Spring Baseball

[Dave Borton]

Let's use this thread to update others on Arizona and Florida ball.

On my way to get Cuban coffee, drove by the Yanks spring training site in Tampa this morning and there is life. Lots of prep work prior to ballplayers return.

I typically focus on college ball rather than the pro's. MLB might trot starters out for 3 inn and then you get to watch A-level ball. $35 later and what have you seen.

Will drive over to Lakeland to see Flatherty and Skubal pitch a few innings. College ball?

Two Div II teams; Tampa University and St Leo: https://saintleolions.com/sports/baseball/schedule. Will check out a game at St Leo this weekend.

Two Div I teams I will take in., Univ of South Florida. Will also drive down to Boca Raton for Florida Atlantic University, the Owls, my alma mater. It has been 51 years since I last drove off campus.

If anyone else is down here, sing out and we can attend one together. db

Play ball!

 

[Dave Borton]

Watched the Hawkeyes of Iowa fall to the University of South Florida last nite. Iowa was cruising to a 4-1 victory until the 7th. The Bulls smacked a grand slam and that's all she wrote. USF wins, 5-4. Infield was a black rubber composite.  I have seen the black fill on "grass" before but never for the infield players area.

Oh, it was 71* with the windchill factor at 8.30pm. <Winks>..

[Dave Borton]

We had plans to head to Gainesville for a game between UF and FAMU Rattlers (historic Black college) on Wed but the rain gods have other plans for the day. Nuts. Will head over to the Yanks spring training camp instead.

When we lived in Tampa, always went to the FAMU and Bethune Cookman (another HBCU) game. Football wasn't so good but the bands, at halftime, were spectacular. FAMU was the national champ marching band of 2024.

If you ever get a chance to see them perform, don't miss it.

 

 

[Dave Borton]

Stopped over to Yanks Spring Training. They had 3 fields going with BP. Tampa Tarpons, their single-A affiliate of the FSL plays here during the year. 

I guess we all have egos but I have lots of other names for the stadium I could suggest. Given my era, I think I will rename it the Mantle-Maris Field. Yeah, I like the ring of that. 

Tons of Yankee paraphernalia on sale. I easily walked past it and joined the other 1,100 visitors watching a very tall fellow practice...

[Dave Borton]

This young lad has visions and dreams of when he will fill his jersey with the class, form, and talent of #99. Mine was #24, Willie Mays, but I never made it out of the sandlots of Western New York. I wish the lad more success.

 

[Dave Borton]

And the man...Aaron Judge. He has kept the number 99 that he was given in Spring Training years ago.

3 fields, several pitchers on each, with 5 batters on ours. All eyes were on Judge. Gosh, he is easy to root for.

Pitching coach calls balls and strikes and so that players can get used to the ABS, batter can call for a review of a pitch. 

Judge cranked what would have been two doubles.