Joe's Excellent Spring Training Adventure
By Joe Davis
FORT MYERS, Fla. "What do you call 25 guys sitting at home watching the World Series?" yells a fan.
I think for a moment and respond, "The Yankees?" while cracking a smile.
The Red Sox complex in Ft. Myers, FL was crowded last Tuesday. Over 3,000 fans came to see the full squad report for the first time as World Champions. I met fans from New England, of course, but also fans from as far away as Argentina who came to see the 2005 Boston Red Sox. Practices were delayed until 1 PM as the players were scheduled for physical exams in the morning.
To get to the spring training complex where the Red Sox will work out through early March, I had to travel to City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers where I could park and purchase a one dollar wrist band to ride the 15-minute bus to the training complex. The wait for the bus was about an hour long.
After I arrived at the complex, a Red Sox representative tolds me the rules. As I walked in, I could see five fields. The main field is where all the players are seen stretching and running. Then, the players break into six groups. One group goes to a batting cage. On the right, a white fence surrounds the media and player entrances. I immediately saw Peter Gammons and he was signing a few autographs. I went over to him and had him sign a YankeesSuck.com bumper sticker.
"I know they won't want to hear this Peter, but who do ya like this year for the AL East?" called one fan.
I shot a glance at the man...He was in full Yankee garb. "I see the Yankees taking the division, but that really doesn't mean anything, the last three World Series champions have been the Wild Card. So I'm sure these fans don't mind hearing that," said Gammons.
"Ahh, that's true," said the much-out-of-place Yankee fan. That shut him up for a while.
"Who's your undah-the-radah pick?" asked another fan with a telltale Northern accent.
Gammons responded, "I like the Minnesota Twins, I like their pitching staff and if the Twins had Mauer last year, the Yankees would have been swept in three straight."
Gammons walked off and the players, done stretching, began to spread out to their stations. Wells, Schilling, Arroyo, Wakefield and other sprinted down to the field closest to me. Schilling began to warm up with Wells. Right then, I saw Wade Miller, the newly-acquired starting pitcher from the Astros, walk into the clubhouse. A quick day for him, as he never came back out. A few minutes later, Matt Clement, the free agent from the Chicago Cubs walked into the clubhouse as well.
I stayed my ground at the white gate and watched players take some batting practice in the cages. John Henry made an appearance in a cowboy hat and khakis. Henry was in a happy mood. No kidding, who wouldn't be happy after owning a team that just came off winning the World Series. He signed a few autographs and promised to come back later, which he did, several times.
As players come in and out during the three-hour open practice, fans called out to the famous players: Schilling, Ramirez, Ortiz, Damon, Bellhorn and Millar. I had no big interest in those players. I wanted to talk to the prospect, Hanley Ramirez, who signed autographs for fans who had no clue who he was. I called out "HANLEY!" which got him over to the fans but he never signed for yours truly.
I called out for Kevin Youkilis, another one of our farm players, whom only a few fans knew. "YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK," I called. He waved and kept running to the next station. I watched as Edgar Renteria went into the clubhouse as well. Another lesser-known farm player, Adam Hyzdu walked by. "Adam!" I called, "Hyzdu!" I called again. He turned, waved and kept running.
I spotted Theo Epstein talking to some of the media. "THEO!" I call as he finished. He comes over to sign. Theo Epstein had a professional attitude, he answered questions of the fans but with a business-like tone. I handed him the YankeesSuck.com bumper sticker to sign. He took a look at it and said, "I can't sign this." He turned it over and without even trying signed the back. "Theo, I have a few shirts for some of the players, could you hand a couple of them out them for me?" I asked. "No, I'm not allowed to, but feel free to hand them out to them if you see them," he responded.
David Ortiz was done with his workout, so he came walking by, saw the fans and finished his water. He threw the bottle to the ground as a fan tried to grab it. He signed for dozens of fans. In total, it took him about forty minutes.
Next Jason Varitek arrived, "Captain!," one fan called. He signed for a while and he got to me. I hand him a ball and he signed. "Varitek, I have a shirt for you from the web site I write for. Would you like it?"
"No thanks," Varitek replied. I feel slightly offended but I shrug it off as Ortiz made his way to me. I reach out my hand with my ball and he took it and signed it.
"Ortiz! I have a shirt for you!" I threw the shirt to him. He searched around for it, and takes out a sharpie to sign it. "NO!" I call, "It's for you."
He unfolded it and saw the "1918" reversed. Confused, he looked at me with a blank stare and went "Ugh."
"Turn it around!" I called. He saw "2004!" in big blue letters and called out, "Thank you." I said, "No, thank you." He put the shirt over his shoulder, signed the last few autographs and walks into the clubhouse.
"That's it for today people," shouted one attendant, "Time for you to leave."
I walked out as Francona talked on his cellphone. I got in line for the bus ride home as Manny Ramirez, in a Tom Brady jersey, walked out to sign. The line went crazy, fans crowded over to the fence, blocking everyone. I figured I had no chance, and made my way around. I got on the bus as kids tell each other that they got Ramirez' autograph. I felt slightly jealous, but there was nothing I could have done. I was satisfied with the four autographs I got.
I wish I could have stayed for a couple more days, but it was just about impossible to go back. I arrived on Monday. Tuesday was my day to spend at the complex. Wednesday, I spent time with family near Fort Myers and Thursday morning, I was up before the crack of dawn to catch my early flight.
The bus arrived at City of Palms Park and I stare at the banners. "Fort Myers, Winter Home of the 2004 World Series Champions." I hope that the Boston Red Sox have as much success this year as they did last, and hope that those damn Yankees don't return to their October magic.
I can't seem to forget how good it feels for the Red Sox to be World Series Champions.
