Spring training. Those two words used together have often caused me great joy.
I became a baseball fan at the age of six. Growing up in Anaheim – 25 miles or so from Los Angeles – my first baseball memory was hearing Vin Scully on the radio calling the Opening Night game between the Phillies and Dodgers … in 1960!
My dad took me to my first ballgame that year. The Pirates – and Roberto Clemente – beat the Dodgers 5-2 at the Coliseum behind Bob Friend. I can still see big Frank Howard of the Dodgers, quite an imposing figure, in right field.
The only option I had for going to spring training was Palm Springs, where the California Angels played. (The Angels trained in California and the other Cactus League teams trained in Arizona.) My mother took me to a game there in 1969 … but I remember another game in 1972 much better.
Nolan Ryan had been traded from the Mets to the Angels. While facing the Giants in Palm Springs, Ryan hit three batters in the first two innings … and he threw hard. Many of us in attendance that day wondered if the Angels had made a mistake trading their most popular player – Jim Fregosi – to the Mets for Ryan (and several other players).
But spring training really came alive for me when my mother and step-father moved to Phoenix. I was able to stay at their place and visit the eight major league camps with full access to all the players.
Some of my most vivid spring training memories:
*One day in Palm Springs in 1977, Nolan Ryan pitched for the Angels, went into the clubhouse and showered, and then walked around the stands for a few minutes. (Nobody recognized him). When he left the ballpark, I followed him outside and asked him to pose for a picture for me. (I’ll post it if I can ever learn how to work my scanner.)
*Danny Kaye, the entertainer, used to sit in the stands in Palm Springs when the Mariners were playing the Angels. One time, he sat in the stands right by me, trying to hide from the public. Didn’t work.
*In 1978, Rod Carew was traded from the Twins to the Angels for 4 players. When the Angels visited Sun City to play the Brewers, I waited by the Angels’ bus for Carew. He was carrying a Pepsi in a six-pack holder. While he signed three cards for me, I took the plastic holder off his hands … and kept it for years. (If I still had it, could I put it on ebay?)
*I once spotted Angel owner Gene Autry outside the Cubs’ ballpark in Mesa … and Leo Durocher walked right up to him. I got a great picture of the two of them.
*Speaking of Mesa, Yankee Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once worked for a sporting goods company and showed up at Hohokam Park where the Cubs played. He posed for me, too.
*In the early 1980s, Greg Minton was the closer for the Giants. One day, my son Ryan crept underneath the stands and found Minton waiting to take batting practice in the cage. When I asked to take a photo, Minton put Ryan on his lap and embraced him. Minton signed the photo the following year and wrote, “To Ryan, Take My Job, Greg Minton.” Priceless.
*Ryan approached Reggie Jackson for his autograph one spring. Although Reggie can be a first-class jerk, he signed two cards for Ryan … because NBC was filming the encounter.
*In 1984, future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage signed with the San Diego Padres. At his first press conference at Scottsdale Stadium, Gossage stood against a wall below the upper stands and answered reporter’s questions … while Ryan stood in the stands and tried to take Goose’s hat off his head. (Another great photo.)
*Jose Canseco of the A’s had a monster season his rookie year in 1986. The following spring, Ryan got Canseco’s autograph at Scottsdale Community College where the A’s trained at the time … and there was nobody around. (I took their picture, and although Canseco has turned out to be a jerk, it’s still one of my favorite photos.)
*In 1988, Ryan and I visited the Mariners’ stadium in Tempe. (The Angels are there now.) A gangly 18-year-old kid appeared and happily signed autographs for the ten or so of us who were gathered. His name? Ken Griffey Jr.
*That same day, the Mariners played an intrasquad game. When the players were done on the field, they showered, changed clothes, and then sat in the stands. Ryan and I walked up to players and got everyone’s autograph as many times as we wanted.
*Back in 1999, my daughter Sarah and I went to a workout at the Giants’ ballpark in Scottsdale … and we were the only two people getting autographs afterwards. When Barry Bonds came out, he asked Sarah before signing, “Why aren’t you in school?” When I asked him to sign a card, he bent the corner (telling me, “Now you can’t sell it”) and then signed it … and after he left, I just bent it back.
*That same year, Sarah and I drove to Mesa where the Angels once had their minor league complex. Carney Lansford, former third baseman for the Angels and A’s, was the manager of an Angels’ farm team. Because Sarah went to the same high school as Lansford (Wilcox High in Santa Clara), they had a great conversation about teachers they had in common.
For years, the great thing about spring training in Arizona is that you had full access to the players. When they drove into the parking lot, you could meet them as they went into the clubhouse. After they got dressed, you could meet them going to the practice field. After practice, most of them would stop for photos or an autograph, and after they got dressed, you could try and catch the ones you missed going to their cars.
That’s all changed now. The players drive into guarded parking lots. You can’t get near them when they walk toward the field. They’re all millionaires … and they act that way.
But I remember a better time … a simpler time … and I will always celebrate the beauty of spring training.
Here are some more current photos of spring training in Arizona:
I enjoyed being your partner getting autographs at Spring Training. I remember chasing after Johnny Bench in San Francisco city after he bought a candy bar. I got his autograph:)!
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I was glad you helped me get some autographs of the Giants this year. However, we would have gotten more if the players didn’t hide from their fans. I will root extra hard for Posey, Crawford, Schierholz, and Pill and not root quite as hard for Wilson, Cain, and Lincecum.
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Pastor Jim,
Funny how our Lord works. Here I am trying to finish some Bible College homework and start thinking about my long ago friend. This article reminds me of our youth in Anaheim. Glad you are still a fan of baseball and getting those autographs. Do you still have your player card collection?
Would like to get in touch if we can.
God bless you and Kim.
Dave
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Kim, you chased after Johnny Bench? You’re awesome! Sounds like Buster Posey was gracious about giving autographs…I’m glad to hear it. I think he has a lifetime of baseball ahead of him. Even his name is a great baseball name! I see him as a long term player, then manager (because some of the best managers were catchers) and one day owner-he just sems to be a really smart guy. I’d like to believe that one day long ago when these guys were kids they played just for the love of the game. Somewhere along the line they become part of the business of baseball, and that’s a shame.
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What Kim didn’t tell you is that one of the Reds’ players tried to pick up on her. The Reds were staying at the Crystal Palace on Market Street in SF and we went there to see them. Manny Sarmiento, a relief pitcher, looked through all my cards and made comments about various Reds’ players. When he got to Joe Morgan, he went, “Yeechh!” Bench left the hotel for the bus at the last minute and Kim got his autograph by the gift shop. I think they changed the name of the hotel years ago, but the restaurant inside was simply gorgeous.
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You have some of the most fun baseball stories i have heard. What do you think of the extra wildcard?
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I have SO MANY stories to tell … one of the best ones being about going with four friends to knock on Willie Mays’ room at the Ambassador Hotel in LA after a night game at Dodger Stadium. (He was not amused.) The extra wild card is okay with me, but I don’t like the idea of one game deciding things. How is Alameda after yesterday’s events?
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