Let me begin this post by profusely apologizing to all of our friends on the East Coast, and pretty much every where else in the country, who have had to deal with some harsh winter weather. This post may elicit feelings of jealousy from all of you. As is the case for January in Palm Springs, baseball and beautiful sunny weather came together for a staggered two-weekend visit for my first Baseball Road Trip of this young season. It had been more than six months since I had last visited Palm Springs, and I was reminded just how wonderful a place it is to see a game, especially this time of year. I'm so glad that I have established such a great tradition of the California Winter League to begin my season.
What is the California Winter League? Well, as far as I understand it, it is a league that offers prospective Independent League signees a chance to showcase their talents to scouts. It isn't professional baseball, but it still offers a level of competition that will filter into multiple Independent Leagues around the country. There are ten teams, I believe, and they play a circuit schedule against each other for about a month's long season. There are two fields, the main Palm Springs Stadium and the Aux Field next door, that host two and three games, respectively. They only play seven inning games, and there is a lot of substitutions and pitching changes during the games as players need to be seen and evaluated. Think of it as a pre-Spring Training for the Independent Leagues.
I went to two separate weekends, with two doubleheaders, both at the main Palm Springs Stadium. For the purpose of this post, I am going to focus on my second visit, yesterday, and my thoughts and experiences around it. It had better games than the first week, and I felt that it was a good end to the first Road Trip. Also, yesterday had the best weather, which I want to gloat and brag about for my friends enduring the foul weather.
Palm Springs, being only an hour away from here in Highland, is a destination city in the winter. When you go to Palm Springs in the summer, it is like a ghost town as the temperatures are routinely above 100 degrees. However, in the winter, the temperature hovers around a balmy 70 degrees, which attracts hundreds of thousands of snowbirds from the cooler climates. As I pulled my car into the parking lot of Palm Springs Stadium, lots and lots toned and tanned people were walking dogs, riding bikes, or jogging around the city and in the park. But, with crystal blue skies, barely any wind, and brilliant sunshine, could you really blame the people for being out and about?
While I wasn't surprised at the amount of people out and about in the city, I was floored at the crowd at the stadium for both of the games that I attended. I mean, I know Palm Springs has more people now than in the summer, so there is a larger of population draw. However, to go to a baseball game in January means you're a die-hard, and I didn't know that snowbirds were die-hards. Palm Springs is a downtown stadium, but convenience of location can only be a coincidence for so long. There were more people in attendance at the California Winter League game than at some of the California League games I have been to during the actual baseball season. I was really surprised at this, and it really got me excited.
The first game of the doubleheader saw the Palm Springs Chill beat the New York Colonials 3-2. The second game saw an offensive explosion with the Washington Blue Sox beating the Palm Springs Power 19-2.
While there were quite a few people at the game, I still was able to sit wherever I wanted and had room to stretch out. I found that I really enjoyed sitting below the press box and listening to the radio announcers call the games. While it certainly helped when I was keeping score for the game, it also served to get me thinking that it would be fun to, one of these days, call a game of my own. Announcing a game on the radio is a challenge, and I have to respect the individuals who do it because you need to have lots of information to fill in during the dead parts of the games. Of all the games I have gone to over the years, I think I could hold my own on the airwaves. So, if there's any team out there looking for a radio guy, give me a call!
If there is another reason why I am so glad I have made the California Winter League a tradition is the price. You would think that a city like Palm Springs would overprice everything, but this certainly is the exception. For $12, you got admission to both the games, the privilege to sit anywhere, and a lunch of a hot dog, chips and drink with a Palm Springs Power koozie. The programs were free, and they have theme days like all teams do. The two days that I went, it was Dollar-Beer Day. The day after was a giveaway of California Winter League hats. Considering that to buy a gallon of milk in Palm Springs requires you to take out a second mortgage on your home, this was a steal of a deal.
As the game wore on, and with the sun shining brightly, I said to myself "I need to take advantage of this to the fullest." As always, I had brought my bike with me, and with the great weather, I decided to ride until I literally couldn't anymore. Whether it was through fatigue or daylight, I was committed to doing the ride around and through Palm Springs. So, I unloaded my bike, and set off on a fantastic loop that took me past the bustling airport, the posh Movie Colony, through downtown past luxury restaurants, up the hills on the west side of town where the million-dollar plus homes are, and finally dodging the golf carts bisecting the Indian Canyon Golf Course. All in all, it was an 18-mile ride that took me right up to sunset at around 5pm. I parked my bike afterwards very content with the day I had.
Palm Springs is quickly turning in to one my favorite baseball destinations. I love doing games in January with the weather being in the mid-70's and under beautiful blue skies. I love riding around the city and seeing all the palatial homes and cushy restaurants. However, what I think I love about is that I do two completely different activities around a consistent baseball game for the two times I go there during the season. It is unlike any other city or place I go to on Baseball Road Trips, and that is why it's quickly becoming my favorite. I will definitely be going back to Palm Springs this summer, and, for sure, next January.
As we move into February, baseball heats up. I'll be heading down to Riverside this Saturday for some small college action as Riverside City College plays host to West LA College. Normally, a game like this won't show up on my radar, but I'm going to get some practice in on my scorekeeping in preparation for the real season starting in April. So, with the College Season quickly coming upon us, I'll write up a preview later on this week, so stay tuned!
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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