This was my first time attending any kind of spring training games ever. Baseball spring training takes place every year in late February until the end of March. The regular baseball season usually starts in the first week of April. I had the chance to experience three different spring training games located in Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona and Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. I paid less than $10 per ticket bought on Stubhub and received two tickets through my recent SPG Moments experience.
My first game was at Camelback Ranch where the Cincinnati Reds played against the Chicago White Sox. I parked my rental car into the free parking lot and noticed that a McLaren pulled right next to me.
I saw a crowd of people coming towards the car’s owner who was all dressed in Red. He rushed towards a secured fence and began signing peoples balls. I didn’t recognize him at first, but was told that it was Brandon Phillips who plays second base for the Cincinnati Reds.
Camelback Ranch was definitely a sight to see. It is one of the newer spring training facilities in the Phoenix, Arizona area.
I had economy plus seats with tons of legroom while watching the White Sox crush the Cincinnati Reds.
For the second game, the Milwaukee Brewers played the Chicago Cubs at Hohokam Stadium.
The downside of Hohokam Stadium was the $7.00 parking charge, but the stadium was in great shape. There were a ton of Cubs fans decked out in Cubs gear from head to toe. The Chicago Cubs lost this game pretty badly against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The third game I attended was back at Camelback Ranch, but this time it was the San Francisco Giants against the Chicago White Sox. I went pretty early to game in hopes of having the players sign my baseball.
There is a back entrance where you can find players practicing in different small baseball fields. It so happened that the World Baseball Classic coincided with spring training and Team Mexico was heading to the practice fields. I spotted San Francisco Giant’s closer, Sergio Romo signing autographs for fans.
Close to the field, there were a lot of Giants fans lined up for autographs.
I spotted a few players coming out, but only a few of the Giant’s players came to greet fans and sign their baseball autographs.
The coolest part of this experience was actually meeting the San Francisco Giant’s manager, Bruce Bochy. He was taking pictures with fans and was an all around nice guy.
After the players and coach signed autographs, they began working out together on the field.
The cool thing about attending spring training games is that you can meet the players and strike up a small conversation with them. It’s really family fun oriented and a much smaller scale venue than a traditional baseball stadium. I highly recommend attending a spring training game if you haven’t experienced it yet. The tickets are much lower on Stubhub since it’s a preseason game and you definitely get your money’s worth.