The Joy of Meaningless Baseball

Revolution in the Middle East. An earthquake of incomprehensible power in Japan wreaking vast destruction -- including seriously jeopardizing a number of nuclear power plants -- and actually moving the country's main island an astounding 2.4 meters and shifting the axis of the entire planet 25 centimeters. (Carole King was right: The Earth did move under our feet.) Ongoing economic struggles throughout the world. Gasoline prices passing the $4.00/gallon mark. Charlie Sheen.

In the midst of such turmoil, will we at TJOW, mature, committed journalists and consultants interested in world events, devote our attention to the significant impact these events are having on the world of work, those who work in traditional workplaces, or how best to cope during times of intense change? Alas, no. Instead, this week we focus our attention on a work environment of a much different sort. One defined by diamonds.

No, not those kind of diamonds. Baseball diamonds.

This week we turn our back, at least momentarily, on the pressures of work and the events of recent days and turn our attention to the charm, beauty and tranquility of meaningless baseball -- which, by the way, is not redundant! -- played in the desert of Arizona.

Yes, this week we take an all-too-brief trip to Spring Training.

[A TJOW shout-out to Bob Kakiuchi, our Spring Training partner for 15 years, for the above introduction and for playing the role of Muse so effectively. Keep dictating, Bob!]

There's nothing quite like Spring Training in the Cactus League. Fifteen teams playing in ten small, intimate, one-more-gorgeous-than-the-next ball parks scattered around Phoenix, all within an hour's drive of each other. Happy, friendly baseball fans from throughout the country, enjoying 85-degree sunshine, bedecked in their team's colors, sitting side-by-side those who desperately love the opposing team -- and no one caring a lick about the outcome of the game. For these are exhibitions, practice games, in preparation for the real deal season beginning later this month.

All in all, there's much more concern about having applied sufficient sunscreen and where to have dinner than for what actually occurs on the field. Who might we see at dinner tonight? (This year: Willie Mays, Bud Selig, Frank Robinson, Buster Posey.) Will it be the full chicken at Don & Charlie's? And much, much more importantly: Will I tan evenly? Critical Spring Training questions, to be sure.

The games of Spring Training are markedly different than regular season games. Here, starters play maybe 4 or 5 innings and then do their post-game running on the warning track during the game. Players with long-shot hopes of making the major league team -- denoted by being assigned uniforms with non-baseball numbers in the 70s and 80s -- play the remaining innings, often brilliantly. Children of all ages -- many in their 60s and 70s -- carry baseballs and pens in the hopes of snagging an autograph of their favorite players -- and usually getting them.

The biggest cheer at Spring Training? When the public address announcer provides a weather report from the cities of the two teams. 'While it's 85 degrees and sunny here, it's currently 21 degrees and snowing in Milwaukee. And it's raining and 47 degrees in Seattle at this very moment. Welcome to Peoria!'

Wonderfully, players in Spring Training actually interact with fans. Case in point: At one game a number of years ago, Jeff Kent, while with the Giants, starting in deep right field and working his way to the dugout, signed autographs for an hour during the later innings of a game. Another notable case in point: Julian Tavares, a relief pitcher for the Giants, declined to give a TJOW son an autograph before a Spring Training game, instead ruffling his hair. Julian was cut from the team a couple of months later. Coincidence? Not a chance.

Truth be known, Spring Training is not even about the games. The ball yards themselves are the attraction. The photo above is of the main diamond at the Peoria Sports Complex, home of the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. Seats behind home plate are $23, parking $5, beer $6.25 (still a rip), a capacity of about 9,000, and the friendliest staff to be found in baseball.

The photo just above is the newest park in the Cactus League and one with arguably the single best name of any sports venue in the United States: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Is that not fantastic? Built on land owned by the Pima-Maricopa Indians and home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, the park honors the history of these two Native American communities and is, to our eye, an absolutely beautiful place for baseball. Dispensers on the concourse offer complimentary sunscreen. Volunteers continually welcome you to the park. Signs throughout the park are in English and in the languages of the Pimas and Maricopas. Very cool.

The park at right is in Surprise and home to the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. Modeled after Churchill Downs, the park is beyond charming. Seats from this vantage point are $18 and, remarkably, parking in their lots is free. Yes, free. In a rematch of the 2010 World Series, the Giants outlasted the Rangers on Sunday 11-8. But, really, who cares?

Not that Spring Training is all peaches and cream (or, more aptly, fried food and starch). There are issues, important issues. Bermuda shorts -- in every conceivable plaid -- are everywhere and are often worn with calf-length black socks and, shocking but true, dress shoes. Clothing two sizes too small are a constant occurrence -- often worn by those who shouldn't, if you know what we mean and we're sure you do. And, after all, it is Arizona. Carry your papers if you know what's good for you.

Spring Training happens for a month annually. If you've been, you know of what we speak. If you haven't, we strongly recommend it. But only if you enjoy sunshine, friendly people, charming ball yards, the optimism Spring brings, and meaningless baseball. And the chance to escape, if only for a weekend. Hey, you never know: You might be having dinner next to Bud Selig. But don't let that dissuade you. It's still worth the trip.