This past weekend, multiple locations hosted events for fans to join and see their teams get some batting practice in. As the spring training games kick off in a few days the excitement continues to build. With new stadiums and new teams, as well a returning team, Arizona prepares to kick off spring training games in less than three days from now. Arizona welcomes our out of town guests as MLB gets ready to start Spring Training 2009.

In Goodyear, the fans were plenty. The day began with a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new ballpark in Goodyear. Upon arrival at the ballpark, the lots we filling up and there were plenty of fans at the event. The ballpark is also ready for the Cincinnati Reds to arrive in 2010. We noticed that they already have the signage up for the team which we thought was kind of nice. The new stadium is very well laid out and has accommodations for well over 10,000 fans. We watched the Indians batting practice for a while before making our way back south to the Peoria Sports Complex. Upon departure, the fans kept rolling in.

In Peoria, the San Diego Padres were wrapping up their batting practice as the Seattle Mariners took the field. Since Ichiro Suzuki is presently in Japan, we did not get the opportunity to see him, nor did we see Ken Griffey Jr. this weekend. There is no doubt that there will plenty of opportunity to see the newest addition to the Mariners as Cactus League progresses. While intimately familiar with the park, due to our Fall League game coverage, we noticed some additional areas in right field that have been set up for a lounge type area for Spring Training. There were baseball clinics and events for kids as well as a team shop, as all locations do, that were accessible to the general public.

Sunday, our trek took us back to Bell Road, only in the other direction, to the City of Surprise, were the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals were taking batting practice. In its seventh year of existence this fan fest had tons to do as well, as there was sports memorabilia, kid’s games, face painting and even clowns. We also had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Royals legendary Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett.

In all, we had a great time running around catching all of the events and the players seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. There was not a smile missing from anyone’s faces, from the staff at the stadiums to the fans and the players. When asked about the number of balls he tossed to the kids, Mike Morse of the Seattle Mariners, “I had to. We appreciate you guys”.

…And we appreciate you too Mike.

Saturday

The first part of the weekend will include a couple of events. Peoria will be opening their gates at 9am for the day’s events and will be wrapping up around 2pm. Goodyear will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate the stadium to the City of Goodyear at approximately 9:30am. The festivities will continue until 2pm as well. In the city of Goodyear, National Anthem tryouts will begin at guest services at 1:30pm.

Sunday

It will be an excellent day to spend in Surprise from 9-5 to see the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers will be hosting a Fan Fest of their own. There will be opportunities to watch the teams’ practice sessions in addition to other activities for visiting fans. Some of the additional activities include; autograph opportunities, player home run derbies, sports card and memorabilia show, batting cages and more.

Information

Peoria Sports Complex
9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday 2/21
16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria
623-773-8720

Goodyear Ballpark
9:30 a.m. – Ribbon Cutting
10 a.m. – Activities, Saturday
1933 S. Ballpark Way, Goodyear
623-882-7525.

Surprise Stadium
9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday
15960 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise.
623-222-2000

Spring Training Fan Fest Locations

As there are a little over four weeks left to play in this year’s Fall League, there have already been some spectacular performances by many of this year’s players. Some of which will be found at the Rising Stars Game.

Below you can find this year’s roster of the players that are expected to be in attendance for the National and American Divisions:

American Division
Pitchers
Cesar Carrillo (RHP), San Diego
Casey Fien (RHP), Detroit
Tommy Hanson (RHP), Atlanta
David Herndon (RHP), Los Angeles (AL)
Alex Hinshaw (LHP), San Francisco
Eddie Kunz (RHP), New York (NL)
Bud Norris (RHP), Houston
Aaron Poreda (LHP), Chicago (AL)
Rocky Roquet (RHP), Chicago (NL)
Cory VanAllen (LHP), Washington
Sean West (LHP), Florida

Catchers
Tyler Flowers, Atlanta
Josh Thole, New York (NL)

Infielders
Gordon Beckham, Chicago (AL)
Emmanuel Burriss, San Francisco
Jason Donald, Philadelphia
Shelby Ford, Pittsburgh
Logan Morrison, Florida
Brett Wallace, St. Louis

Outfielders
Chad Huffman, San Diego
Daniel Murphy, New York (NL)
Chris Petit, Los Angeles (AL)
John Raynor, Florida
Josh Reddick, Boston
Casper Wells, Detroit

National Division

Pitchers
John Bannister (RHP), Texas
Brooks Brown (RHP), Arizona
Rob Delaney (RHP), Minnesota
Carlos Fisher (RHP), Cincinnati
Philip Hughes (RHP), New York (AL)
Jeremy Jeffress (RHP), Milwaukee
Brent Leach (LHP), Los Angeles (NL)
Shane Lindsay (RHP), Colorado
Brian Matusz (LHP), Baltimore
Ryan Reid (RHP), Tampa Bay
Anthony Slama (RHP), Minnesota

Catchers
J.P. Arencibia, Toronto
Matt Wieters, Baltimore

Infielders
Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Los Angeles (NL)
Wes Hodges, Cleveland
Beau Mills, Cleveland
Chris Nelson, Colorado
Rusty Ryal, Arizona
Carlos Triunfel, Seattle

Outfielders
Julio Borbon, Texas
Joe Dickerson, Kansas City
Sean Doolittle, Oakland
Greg Halman, Seattle
Austin Jackson, New York (AL)
Drew Stubbs, Cincinnati

Surprise Stadium is located in the flourishing City of Surprise Arizona. Surprise is located in the far west region of the valley and is west of Sun City West. Both the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals call this their home during spring training. It is also the home to the AFL’s Surprise Rafters.

Although the trip to the stadium is a bit of a trek for locals, it is quite a site that would be appreciated by loyal baseball fans everywhere. The classic design and the faux white picket fencing help to make this a gorgeous stadium. Built in 2002, this is one of the newest additions to the stadiums and is definitely a must on the list of stadiums to visit.

Link to Stadium Seating Map

Surprise Stadium