spend time with 3 different resellers throughout the week. On Tuesday, I didn't have to meet with my customers until noon. Knowing that pitchers and catchers reported on Monday for nearly every team in AZ, I decided to stop at the Diablo Stadium complex in Tempe to see the California Angels. I arrived in the morning just in time to see the hoard of pitchers and catchers coming out of the clubhouse and spreading out across 6 fields. I didn't expect to see many position players as they weren't required to report just yet.

I was quickly amazed by how up close and personal people are to the players at Spring Training. It's the equivalent of watching a little league baseball game. You hear all of the coaches instructions, player conversations, etc. More shockingly, there were no more than 25-30 fans there to watch practice - even with free admission.

As I walked through the complex, I could hear the the sound of baseballs exploding off of a bat. To my surprise, I walked up to a field used for batting practice to find two position players that arrived early to camp taking some morning hacks - Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton.



Although I'm a die hard Pirate fan, there isn't much more exciting than watching two of baseball's greatest sluggers quietly taking batting practice. Pujols seemed to be working on situational hitting, rather than popping the ball out of the park. Hamilton had other ideas - He hit quite a few monster shots. I was fortunate enough to snag one of them.



Then I walked over to the field where the catchers were working out. I watched Mike Scioscia instruct the big league catchers in bunt-fielding drills and coaching them up like a little league coach. After the catcher's drills, Chris Ianetta walked past me holding a few baseballs. I made some small talk with him and he discovered that I had 2 boys currently in little league. He proceeded to sign a few balls for me to give to boys - Awesome guy.

On my way out of the complex, I noticed the MLB-ESPN tour bus and saw the makeshift TV set in the parking lot. I walked over to see the one and only Tim Kurkjian up close and personal. I was staring at him the way a 7 year old stares at a giraffe at the zoo. I'm pretty sure he realized I was surprised to see him on set, so he gave me a friendly wave and said hello - likely hoping I would walk away and stop creeping him out.



Then - off to work. But, there's more to the story...

Today, I was making joint sales calls with a sales rep when we passed the Chicago Cubs Spring Training complex in Mesa, AZ. The Cubs were just taking the field, so the rep asked if I'd like to stop and check it out. That was a no-brainer for me.

Once again, I was surprised that more people were not in attendance. I arrived in time to see a group taking BP, including Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo is a physical specimen and has tremendous pop in his bat. He put on a power display poking several balls well over the 375 mark with 10ft fences surrounding the field. As I stood behind the backstop watching BP, Theo Epstein walked directly in front of me to chat with Manager Dale Svuem and to observe his investments taking their hacks. As he was blocking my view, I jokingly said, "Hey Theo, I'd like to watch too." He and Dale both turned around with big grins and engaged in light hearted conversation. Once again, I was totally shocked how up close and personal people are at Spring Training to the players and team brass. They were both fantastic, down to earth guys - Although Theo looks more like a bat boy than a GM in person.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend at the park, so we stopped by one more field in the complex in time to catch the pitchers going through fielding drills. They had the pitchers separated into groups that were obviously developed based on their status with the organization. Starting pitchers were working together, relievers in another group, and minor leaguers in another. I watched the starting pitchers (Jeff Smardja, Edwin Jackson, and Matt Garza to name a few) repeatedly do the fake throw home, ground ball to 1st, cover the bag drill. They must have each done the drill 100 times before moving on to the "hit a line drive at your face - repeatedly drill"...seriously.



Unfortunately, I had to go back to work and left the Cubs facility. The experiences at both complexes were incredible and I never would have had the opportunity if not for my job. Although my job has its drawbacks, it also enables me to see things I may have never seen otherwise. What an awesome experience.