Thursday March 16th 2017

I went to another spring training baseball game today. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim played the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale Arizona. (How’s that for a mouth full of places in one sentence?) This is the same complex I have attended Arizona Diamondback games at. The Rockies share the facility with the Diamondbacks.

It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between Diamondback games and Rockies games. The most obvious difference is the home team dugout. The Diamondbacks use the third base line which is nearest there side of the overall complex. The Rockies use the first base side. Other differences are more subtle. All of the stadium staff are the same. You see the same ushers, vendors and security personnel. The women who serves as a roaming reporter in the stands is the same. Today she was saying “for your Colorado Rockies” instead of “your Arizona Diamondbacks”.

Dinger the Rockies mascot.

Another difference was the team mascot. The Diamondbacks mascot makes a brief appearance during the pregames. The Rockies mascot is in the stands through-out the game and is used between innings for promotions and publicity. In general, there is more things going on to keep the fans entertained during the Rockies game.

Another weird observation, doesn’t relate to the difference between the two teams, but rather the rules the teams are using. Today for the first time I saw the pitchers hit. The National League Rockies had their pitchers hit and the American League Angels used a Designated Hitter. The National League Diamondbacks always used a Designated Hitter even when their opponent was a National League team. Apparently the team can choose which rules they want to follow.

Final score Angels 8 Rockies 7

It was a long day at the ballpark. I got there an hour and a half before game time. My stop on the way to get a haircut was much quicker than I allowed. Even an hour and a half early many other people were already at the ball park. I expected to catch some pregame batting practice, but the batting cage was not on the field and the grounds crew was already laying down the lines. The game lasted just about 3 hours. It might have ended sooner, but the Angels tied and went ahead by three runs in the top of the 9th inning. The final score was Angels 8, Rockies 7.

I was at the ballpark for four and a half hours but with travel time and the haircut, I was on the go for about 8 hours. My RV home was hot when I got home. The inside thermostat read 99 degrees when I turned on the AC. It took a good two hours before the AC got the temperature into the 70s.

Sunset at the RV Park