Spring Training Trips 2010

[theavrock]

Getting onto this a little late, but I'll be going to ST for the first time. We just moved to New Mexico, so I couldn't live with myself if I didn't head down there for a weekend. Looks like we will be heading out there either the 2nd or 3rd weekend in March.

I kind of want to go the second to see the Cubs, but I fear I might be too tempted to hurl insults at them as close as I am to them. Hmmm decisions.

Does anyone have any other fun things to do in Phoenix other than all the baseball related stuff for three guys in their mid 20's?

[pitchleague]

I will be in Phoenix on March 13th and 14th before heading back home. Nice long weekend trip.

[ewizabeff]

Just bought our tickets to tour the University of Phoenix stadium. Has anyone done that tour? I'll be touring Chase Field again as well, since SgtClueLs hasn't seen it yet.

[hawing]

Just bought our tickets to tour the University of Phoenix stadium. Has anyone done that tour? I'll be touring Chase Field again as well, since SgtClueLs hasn't seen it yet.

Ooh, if you could post some photos of Chase that would be neat. Our tour during spring training 2007 suffered from poor timing; they weren't yet done converting the purple-and-teal to the red-based color scheme. Even the fan store was low on merchandise as a result.

[lodiness]

I went to Chase Field the first year of the WBC, and it was pretty cool. Reminded me a lot Miller Park in the architecture. It's right downtown, and the bar area around the stadium is pretty cool.

[nohopspanther]

Just booked direct flights on US Scareways March 24th-28th for $400 a person, ouch. The upside, that's when the weather is reliably warmer and the Brewers play at home Friday and Saturday.

[ewizabeff]

yikes! That's why I always book early. The downside, of course, is I book before I know the schedule, so I could get stuck with and off day and/or a Tucson game. Lucked out this year and got neither.

[Patrick425]

ewizabeff[/b]]yikes! That's why I always book early. The downside, of course, is I book before I know the schedule, so I could get stuck with and off day and/or a Tucson game. Lucked out this year and got neither.

Yeah, usually booking early works out well...except for me last year. I booked in September (2008) for the 2009 ST. Then the economy took a nose dive and I realized I could have saved about $1,000 on the whole package had I waited a little bit.

 

[AZBrewCrew]

I will be going to some games this spring since I live out here,its been a weird winter weather wise so far, it just rained for the last 2 days and we even had hail today. Hopefully most of it will be gone before ST really gets under way. As to the person who posted about needing hotel information, I know im a little late but there are some decent out of the way hotels up by where I live around I-17 and Happy Valley Rd. There is a Hampton Inn,Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard Marriott and a couple others. They are all close to several restaurants and have easy access to I-17 and Loop 101 which will get you most places in the Valley in 30 min or so.

[nohopspanther]

The prices haven't budged since the second week of January when my friends and I started looking at dates and flights. The price sucks, but it's nothing shocking like my buddy from San Fran who is meeting us there ran into. Usually SFO-PHX is easily under 200 round trip, instead it's almost 350 now.

[pepsimax23]

whos going to full squad practice this weekend? i'll likely check it out sat 2/27 and then roll to PGA event WM Open. And if theyre on 2/28, see it again. a few notes:

 

i'm the organizer of the badger alum chapter in phx, we're having a tailgate for the 3/13 game, so far we have 25 ppl rsvp. we'll be the ones singing "varsity" after the 7th inning stretch.

 

btw, there are bobblehead days for some of the games here. just passing out leftovers from the 09 season (the kendalls that drowned likely). but its still magical to get them.

 

pedro, i assume youll be out here??

 

anybody a jogger? i was trying to organize a "10k" from the vicinity of my house to jog a canal route to maryvale. its approx 6 miles from door to door my house to brewers spring training site.

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/pepsimax23/10k-maryvale0.jpg

[pepsimax23]

spring training SGA schedule

 

3/7 BONANZA!!! (first 1000)

3/20 Doug Melvin (first 1000)

3/21 TBD (All Fan by Midwest Airlines)

3/27 Jeff Suppan (first 1000)

 

i will be there early for all 4, hope to meet a few BF board members!!

[ewizabeff]

Bonanza?

[statman0007]

Are there any campgrounds in the area? Thinking of taking a trip down there with some friends, but we're on a pretty tight budget so any tips on going on the cheap would be appreciated.

[azcheesehead]

I am the poster that was referenced on a previous page of this thread with pictures of guys during ST. I no longer live in AZ and am "stuck" in WI during ST this year. Here is what I learned during my 2 years of spending basically everyday at Maryvale during ST: 1- The players are accessible. They practice on a 4 field complex opposite of the main stadium. I took some pictures right up on the fence, many of which I turned into 8x10s at the Walgreens next to the stadium and had autographed. That brings me to my next point: autographs. They're generally very easy to obtain if you know what you're doing. If you're down there right now the best time to get them is before games start. They will usually sign after practice. My major "secret" to cleaning up on autographs is as follows. If you are down there for a game when the team travels to Tucson to play STAY IN MARYVALE! They rarely ever send their main players. Instead, they take a quick round of BP and fielding. You can run around in the OF and keep a couple of balls for yourself. I once snagged a WS ball and an NY all star ball, which I later got signed by Hart and Braun. After they finish BP, they will ALL sign autos for whoever is around. Typically there are no more than 75 people around because no one knows to stay in town, they follow them to Tucson. I will tell you from personal experience it is WAY more fun to watch the BP and interact with the guys than see a game. I once had a convo with Jason Kendall about American Idol for 15 minutes while my bro talked to Brian Shouse about "life." I will remember that much more than a random ST game. As for the Maryvale area, I wouldn't recommend hanging around there for much more than practices and/or games. For the poster who wanted to run from Glendale to Maryvale, I wouldn't recommend it. You're running through a rough part of town along the canal. I'm not saying you can't, I just wouldn't do it and I lived around there. I am insanely jealous of everyone who gets to make their trips this spring. I will be stuck in NW WI this spring. If anyone knows Butch, tell him Tom says hi from Wisconsin.

[Patrick425]

Yeah...what is Bonanza? We will be there for that game.

[bball123h]

Yeah...what is Bonanza? We will be there for that game.

http://cdn1.ioffer.com/img/item/423/356/96/Bonanza-Photograph-C12146713.jpeg

 

More likely: random leftovers from the 2009 season.

[Invader3K]

Darn, so no "Hoss" or "Little Joe" bobble head, then?

[pepsimax23]

bonanza = potpourri of bobbleheads passed out. last year it was braun + hart + hardy + polish. on another day they passed out barrelman. another date of mention is cerveceros day is 3/26. brewers honor their latino heritage by wearing their los brewers jerseys.

 

anyone down here, pick up a sched from MV park where these promos are all on a list. i dont think its mentioned anywhere online brewers.com

[Kevbo74]

I had plans to head out to Maryvale today, but it's rainy again. Been a pretty rainy winter so far - hopefully it all clear up soon.

 

I have some pictures from last year's spring, if anyone's jonesin' for some pics - http://s1020.photobucket.com/home/zonabrew

Mostly at the minor's fields.

 

I have this on my itinerary so far... probably adding a few if I get some days off.

3/4 @ SF - scottsdale

3/7 vs Reds - maryvale

3/8 vs Sea, maryvale

3/14 @ SF - scottsdale

3/15 vs Cle, maryvale

3/21 vs CWS - maryvale

3/22 vs LAD - maryvale

3/28 (just at maryvale while the crew visits the Dbacks)

3/29 vs SF - maryvale

 

Can't wait. It's my favorite time of the year.

[Patrick425]

Just a pointer to anyone who possibly made reservations months ago. If you made rental car reservations, re-check the rates. They seemed to have gone down quite a bit.

 

We are leaving for AZ on Wednesday and reserved our car way back in October through FOX rent a car. Well, I checked rates today and they were 25% cheaper than our original reservation. So, I canceled the original reservation and made a new one.

[WarhawkJoe]

I can't believe how expensive the rental cars are this year! I think last year I paid around $20-$25/day for an economy. This year the cheapest I can find on orbitz or priceline is almost $50 for the smaller cards, and I need a van or SUV this year. Does anyone have any info on finding cheaper rentals? The prices have been pretty steady since I originally looked a few months ago. I'm leaving next week, so I better figure this out...

[Patrick425]

I can't believe how expensive the rental cars are this year! I think last year I paid around $20-$25/day for an economy. This year the cheapest I can find on orbitz or priceline is almost $50 for the smaller cards, and I need a van or SUV this year. Does anyone have any info on finding cheaper rentals? The prices have been pretty steady since I originally looked a few months ago. I'm leaving next week, so I better figure this out...

There was a previous thread about this topic in the OT forum: http://forum.brewerfan.net/search.php?keywords=589851#reply-589851

 

This is a good site for comparing car rental prices:

http://www.carrentals.com/

[pitchleague]

I know what it's like at Maryvale regarding tickets etc. (no problem there) but what does anybody know about ease of getting tickets at Scottsdale Stadium? I've only driven by it in the past, never been to a game there. It's a 12,000 seat stadium, but I have no idea if this will be like Maryvale and pretty much walk up and get tickets with ease. I thought I heard that the Giants were a pretty big draw. Maybe that was just in the Barry Bonds days, I don't know.

 

Also, anybody have preferences where to sit in their stadium? Keep in mind that bleacher seats and lawn seats are pretty much out as my mother-in-law will likely need a backrest for a 3-hour+ game. Sun angles to avoid getting fried (I don't mind--others in our party will mind)?

 

Thanks!

[ewizabeff]

Scottsdale will sell out in advance on the weekends (even the lawn). Check out www.springtrainingonline.com for info on where the best shaded seats are. If you want seats in the shade at any park, I always recommend buying in advance, b/c those sell out first to the freaks like me that can't handle the sun.