Arizona Fall League

Well, Fall is certainly here! We've turned our clocks back an hour, it's getting dark at five o'clock, and there's a chill in the air that signals winter is just around the corner. While the World Series has ended with the Giants taking the crown, baseball is still on my mind as I head off on the next Baseball Road Trip. It's really exciting to think that I can still do legitimate trips throughout the year, and I am so lucky to be living in a part of the country that allows me to do that. On Saturday, I'll be doing a day-trip, out-and-back, to Phoenix to check out the Arizona Fall League.

So, what exactly is the Arizona Fall League? While I expect to garner more knowledge when I go to the games, from what I can tell, and confirmed on Wikipedia, the Arizona Fall league is a short-season league in October and November that features the prime prospect for each Major League club. There are six teams in the League, and each team has prospects from five Major League clubs. For example, the Mesa Solar Sox have players from the Angels, A's, Cubs, Blue Jays, and Nationals.

The Arizona Fall League, at least for this year, is also sort of a "testing ground" for new rules that MLB may want to implement in the next year or two. This year, the AFL is experimenting with different pace-of-play rules. In certain ballparks, pitch clocks are being used to speed up the pitcher/batter match-up. There are also rules about batters stepping out of the box, intentional walks, and  between-inning warm-ups. From what I've read, the new rules have been met with mixed reactions from the media and the players, but I'll really be interested to see how it goes. Looking at the times of the games, it looks like they are having an effect because the durations are consistently around the two-hour mark.

Last Sunday, when we were setting our clocks back, I realized that Arizona doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time, so as of last Sunday, the State of Arizona transitioned from Pacific Time to Mountain Time. As a result of this, I will be out the door of my apartment in Highland at the bright time of 5am for the roughly 4 hour drive through the desert to Phoenix. After a much-needed cup of coffee from Oregon-based Dutch Bros., my first stop will be Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to see the Salt River Rafters (D-Backs, Rockies, Astros, Marlins, Twins) host the Peoria Javelinas (Braves, Indians, Royals, Cardinals, rays).

After that day game, hopefully a nap and another cup of coffee, I'll drive out to Surprise Stadium to see the Mesa Solar Sox play the Surprise Saguaros (Red Sox, Reds, Padres, Mariners, Rangers). This is a night-game, and will complete my doublheader. After the game, I'll jump in the car and drive back to Highland.

I've been to both of these ballparks before, so there won't be any new things to see. However, both of these games are professional games, so I will treat them just like any Dodgers or Angels game. That should bring my total profession games close to fifty for the 2014 season.

It will be a long day, for sure, but I am so very excited to go to Phoenix, and to take all of you along with me. Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare will all be active throughout the day!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)

UPDATE: Well, obviously I didn't go to Arizona this weekend...my work is coming up for it's accreditation this week, so I had to put some time in during the weekend to prepare for it. So, as a result, I will be going to Phoenix next weekend. I'm only going to see the Arizona Fall League championship game, which is going to be held at Scottsdale Stadium. This will be a new ballpark for me.