The Major League Baseball Season opens today, and, of course, I am super excited. This is my favorite time of year.
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| Tyler Lyons warms up ©Mary Montague Sikes |
We returned from spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida in mid-March. This is a time of enthusiasm for all because each team has a chance as the players prepare for the new season.
We attended six games and had seats in our favorite location in Roger Dean Stadium, six rows behind the bull pen. From there we have a perfect view as each pitcher gets ready to enter the game. It is an ideal location to photograph not only the pitchers but also the other players as they stretch and get ready prior to the game.
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| "Alex Reyes, Phenom" ©Mary Montague Sikes |
During one of the games, our young phenom, Alex Reyes, showed up wearing a shirt with 97 on it. I don't think anyone else in the seats behind the bull pen realized who he was. I knew he wasn't no. 97 because that no. was listed for a young non-roster pitcher I had watched earlier. After throwing about 15 pitches, he smiled, spoke to a bull-pen coach and left. Normally, the bull pen warm-up area is reserved for the next pitcher coming into the game. Reyes won't start pitching in games until May. Seeing something special is one of the benefits of spring training.
I'm excited about the new season and have high hopes for my teach, the St. Louis Cardinals. It is a special time of year.
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| "Pichers Gather to Watch Adam Wainwright (50)" ©Mary Montague Sikes |
3 comments:
I'm glad you got to go down there for spring training again. How many years in a row have you attended?
Those games have a totally different feel to them, so I bet you see a lot that doesn't happen during the season.
Alex, I don't even know. We've been going since Rick Ankiel decided to stop pitching. That must have been in 2005. We've gone every year since then and have loved every minute. That would be 14 years.
The spring training games do have a different feel, Diane. They are fun, and many of the players spend a lot of time signing for fans!
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