Back in March I was lucky enough to go to Arizona and attend a couple Spring Training games for the Angels! It was a lovely weekend getaway to Tempe filled with baseball! My two favorite things: baseball and traveling, what could be better? So I went down the street to the Long Beach airport, yes I live right by the airport, and I hopped on one of these tiny two seater US Air Express planes to Phoenix!
Look at how tiny that plane is! You should see the inside!
Oh wait you can, with an airplane selfie! Maybe you can't really see how tiny it is but you get the idea.
So I went on this lovely Spring Training getaway with my family, and once we landed and grabbed our bags we headed to the rental car area. A car is a big necessity in Spring Training, especially if you're going to several different stadiums. So we got in the rental car, and headed to our hotel in Tempe. Our hotel was The Buttes, which is a Marriott resort, and this hotel was beautiful!
Just look at that pool and scenery! Settled on top of a hill, The Buttes overlooks Phoenix in one direction and the other direction you can see the Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Spring Training home for the Angels. The Angels' home away from home is settled down the hill from the Buttes and is in walking distance. But fear not there are golf carts located in front of the lobby to take you down and up the hills when needed. And I indeed took a golf cart down to the bottom of the hill to get to my first Spring Training game.
My mom actually booked this trip with Angels Vacations, the same people who organized my
Boston trip. And by booking with Angels Vacations we received: three nights at the Buttes, the rental car, tickets for two games, a tour of the Tempe Diablo stadium and a meet & greet and dinner with some Angels players and staff!
The real fun (at least for me) is waiting outside the stadium over by the field where the Angels workout and do their warm ups, before the game starts. This is where the players come out to walk to the stadium and some even stop to sign! I got to meet a lot of players, some I knew, and some that I still don't know to this day. For example, Mike Morin, Cam Bedrosian, Grant Green and Drew Rucinski all signed my hat! Others did too but like I said, I still can't figure out, mainly because I can't read their signature.
So I got to watch the Angels play the Giants at both Tempe Diablo Stadium and at the Giants' stadium in Scottsdale. It was great to watch both of the teams get ready for the upcoming season and see the new emerging talent. What I like best about Spring Training games is getting to see the guys who don't get to play everyday or even the ones who may not make the team try to earn their spot. Personally, I liked Tempe Diablo better, but that's because it's my teams stadium and I got to sit in the shade. When I was at the Giants' stadium, I sat in the sun and got burned, tip and friendly reminder, always wear sunscreen and don't forget to reapply. That desert sun burns with all its might.
After the game at the Tempe Diablo Stadium, I got to attend the Angels Vacation dinner which included a Q&A with Angels Vice President Communications Tim Mead, bullpen coach Steve Soliz and catchers Chris Iannetta and Drew Butera (now on the Royals). Honestly, I didn't really like who I got meet. If you read my twitter, you'll already know about my feelings towards Chris Ianetta, and Drew Butera was new and now is gone. And honestly, it seemed like they really didn't want to be there, it felt more like it was an obligation they had to fill rather than an appreciation for the fans. However, Tim Mead is a wonderful and very nice guy!
After the meet & greet, Tim Mead took us down onto the field and we got to go into the dugout, which was ver cool! It was fun to walk on the field and climb into the dugout and sit where all my favorite players sit!
Seeing the Angels get ready and prepare for the upcoming season was a truly amazing experience, also seeing the Angels sweep the World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants was pretty awesome as well. Even though the Spring Training games don't count, it's still nice to see my favorite team win, and it makes the season ahead much more exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed Spring Training, and I can't wait to go next year!
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