Spring Training Travel - Advice for Newbies

[Bill Bauwens]

Hi all,

Brand new to the board and thank you in advance for having me.  Knowing full well that this topic has probably been covered ad nauseum, I'll ask anyway.  I want to take my son to spring training this season and was wondering if anyone could direct me to a thread (or provide advice) on the best place(s) to stay, days to go, places to see players, etc.  It's a father/son bonding trip so I really want to put in my due diligence for my son's experience.  Any insight would be greatly apprecaited and again many apologies for any redundancy.

Bill Bauwens

[TroutField]

I’ve only been once and plan on going again so I don’t have much experience. But when I went I sat down the 1st base line right by the exit of the locker room and got a ton of autographs. That’s where all the players come out on the field, even the pitchers. Not all the players stopped to sign, but I got Shoe, Richards, C.J. Wilson, Sherman Johnson, and a couple others. 

 

Where to stay kind of depends on your budget.  There are a ton of hotel options in the area. 

[eaterfan]

Get seats in the shade! The stadiums aren't big so every seat is pretty decent. I've only gone once, but I wished I had gotten seats toward the back under the awnings instead of near the field.

[WeatherWonk]

Go see the Angels ANYWHERE but Tempe Diablo Stadium. It is terribly overcrowded and the food lines collide with the walking area from third to first. Woefully inadequate parking. Dont know about autographs.

My favorite parks are Camelback Stadium, Salt River Fields, Scottsdale, Sloan.  

I favor Scottsdale as a place to stay because of all the good bars and restaurants in walking distance (Old Town). But that probably wont interest you.

[Slegnaac]

11 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Go see the Angels ANYWHERE but Tempe Diablo Stadium. It is terribly overcrowded and the food lines collide with the walking area from third to first. Woefully inadequate parking. Dont know about autographs.

My favorite parks are Camelback Stadium, Salt River Fields, Scottsdale, Sloan.  

I favor Scottsdale as a place to stay because of all the good bars and restaurants in walking distance (Old Town). But that probably wont interest you.

Will the Angels players sign autographs at the away stadiums? 

[Jeff Fletcher]

Go to Tempe Diablo Stadium on days they have a road game. They will still work out there from about 10-12 (depending where they are going) and there will be a lot smaller crowd of people to compete with for autographs. 

[ettin]

12 hours ago, Bill Bauwens said:

Hi all,

Brand new to the board and thank you in advance for having me.  Knowing full well that this topic has probably been covered ad nauseum, I'll ask anyway.  I want to take my son to spring training this season and was wondering if anyone could direct me to a thread (or provide advice) on the best place(s) to stay, days to go, places to see players, etc.  It's a father/son bonding trip so I really want to put in my due diligence for my son's experience.  Any insight would be greatly apprecaited and again many apologies for any redundancy.

Bill Bauwens

By the way welcome to the board Bill!

[JAHV76]

It all depends on your budget for hotel. The Buttes hotel next to Tempe Diablo is super convenient and they give you a golf cart ride to and from the stadium. It's expensive but the pool at the hotel is really cool and you might see Angels staff and or players after the game. Definitely sit in the shade. Have fun.

[Jobu]

53 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Go to Tempe Diablo Stadium on days they have a road game. They will still work out there from about 10-12 (depending where they are going) and there will be a lot smaller crowd of people to compete with for autographs. 

Adding to this that on off days you can practically walk onto the practice fields where the minor league guys are doing drills. It's a really unique experience. 

[ScottT]

Take a walk down to the minor league fields in Tempe. You can walk between catchers doing drills, listen to team meetings, and watch practice and games up close, for free. 

[ScottT]

I once got accused of running onto the main practice field and grabbing a baseball.  Good times.

I have seen people do it. 

[Slegnaac]

10 hours ago, ScottT said:

I once got accused of running onto the main practice field and grabbing a baseball.  Good times.

I have seen people do it. 

Mike Trout!

[Chris]

I remember standing at the edge of the parking lot against a rail and watching the players walk from the stadium down to a lower practice field in the morning, and later they walked back up to the stadium for a game.  We got a pretty good look at them, and some stopped for autographs with kids.

[Tank]

I thought the Holiday Inn Express had really comfortable beds. I'd stay there again.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

13 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Go to Tempe Diablo Stadium on days they have a road game. They will still work out there from about 10-12 (depending where they are going) and there will be a lot smaller crowd of people to compete with for autographs. 

 

12 hours ago, Jobu said:

Adding to this that on off days you can practically walk onto the practice fields where the minor league guys are doing drills. It's a really unique experience. 

I agree with Jeff & Jobu it would be a great opportunity for autographs and watching the kids workout and you might even see some minor league games! 

We usually go from Thursday through Saturday.... 1 or 2 games at Tempe and one on the road on the way out of town. Get seats online (think I paid 50 for behind home plate last year) (at Good Year 3 rows back was $40) and find an AirB&B room or you can find a 1 bedroom for a good deal! For around 60-90 per night (We got a 1 bedroom Condo last year for $105.00 per night) as the Hotels all know its SPT and charge high prices! This year we will be going either the 1st weekend of March or the third Probably at ChiSox & Rockies games 15/16 and we may catch another game maybe a Reds game at Good Year on the way out of town on Saturday! That's a really nice stadium. 

Bring plenty of sunscreen and a hat!

[T.G.]

This is several years old, but still has some good tips in it:  http://truegrich.blogspot.com/2010/01/fans-guide-to-cactus-league.html

 

[Troll Daddy]

Make hotel reservations ASAP like Today! I’m paying $270 (average price) a night at the Sheraton  ... my buddy is staying at Extended Stay America for a lot less dollars. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

To add a little more detail to my hastily written post last night....

Once the games begin, the Angels work out every day at Tempe Diablo, regardless of where the game is. (The only exception to this is when they are playing at one of the far away places, like Surprise or Goodyear, when they may work out at that ballpark. Even if they do, a group of 4-5 major leaguers who aren't going on the trip will still work out at Tempe Diablo. If you want to watch a private BP session with just Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, this is the time. Also, pitchers. Pitchers rarely do anything worth watching, but if you want to get their autographs, this is a good time.) On a normal game day, the starters and top major leaguers work out in the stadium, and the pitchers and other backup-AAA type position players work out down on the lower fields. They all hit the field at Tempe Diablo to stretch around 9-10 (typically earlier at the beginning of March and later toward the end of the month when there are fewer players left in camp). Then they split up and a bunch of guys head down to the minor league fields.

Around 11:30-12ish, they will be finishing up, so the players will all migrate toward the clubhouse entrance down the right field line. This is a good time to be there for autographs. (If it's a home game, obviously there will be hundreds of people there, as opposed to a dozen or so if it's a road game). Lots of people also wait for autographs along the ropes by the path through the parking lot where players walk between the stadium and the lower fields. Again, you are more likely to have players stop for autographs after they are done.

As for watching the workouts, you can get closer down on the lower fields, but the top players won't be there.

The minor league camp is on a set of four fields that are down even further from the stadium from where the major league lower fields are. It's a little bit of a walk from the stadium parking lot to get there, but you can walk around freely and there are bleachers and some shade. There will be a smattering of players there before major league camp opens, which is around the first week of March. It's also where major leaguers work out when they arrive before the official reporting day. Once minor league camp is going full bore, they work out around the same hours as the big leaguers, about 9-12. The minor league games don't start until around mid March. They usually start at 1. Usually there will be two games there every day, with the two Class-A teams and the AA-AAA teams traveling together. So, the Angels will host the Giants AAA-AA, while the two organizations will have their A teams playing at the Giants facility. Also, bear in mind that guys are generally playing on a higher level farm team in the spring than the one they'll play for during the season. It's because there are still a lot of guys in major league camp who will go down to AAA and bump everyone down.

Also, yes on the hotel reservations. Make them ASAP. It's almost impossible to get a decent rate, no matter when you book.

[Taylor]

Hotel prices have definitely gone up. We stayed at the Grand Canyon University Hotel in Phoenix last year for about $100 per night, which was a steal. But even a Motel 6-type hotel in a crappy neighborhood will charge $100+ per night. I think we're going to explore the Airbnb route this year. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

30 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Hotel prices have definitely gone up. We stayed at the Grand Canyon University Hotel in Phoenix last year for about $100 per night, which was a steal. But even a Motel 6-type hotel in a crappy neighborhood will charge $100+ per night. I think we're going to explore the Airbnb route this year. 

@Taylor

Which is why we've done the AirBnB route the last two years! Like I said above we got a 1BR Condo with full kitchen etc for $105.00 per day! In a nice complex near the artist district it had a pool and bocce court, and some great places to hangout in the area ("The Patio" or something like that was really cool it had 3 restaurants under one roof with a huge patio area with bags, ping pong, music a huge outdoor bar and a cool vibe our place was about a 15 minute drive to Tempe Diablo. 

[mpcincal]

If you have a Kindle, this book has given me a lot of great information, and it's updated every 1-2 years:

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Spring-Training-Arizona-ebook/dp/B075Y1FHFV/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515118928&sr=1-5&keywords=cactus+league

They go park-by-park and recommend best places to sit, parking situations, places to stay, places to eat nearby, etc., etc.

[AngelsFanSince86]

Jeff Fletcher basically summed up everything I would say about Spring Training, but I'll add a couple things:

1) Go to http://www.springtrainingconnection.com/ and you will find information about the various stadiums such as the ever important where to find shaded seats.

2) Last year we took our son (5 years old at the time).  We went to the city of Mesa which is a 15-20 minute drive from Tempe.  They have a natural history museum which is pretty cool to spend a little time at depending on what your son is in to (ours loves dinosaurs and they have animatronic dinos as well as fossils).  They also have Joe's BBQ which was a cool spot to grab some really good BBQ in a family environment.  They have a back patio area where you can eat and the kids can play.  There were a bunch of kids throwing around a football and playing random games and they invited him to come play with them and he had a blast.  Kids playing with him ranged from 5-12.  If your kid is a bit older it is still a very good BBQ spot I would recommend.  

3) If you would rather spend your time in Pheonix area then one place I would recommend eating is CIBO.  Great pizza (and other food).  

 

Hope this helps.

[Taylor]

Just got a sick Airbnb deal in mid-March for a private condo-style room. $86 total for two nights. It was our first Airbnb, so we got $40 off. All of the hotels were charging $80 minimum per night (not including taxes and fees). We're just going to get lawn seats at both of the games we go to. Spring Training on a budget is possible.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

nice find!!!!

[Bill Bauwens]

Thank you all so very much for the amazing advice!  I've never tried AirBnB but it sounds like that might be the way to go.  This is truly a great community with good people and I sincerely appreciate you all taking the time to share with me your advice and experiences.  Go Angels!