Cactus League 2014

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"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for Spring." 
-Rogers Hornsby

Folks, the Hall-of-Famer hit the nail right on the head. While my baseball travels have been going on for month already, mainly with college baseball, the professional game calls. It is mid-March and I'm heading to Arizona for Spring Training. This afternoon, my good friend, and avid blog reader, and I will depart from Highland and head east on Interstate 10 to the Phoenix area for a long weekend of Spring Training baseball. This is my second Cactus League trip down to Arizona since starting Baseball Road Trips, but this particular trip will feature a few different aspects than my previous trip in 2011.

Here's the itinerary for the next three days:

Our first stop, Friday night, is in Goodyear to see the Cincinnati Reds play host to the Texas Rangers. Saturday is the busy day as we'll wake up early and head to Salt River Fields to see practice before seeing the Angels play the Colorado Rockies. After getting out of Salt River, we'll make our way to Camelback Ranch in Glendale to see the Chicago White Sox and LA Dodgers. Sunday is our final day as we see the Mariners and Angels tilt at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

I've already been to Goodyear and Salt River Fields, but those were my two favorite parks from my last time down to Arizona, so I'm excited to go back to those two parks. In addition, I'll be seeing new parks 52 and 53 at Camelback Ranch and Tempe Diablo Stadium. I did pass Tempe Diablo on the freeway my last time in Arizona, but the schedule for the Angels, and consequently for Camelback Ranch, did not work out in my favor. Hitting up new parks and experiencing everything they have to offer is the essence of Baseball Road Trips, so I'm definitely excited for that.

Another difference on this trip is something I alluded to after I returned from Arizona in 2011. For the most part, I'm following a specific team. In this case, of the four games I'm seeing, half involve the Angels. Since the Halos are my "team" now, being able to follow them during Spring Training gives me a glimpse at the talent for the upcoming season.

The last part of this trip that is significant is being able to share it with someone. My friend flew down and took the Metrolink here last night, and I'm already having a great time hanging out with her. I picked her up from the train station in San Bernardino, grabbed some In-N-Out burgers, showed her the area a little, and hit up a popular brewery in neighboring Redlands. The prospect of finally going to games with someone on a legitimate Baseball Road, being able to talk with someone during travel, and seeing a new park right along with me is thrilling.

Keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare as they will be very active during this trip. I'll probably post on here tomorrow morning about tonight's activities in Goodyear.

This is going to be an awesome trip and I'm so happy to have all of you along for the ride!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)