Due to a deadline to book a free flight with JetBlue I’m departing Florida Sunday morning March 20th. This has made it easy to pick a weekend to go to Spring Training this year. The only decision is how many days to take off and how long to stay. Spring Training is in a way the Mecca of baseball fans. It’s a great experience that everyone should experience at least once. There is excitement in the air, the players are working out and more relaxed, and there are more opportunities to get close and get an autograph. The seats are much closer and much cheaper. It’s warm and really gets those juices flowing for the season to come.
I looked at the tenative schedules, since nothing is completely official yet, and came up with a plan. The Mets are about as far away from home as they can be on Wednesday and Thursday of that week, playing the Twins and Red Sox on the other side of the state. Disappointing, but to make up for it I’m thinking of taking in the Red Sox against the Braves in Disney on Wednesday, and then going to Universal Studios and the new Harry Potter ride on Thursday, and of course a Shamrock Shake for St. Patricks Day.
The Mets are home on Friday against the Braves. This will be a perfect day to go to the park for the early morning workouts. Saturday they have a split squad game in Disney, so a lot of the younger guys will be away from Port St. Lucie, but the rest of the team plays the Nationals at home. After that I’ll fly home, and anxiously await the Mets to join me and start the season.
Are you going to Spring Training this year? What type of plans do you have, or are you thinking of?