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| Geroge M. Steinbrenner Field, 2015 |
George M. Steinbrenner Field
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Tampa Bay, FL
7:05 PM
Outside the Game:
For the first time the entire trip, I had a completely leisurely morning with which to work, as I would be attending a night game for the first and last time. I didn't even have a long travel to the stadium, and there were no social commitments to bind me.
For the first time the entire trip, I had a completely leisurely morning with which to work, as I would be attending a night game for the first and last time. I didn't even have a long travel to the stadium, and there were no social commitments to bind me.
I stayed in bed much longer than normal, and eventually, I
went downstairs to be mobbed by the dogs. I had found that Dodger had torn
apart a box between the time the rest of the household left and I awakened, and
Loki had nearly escaped her cage. I let all the dogs out to do their business
while I grabbed some water and enjoyed the morning. As soon as I seemed to be
not paying enough attention, Dodger would jump into my lap out of nowhere out,
derp-face in full effect, out of fear I may be thinking about petting another
dog.
Eventually, I went upstairs to gather my belongings. I made
sure all the dogs were secure, said goodbye to the dogs, and headed out my car.
A morbid thought struck me as I was driving away. Statistically, I wouldn't see
Josie ever again. Given the time differential of my trips and fact that she was
already 15 didn't bode well for the math. This made me a little depressed on my
drive to the zoo, and it is also why I can't have nice things.
The last time I blew through Tampa, I had visited their
aquarium, but with my one free afternoon, I was going to take in the Lowry Park
Zoo, which happened to be relatively close to the field as well. I parked up at
about ten o'clock and paid my way in. It was a lot larger than I was expecting,
so I just grabbed a map, picked a direction, and got going. I nearly
immediately saw that they had those wax vacuum-mold animals kiosks, so I knew I
would eventually be walking out with at least one of them.
I spent quite a relaxing morning and early afternoon going
about the park. Most of the rides (including a log flume and small roller
coaster) were included in the admission. I had planned to go on the log flume
later, but sometime between the first time I passed it and "later,"
it had broken down with mechanical troubles, so that probably worked out for
the best.
I saw all the exhibits and got some lunch, and it pretty
much had expended all the time I needed. I went into the gift shop to get
presents for everyone at work who had covered for me these last two weeks, and
then I found a shaded porch swing area in the Australian section and may or may
not have taken a nap.
It was eventually time to go, to I went out to the car,
stowed everything not baseball-related, and headed out to the stadium.
It turned out that Steinbrenner Field was right next to a
community college and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football stadium. A couple of
turns got me to the VIP parking entrance. I had gotten these tickets from my
accountant, who had Spring Training season tickets every year for himself and
to share with clients. He asked me every year if I wanted any, and this year,
I took him up on the offer. These VIP tickets got me early entrance to the
stadium, as well as the special parking.
I had to take a long and winding road to the special lot,
and it took four people in vests to get me to my eventual resting place. I
grabbed my gear and headed out about a half hour before the gates were to open
for season tickets.
After the game, I had an hour or so drive ahead of me,
assuming no traffic. I got out to my car easily enough, and the VIP parking
really did let me slip out the door as quickly as possible, and I was off and
heading east.
Although it was well beyond my more recent bedtimes, I
managed to make it to the hotel with no incidents. A friendly Indian man
checked me in, and I was off to slumber after setting everything up for the
next day's drive.
The Stadium & Fans:
George M. Steinbrenner Field, on 1 Steinbrenner Drive, in the Steinbrenner Sports Complex, perhaps unsurprisingly has a giant statue of George M. Steinbrenner at the entrance. As a monument to a monumental ego, it perhaps pales to locales such as the giant pyramid in downtown Taipei to former Taiwan dictator Chiang Kai-shek, but only on a matter of scale. George is inescapable around the park, which perhaps is well enough for a man whose pathological need to win helped revive the Yankees dynasty in the late 70s and 90s. No doubt he would think that the place didn’t feature himself enough.
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| Home plate to center field, George M. Steinbrenner Field |
George M. Steinbrenner Field, on 1 Steinbrenner Drive, in the Steinbrenner Sports Complex, perhaps unsurprisingly has a giant statue of George M. Steinbrenner at the entrance. As a monument to a monumental ego, it perhaps pales to locales such as the giant pyramid in downtown Taipei to former Taiwan dictator Chiang Kai-shek, but only on a matter of scale. George is inescapable around the park, which perhaps is well enough for a man whose pathological need to win helped revive the Yankees dynasty in the late 70s and 90s. No doubt he would think that the place didn’t feature himself enough.
Steinbrenner Field has been around for a couple of decades,
so while it is stately, it doesn’t quite match up with newer “palace parks” in
the Grapefruit League, which would probably cause The Boss to tear down this
stadium and re-start the same way he did in a deep blasphemy to the original
Yankee Stadium. The park lies diagonally across from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFL stadium, and down the street from the main training complex. A couple of
practice fields are on the grounds, but they are only accessible by people with
special tickets, in proper Yankees fashion. In addition to the giant King
George statue, there is also a mini Monument Park, with just player numbers and
descriptive plaques as opposed to the real deal up north, and a 9/11 monument
has been added to the proceedings after that tragedy. A team store, the ticket
booths, and the executive offices all also have entrances on the outside of the
park. Outside of VIP parking by the stadium, the main parking lot is across the
main road next to the facility, with a skybridge allowing plebeians to reach
the park. The entire park is surrounded by Tampa sidewalks, and the back of the
scoreboard and batter’s eye has a giant Yankees mural facing the street.
All the entrances to the park are up stairways from street
level. The main entrance is by home plate, and there is an additional entrance
in right field where the bridge over from the parking lot connects. It is a
familiar Spring Training layout, with an outer, wide promenade running around
the park from left field to right field, connecting to a smaller seating area
walkway at the outfields and via regularly spaced ramps around the park. That
grandstand walkway separates the box seats by the field from the regular
seating area further back.
What sets Steinbrenner Field apart is that it is the last
vestige in the world of what the original Yankee Stadium looked like. The
backing behind the home plate seats evokes the old gray façade of the original
stadium (now holding the press box and the luxury boxes in the spring park),
and the seats in the old stadium style appear to be in two levels, with a
version of the old bunting running along the sun shade that runs over the
seating areas from first base to third base. This imagery and colors of the old
stadium ends rather abruptly when you turn away from the home plate area and
look out on the field. Outside of a giant digital board in left center with the
Yankees bunting, it is all Florida Spring training park, looking out onto a
treeline and endless, flat, blue skies. A long digital scoreboard is in the
left field corner, the batter’s eye is in dead center, and a Walgreen’s picnic
seating area is in the right-center corner.
All the concessions, play areas, and memorials are in the
outer promenade. Most of the concessions and team stores are adorned with the
famous Yankee stadium bunting, and a small play area by home plate is near all
the stadium dedications and memorials. Multiple team stores are located around
the promenade, in keeping with the Yankees’ capitalist core beliefs.
The Yankees continue to have limited between-inning entertainment,
even in Spring Training--except for the demeaning YMCA dance for the Southern
grounds crew. Yankees Spring Training tickets remain one of the hardest to come
by in the Grapefruit League, and while the crowd is there to try and grab
easier autographs than you’ll get up north, they are also there to watch the
game.
At the Game with Oogie:
While I was walking around the park before going in and taking my regular photos, I was pounding the pavement behind center field. I heard something pass behind me, and quickly turning around, I saw a ball fly by, bounce once, and then end up out in the four-lane road behind the stadium. A pristine batting practice ball.
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| Hot dog and souvenir soda |
While I was walking around the park before going in and taking my regular photos, I was pounding the pavement behind center field. I heard something pass behind me, and quickly turning around, I saw a ball fly by, bounce once, and then end up out in the four-lane road behind the stadium. A pristine batting practice ball.
Now, there was a lot of traffic on the road--a lot of
traffic. It was kind of amazing that the ball wasn't hit and deflected at all,
but it just stayed out there. So I waited. Eventually, there was a red light on
the road, and I had until the turning traffic starting coming down the street
to run out and grab the ball and make it back.
It took a bit of running, but I did it, now with my new
prize in hand, only slightly worse for wear. I finished my walk around and
photos and headed to the main entrance.
In addition to the snazzy parking space, my season ticket
got me in a half hour early for some extra time to walk around before the plebs
came in. I did my tour of the place, took my pictures, bought my souvenirs, and
then got down to some food. I grabbed the hot dog and souvenir soda to start
with, and then grabbed an Italian sub at one of the unique concessions that the
stadium housed.
My ticket was a couple of rows back just behind first base,
and it was easily the closest I had ever been to Yankees players. A-Rod and
Mark Teixeira were warming up right by the bag, so it was the closest I'd get
to either of them for sure, and it was a nice way to watch the game.
Except for the fans. I was mostly in a season ticket area,
so it was mostly snowbirds or permanent resident Yankees fans, but there was a
group of college-aged kids a couple of rows behind me. One of the guys thought
it was funny to make fun of A-Rod--which, to be fair, it is--but he kept it up
nearly constantly for the entire game until he was pulled for a replacement.
It made for kind of a tedious experience, especially when interspersed with
Yankees fans trying to get him to shut up.
At least it reminded me of home.
The Game:
This meaningless Grapefruit League matchup had the visiting Toronto Blue Jays facing off against the New York Yankees at the pagan temple to George Steinbrenner. The relatively quick game would feature a great deal of pitchers and end with sadness for the home team.
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| First pitch, Blue Jays vs. Yankees |
This meaningless Grapefruit League matchup had the visiting Toronto Blue Jays facing off against the New York Yankees at the pagan temple to George Steinbrenner. The relatively quick game would feature a great deal of pitchers and end with sadness for the home team.
Toronto went in order in the first, while the Yankees only
had a two-out double. The Blue Jays started the second with a single, and then
after two outs, a double and another single got in two runs, for an early 2-0
lead. New York struck back in the bottom of the inning with a one-out walk
driven in by two more singles to cut the lead in half to 2-1. Toronto kept
scoring in the top of the third with a leadoff triple that came in on a ground
out to put the lead to 3-1, while the Yankees went in order.
The Blue Jays just had a two-out double in the top of the
fourth, while New York further cut into the lead with a leadoff homer to
center, making the score 3-2. Toronto manufactured another run in the top of
the fifth with a leadoff single, a stolen base, an error on the stolen base,
and a ground out, to extend the lead to 4-2. The Yankees went in order. The
Blue Jays stranded a double and a walk in the sixth, while New York went in
order again.
Toronto went in order in the top of the seventh despite a
leadoff single thanks to a double play, while the Yankees stranded a single and
a walk on the basepaths in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Jays went in order
in the top of the eighth, but New York threatened with a one-out walk and
double to make it second and third, but two more quick outs ended the potential
runs on the bases. Toronto similarly threatened in the top on the ninth with a
single and an error followed by an interference call to make it second and
third with one out, but an infield grounder and a fly to left ended the
opportunity. In their last licks, the Yankees tried to start a two-out rally
with a triple, but a strikeout left him out there, with the Blue Jays securing
their pointless 4-2 win.
The Scorecard:
The scorecard was part of the $6, full-color magazine program. Instead of in the traditional centerfold, it was about 3/4ths of the way into the program on one page, with the backing page including scoring instructions. It was largely a reprint of the major-league scorecard, with the visiting team on top, the home team on the bottom, and the pitching lines next to each other in the middle. Each batting line had a space for a replacement, and there were batter totals at the end of the line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. Each scoring square had a pre-printed diamond, but there was room enough to score, if a little cramped. The semi-gloss paper was okay for regular pencil and a little difficult with colored pencil.
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| Blue Jays vs. Yankees, 03/17/15. Blue Jays "win," 4-2. |
The scorecard was part of the $6, full-color magazine program. Instead of in the traditional centerfold, it was about 3/4ths of the way into the program on one page, with the backing page including scoring instructions. It was largely a reprint of the major-league scorecard, with the visiting team on top, the home team on the bottom, and the pitching lines next to each other in the middle. Each batting line had a space for a replacement, and there were batter totals at the end of the line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. Each scoring square had a pre-printed diamond, but there was room enough to score, if a little cramped. The semi-gloss paper was okay for regular pencil and a little difficult with colored pencil.
There were a few plays of note. In the bottom of the first
was one of the first overshift plays I saw in person (on Teixeira), and I
recorded the out 4o-3 (and again in the bottom of the sixth). There was a
caught stealing 7-2 in the top of the second as a runner tired to score from first
on a long single to left. The top of the third featured a CS 1-3-6 on a pickoff
rundown, but the best was the top of the ninth. After a single, there was a
grounder to the replacement second baseman that was booted, and then he
interfered with the runner going to second, recording one of the first player
interferences I had to record, as an INT-4.
Speaking of replacements, every single player for the
Yankees and all but two of the Blue Jays were swapped out starting the in
fifth, though mostly in the sixth and seventh. Due to a subsequent replacement
by the Blue Jays, I had to use letter footnotes to record another pinch runner
in the ninth. Also of note was the eight pitchers by the Yankees. Everyone
except starter Sabathia got one inning, while Sabathia had two.
The Accommodations:
I was staying in a stop-off at the Budget Inn in Lake Wales, putting some distance in towards my return to the parents’ condo the next day. I was looking for a cheap, clean place to sleep, and this was pretty much it. I was a little nervous about this locale given how it looked on the outside, but the inside of the room was extensive and clean. One side of the room had a giant king-sized bed and nightstand, while the other had a dresser, with a flat-screen TV mounted above it. The bathroom was small but tidy. It was pretty much exactly what I needed that night, so it all worked out.
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| Budget Inn |
I was staying in a stop-off at the Budget Inn in Lake Wales, putting some distance in towards my return to the parents’ condo the next day. I was looking for a cheap, clean place to sleep, and this was pretty much it. I was a little nervous about this locale given how it looked on the outside, but the inside of the room was extensive and clean. One side of the room had a giant king-sized bed and nightstand, while the other had a dresser, with a flat-screen TV mounted above it. The bathroom was small but tidy. It was pretty much exactly what I needed that night, so it all worked out.
And perhaps most importantly, it didn’t have someone waking
up at the crack of dawn to go play golf.
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