When George Mitrovich attended his first professional baseball game in 1942, at the ripe old age of seven, he was instantly hooked. Baseball — playing the game as well as watching it — has since become a lifelong passion for Mitrovich, 68, who's been chasing breaking balls as well as visiting ballparks across the country now for 60 years. But these days, he has a particular reverence for the games of early spring.
“Spring Training is just a terrific way to watch baseball, especially in Arizona,” says Mitrovich, the longtime president of the City Club of San Diego and a true-blue baseball fan who, to this day, still plays the game — yes, hardball — with more than a modicum of pep and skill in a San Diego-area adult league. “All the ball parks in Arizona are new and luxurious, the game tickets and hot dogs are cheap, and the sun's rays are warm,” Mitrovich says. “We bring our kids and grandkids down there. It's baseball as we once knew it.”
Indeed, baseball fans of all ages seem to rekindle a passion for the sport when attending spring training games, which aren't nearly as crowded or intense as regular season games, nor are the fans nearly as obnoxious.
But thankfully the game's the same. And there's no better or more inexpensive way to enjoy pro ball than to take a few days off and head with the family to Arizona's so-called Cactus League, which is enjoying its 50-year anniversary this season. There's also the Grapefruit League in Florida, of course, but in this piece, we'll focus on the desert. What follows is everything you and your family need to know to get in on the 2004 Arizona action.
Scheduling your trip
Spring doesn't "officially" begin until Mar. 20, but everyone knows that spring training marks the real beginning of spring. Well, at least every baseball fan knows. The Cactus League, which runs through the entire month of March and into early April, means cheap tickets, inexpensive hotels, good eats, and an unrivaled opportunity to get up close and personal with baseball's superstars such as Greg Maddux, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, as well as its unknown hopefuls. The games are all played in small but modern stadiums in the Phoenix and Tuscon areas under warm desert skies.
The action, which begins on Thursday, Mar 4 and continues through Saturday, Apr 3, now involves 12 Major League baseball teams: the Anaheim Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks (of course), Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers.
We suggest you fly or drive to the Phoenix, the center of the action, then head to the Northwest Phoenix suburb of Peoria, where both the Mariners and Padres play. A small town of some 130,000 about 30 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Peoria is buzzing this time of year. To get to Peoria from the airport, just Take either I-10 or I-17 to Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway). Take Loop 101 West, if traveling on I-17, or Loop 101 North if traveling on I-10. From Loop 101, exit Bell Road East. From Bell Road, turn south on 83rd Avenue and you'll see the Peoria Sports Complex about one-half mile down on the east side of 83rd Avenue.
The complex is a state-of-the-art, two-team facility that is still considered by many to be the premier baseball facility in the nation. Both the Mariners and the Padres have six major league sized practice fields, there's a 35,000 square foot clubhouse, indoor/outdoor batting tunnels and cages, and, best of all, an 11,000-seat state-of-the-art stadium.
And you're likely to see some really good baseball there this spring, too, since both the Padres of the National League and the Mariners of the American League are predicted to be among their respective leagues' best teams this year. The Padres enter the 2004 season with very high expectations as perhaps the most improved team in baseball. They not only have a new San Diego home ballpark this season — Petco Park — but also a new logo, new uniforms, lots of good new players such as pitcher David Wells, catcher Ramon Hernandez and outfielder Jay Payton, as well as the healthy return of their stars, sluggers Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko and ace reliever Trevor Hoffman.
There’s almost always a home game to watch in Peoria. If the Padres are playing an away game, the Mariners are usually home, and vice versa. You can purchase Peoria game tickets — and all the games in the cactus League — by phone through Ticketmaster, at 480-784-4444, and get more information by calling the box office at 800-409-1511.
Peoria is the ideal base camp during your spring training trip not only because of the awesome sports complex, but because it's also not far from all the other Cactus League teams: The Brewers are in nearby Phoenix, the Royals and Rangers are about eight miles away in Surprise (yes, that's really the name of the town), the Oakland A's are also in Phoenix (about 20 miles away), the Angels in Tempe (about 25 miles), the Giants in Scottsdale (28 miles), and the Cubs in Mesa (31 miles). If you like, you can also make an easy day trip to Tuscon to see the rest of the league's teams play.
Sleep for sluggers
Although a number of hotels in Peoria are already sold out for the entire month, there are still a number of inexpensive lodging options nearby. Here are a couple we recommend: Springhill Suites, $99, 7810 West Bell Rd., 623-878-6666, and Holiday Inn Express: $125, 16771 North 84th Avenue, 623-853-8888. We've also found that Lodging.com has the basic, but fine Grand Inn Hotel for just $78.99 on a number of dates.
Rounding the bases with Brooks
As for the games themselves, there are hundreds from which to choose, and it isn't difficult to get tickets. And here's something interesting: country music superstar Garth Brooks, who as you may recall played the entire spring schedule with the San Diego Padres in 1998 and 1999 and the New York Mets in 2000, is back in baseball again this spring. This time, he's with the Royals.
Brooks, 42, an average athlete who was on the track team at Oklahoma State, where he threw the javelin, doesn't make a fool of himself out there. But nobody's going to confuse him with A-Rod, either. Listed as a switch-hitting outfielder in the Royals' media guide, Brooks has a remarkable everyman appeal, considering he's sold a gazillion records and is richer than even many of these deep pocketed ballplayers.
And it's a good cause — he was invited to the Royals' camp to raise awareness for his Teammates for Kids Foundation, which he founded in 1999. Brooks' foundations have raised more than $40 million for children's charities. The baseball division is called Touchem All (as in “touch all the bases”).
It's fun to see Garth flub a grounder or strike out on three pitches. It reminds us all how good these pro ball players really are. Garth is 1-for-39 in exhibition games. His only hit came while he was with the Padres — a single off Mike Sirotka of the Chicago White Sox in 1999. Though Garth is well liked among the players, no one wants to be the pitcher who gives up a hit to that singer guy. Brooks, #77 this season, made a deal with the Royals whereby he'll play Monday through Friday and go home on weekends to spend time with his kids.
Brooks and the rest of the KC Royals — along with the Texas Rangers — can be seen playing this spring at the new Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. Surprise is just eight mils from Peoria. The stadium information line is 623-594-5600. Tickets to all stadiums can be purchased through Ticketmaster.
The Cactus League has become a bona fide tourist attraction, and rightly so. “It's perfect for the snow birds,” says Mitrovich. “You can't miss them. They're the ones with floppy hats, oversized sun glasses, Bermuda shorts and walkers.”
Mitrovich says baseball has been a welcome constant not only in his life, but in this country over the last 60 years. It remains America's pastime, and he hopes it will always be thus. “I think any American who isn't a baseball fan, particularly of spring training, should have his citizenship revoked,” says Mitrovich.
No argument here. Play ball, America!
