Cal League 2014

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Baseball has finally arrived! All across the country, Major and Minor League teams are playing and ballparks are filling up with eager fans excited for the Opening series. This past week, I've watched a lot of games on tv, but all it has done is fuel my desire to get out on the road. This weekend, I'm staying within the State of California and doing a 2014 version of the California League road trip. I've been meaning to go to this particular trip segment for a few years, and I am very excited that I will finally get the chance.

Early afternoon Saturday, I will jump in the car and drive the three hours north to the San Joaquin city of Visalia and Recreation Park. There I'll see the California League affiliate of the Diamondbacks, the home team Rawhide, play host to the Stockton Ports. Recreation Park is supposed to be this really small and intimate venue, which always appeals to me.

After spending the night in Visalia, I'll jump back on the 99 freeway and head south to the city of Bakersfield. Attending an afternoon tilt at Sam Lynn Ballpark, I'll see the Bakersfield Blaze (Cincinnati Reds affiliate) play the visiting Modesto Nuts. On the flip side, I've heard very negative reviews of Sam Lynn Ballpark, so we'll see how that goes. I always keep an open mind when it comes to ballparks, and this will be no different.

In between the two cities, there is a site about halfway between Visalia and Bakersfield, in Delano, that I would like to see, so I hopefully will have time to do that. I'll explain more about this in a later posting.

Sure, there will probably be a lot of driving involved, but I'm ok with that. I tried to find a way to do the train the entire way, but it wouldn't work out logistically. Considering that this is a short two-day, two-city, two-game road trip over a weekend, it won't be bad at all. I'm going by myself, which can be a drag, but I have some good music on my iPod to entertain me, and there is nothing wrong with taking a "me" weekend away from work and Highland.

This Baseball Road Trip, in my mind, is the green light for the regular season. From here until the end of September, I have some sort of baseball-themed activity, whether it is Anegls/66ers games or Road Trips, planned out for every weekend. It's getting really exciting around here, folks, and all of you are on-board for this ride. Keep an eye out on the usual social media outlets for updated information on my travels. I'll update this blog tomorrow night and on Sunday.

Before I sign off, a couple of noteworthy baseball things:

First, I want to give a shout-out to my friend, Collette, who was my travel partner on the Cactus League trip, for starting her own blog on baseball stuff. She is focusing on the Mariners as an avid fan, and even though I'm an Angels fan now, I hold a special place in my heart for the Mariners. They're my SECOND favorite team! I invite all of you to check it out at http://collettetalksmarinersbaseball.blogspot.com/

Lastly, the Angels were swept in the first series of the year by the Mariners and enter this weekend's series against the Astros 0-3. Yesterday, I endured listening to the local sports talk radio and hearing all the fans panicking because of the bad start. Calls for Mike Scioscia to be fired, saying we're destined to finish last, etc. My advice? People need to chill out and keep things in perspective. There are still 159 games to go in the season, so let's see how things play out over the next few weeks. Losing three-straight isn't going to define the whole season.

Ok, that should do it. I will talk to you all this weekend!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)