grapefruit league begins

One of the best things about taking this year off of teaching has been the ability to travel whenever I feel like it. This weekend I spent time in Tampa Bay, which I enjoy more and more as I get to know the area better. Coincidentally it was also the start of one of my favorite times of the year, MLB Spring Training. The Grapefruit League consists of 18 major league teams that set up camp in Florida during the month of March to practice, check out new prospects, and play pre-season games against other GL teams. Several teams are located in the Tampa Bay area.


Sunday afternoon we went to see the Cincinnati Reds play the Toronto Blue Jays at their park in Dunedin. We missed the first inning due to my accidentally taking both Tim's wallet and phone with me when he went to park the car, forcing him to walk 10 blocks to the stadium (whoops!) The Blue Jays won the game 8-4, but more importantly we got a chance to see former Gator player David Eckstein play an amazing inning at shortstop by putting three batters away one after the other. He's so small we thought he was a prospect!


The weather was a perfect 70 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and a decent breeze from the water. It was a great day for getting some sun and laughing at all the bright pink Canadians and Ohioans. One of the best parts of the day for me was happening upon this beautiful orchid tree on the walk back to the car. That's what mine might look like if I could ever get it to bloom!


My plan for this month is to visit many of the Grapefruit League parks I've never been to before. I'm also going to catch the Dodgers and Indians at their home parks since both teams will be moving to Arizona for Spring Training next year. Now I just need to get good enough with my needles to be able to knit and watch baseball at the same time.