|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Geared for Griffey Spring training sites buzz in preparation of first pitch
Posted: Friday February 11, 2000 08:30 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ed Smith Stadium was buzzing. Phone lines were overwhelmed, ticket buyers stretched out in the Florida sunshine and Patrick Calhoon hardly had time to talk. Ken Griffey Jr. was coming to town! "You want to make sure everything is ready," said Calhoon, stadium manager at the ballpark in Sarasota, Fla., where the Cincinnati Reds hold spring training. "You just don't want to miss anything -- down to cleaning, signage and concession cups." "We had Michael Jordan here in '94 with the White Sox, and this is like revisiting the past," he said. "I'm really looking forward to him being here." Of course, baseball fans everywhere are excited, and for good reason. Those magic words are once again in the air. It's time for pitchers and catchers to report. The whole thing starts Sunday, when new manager Don Baylor and the Chicago Cubs open camp at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, Ariz. The New York Mets get busy two days later in Port St. Lucie, Fla., with Garth Brooks bringing his act to town a little later. By next Sunday, all 30 teams will be working out. The Cubs and Mets need to begin early because they play in the major league opener March 29, when Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza face each other at the Tokyo Dome. Other teams, meanwhile, will still be playing exhibitions in places such as Vero Beach, Clearwater and Tempe. Cal Ripken was thinking of Florida while he was shoveling snow this month at his home in suburban Baltimore. "I'm ready," said the Orioles star, only nine hits shy of 3,000. "I'm anxious to get there." Can it really be just 99 days since the New York Yankees finished off their second straight World Series sweep? Not a lot of time, but certainly enough for a bunch of big moves. Juan Gonzalez, Mike Hampton, Raul Mondesi, Shawn Green, John Olerud, Jeff Cirillo, Hideki Irabu and Aaron Sele switched teams. Griffey will have a few new playmates in Cincinnati. Deion Sanders is giving baseball one more try, and he might join Junior and Dante Bichette in the Reds outfield. St. Louis acquired Pat Hentgen, Darryl Kile and Fernando Vina to add to Mark McGwire. Tampa Bay brought in a whole new crew -- Greg Vaughn, Juan Guzman, Steve Trachsel and Vinny Castilla, who takes over at third base for the retired Wade Boggs. The faces in the dugouts will be different, too. Mike Hargrove (Baltimore), Charlie Manuel (Cleveland), Phil Garner (Detroit), Mike Scioscia (Anaheim), Davey Lopes (Milwaukee), Buddy Bell (Colorado) and Baylor all found new jobs. No telling whether any of them will see John Rocker, though. Suspended until May 1 for his remarks about gays, immigrants and others, the Atlanta reliever is appealing and a decision is not expected until after the Braves open camp Thursday. Other notable names, however, already are in the swing. Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Darryl Strawberry are at Yankees camp in Tampa, Fla., where stadium workers are putting up a sign at Legends Field honoring the "Team of the Century" and its 25 championships. "We know you can't show up, throw your glove on the field and win," Martinez said. For pitchers Kerry Wood, Curt Schilling, Kerry Ligtenberg and Tony Saunders, along with Braves slugger Andres Galarraga and Pirates catcher Jason Kendall, this will be an important time. Wood and Ligtenberg injured their right elbows in spring training last year and were sidelined all season; Schilling and Saunders were hurt later. Galarraga missed the whole year after being diagnosed with cancer, and Kendall sat out much of the season after breaking his ankle in a sickening play at first base. "That will be the biggest test," said Wood, the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year for the Cubs. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm not going to worry about it, just go out and throw." Said Ligtenberg, whose closer's role was taken over by Rocker: "I get to start letting her fly." So do a lot of promising prospects. Rich Ankiel, Ruben Mateo, Pat Burrell and Cuban defector Danys Baez all get to show their stuff, and that's partly what this time is all about. The exhibition season starts March 2 with seven games. The Reds open the next day, and Griffey could make his debut when Cincinnati plays a pair of split-squad games -- at Ed Smith Stadium against Minnesota or across the state against Baltimore in Fort Lauderdale. It's not clear whether Griffey will face the Phillies at Clearwater, but the folks at Jack Russell Stadium are taking no chances. They've ordered more Reds caps for the souvenir stands, just in case. This spring's schedule also features two games between Houston and Boston in the Dominican Republic, plus the Astros opening their new Enron Field in an exhibition against the Yankees. Baseball, however, is not making a repeat trip to Havana this year for a matchup with the Cuban national team. Instead, it was busy planning exhibitions in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. No matter where he plays, Pittsburgh first baseman Kevin Young was just looking forward to camp in Bradenton, Fla. "The start of the baseball season always brings warm thoughts," he said.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
