Live baseball: Royals at Mariners 3/12
Spring Training is great.
I caught the Royals at Mariners game on Wednesday at Peoria Sports Complex. The Royals won 7-6 after a four-run ninth inning led by some players I'm not familiar with. Both teams played most of their starters for five-ish innings, which was fun. I saw all sorts of cool stuff -- Julio hit a grand slam, Victor Robles homered as well, J.P. Crawford started a double play with a diving stop and a slick glove flip, Bryan Woo struck out five in his three innings of work, and Cole Young and Jac Caglianone got some reps. I also saw some less cool stuff, such as Jorge Polanco attempting to play third base, and Andrés Muñoz plunking Bobby Witt Jr. with enough velocity to make headlines. When I heard the matchup announced, I whipped out my phone and snapped a pick a second before it happened:
It was a perfect day for baseball, for me, a person who fears the sun, especially having not seen it the last few months. Temperatures never quite breached 70 degrees, and it was just warm enough for jeans and a t-shirt and a sweatshirt in the late innings. I remember going to a slate of games almost 10 years ago and baking for hours in the type of heat that requires a post-game nap. This was far more pleasant, although those in my group who were looking for a tan were less pleased.
We sat in the very top row at Peoria Sports Complex on the first base side. I was impressed with the layout and atmosphere. It was easy to get around to find The Beer, especially once I learned you could walk behind the press box to the vendor above the main concourse. The seats were half full, though maybe closer to three-quarters when factoring the berm. The crowd was engaged and happy.
I didn't quite get to do all the fun Spring Training stuff, like going to the backfields and interacting with the baseball up close. My group was kind enough to allow for baseball on our Phoenix vacation, and I didn’t want to push my luck. My fiancé bought me a couple packs of baseball cards from the team store while I scarfed a hot dog, so I was content.
One final pic of Julio:
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