For one Chardon family and this reporter, Goodyear, Arizona provided a rare glimpse into how a big league ball club works.
As a reporter and editor who also works in circulation — we all work in every department at the Maple Leaf — I see the yearly migration of Geauga County snowbirds first-hand, fielding calls for address changes usually in November for the descent and the return in March.
Most go to Florida. Some go to Arizona.
Sitting here writing, a snow blows sideways on Chardon Square, and I think: Who can blame them?
Last week I returned from a four-day trip to Arizona to watch the Cleveland Indians train in Goodyear, a sun-splashed city of about 65,000, where it is always sunny and the weather is as perfect as you’ve always heard it is.
For baseball fans, spring training offers a first-hand experience to watch professional baseball teams prepare for the season.
I had no special media access. All fans can watch practices from one of seven fields scattered around the complex — batting practice, infield, base running drills, intra-squad scrimmages. Everything from behind the backstop, like you’re at a local high school field.
There are opportunities for autographs and photos as players leave the practice facility.
And all of this takes place most mornings, free to park, free to watch.
Another Chardon family had the opportunity to watch the Indians in Goodyear this spring, too. As chance would have it, we were at the same March 21 game against the Rockies, a 10-5 Indians win.
Once I was home, I learned the Katzenstein family was the lucky winner of a four-day trip to Goodyear that allowed them to see lots of what Arizona had to offer.
It was a cold January day when Robyn Katzenstein decided to take her family to Tribefest in downtown Cleveland. They were among 1,200 entrants in the contest.
“We never win anything,” she said. “We were at the movies when we heard we won the trip. I couldn’t believe it. I’m glad we went, or this would’ve never happened.”
And unlike me, the Katzensteins did receive some special attention: Robyn, her husband, Steve, and their children, Nikki, 17, and Michael, 14, were able to get a bit closer during batting practice.
As they all wore Cleveland Indians T-shirts on the Saturday of their trip, the day was quite the contrast to “back home,” where the Hilltoppers’ temperature was half of Goodyear’s 84 degrees.
The Katzensteins also attended the Tribe game against the Los Angeles Angels at Goodyear Ballpark, which drew a record-setting crowd of 11,549 on March 20 only the third sell-out in the ballpark’s seven-year history.
“It’s exciting,” said Nikki, who chased down Jesus Aguilar and Brandon Moss for autographs at the spring training complex on Saturday.
Steve, who works in banking and has been to 22 of the last 23 Indians’ regular-season Opening Days, was glad to talk Nikki into missing school to come along. A senior at Chardon High School, Nikki is preparing to go to Bowling Green State University to major in special education.
“It’s been great,” Steve said. “I figured it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we’ve got to do it.”
Michael’s favorite part of the trip?
“Seeing the players,” the seventh-grader said. “It’s fun.”
The family vacation, which ended Sunday, March 22, also included a drive up to the Grand Canyon on Thursday and, as Steve said, “Lots of hiking at Estrella Mountain Regional Park and the nearby White Tank Mountains.”
I also hiked the Estrella Mountain Park all three days.
It is hot in Arizona, but in the mornings it’s a cool 65 degrees, perfect for outside activities.
If you are a baseball fan, put it on your bucket list. And keep it up toward the top.
