Spring Surprise

Dave Paisley

Spring training is winding down, scrubs are being traded daily to fill holes left by injured scrubs and the roster cuts are just a tad more humane than Serbian ethnic cleansing policies. Those baseball general managers can thank their lucky stars that the average spring roster cuttee doesn't have access to armed B-52s with which to retaliate.

Some baseball players do have access to quite a bit of pseudo-military hardware, though, and I was treated to the sight of one such item on my jaunt down to the Cactus League just over a week ago.

While hanging out around the pool of our modest little hotel my friends and I were in severe danger of being splashed by a boisterous bunch of young kids alternately jumping in the pool and the hot tub. One of my friends noted that the watchful mom looking over the pack looked a little like Melissa Griffey. Sure enough, one of the rowdy kids turned to another and said, "My dad's Ken Griffey Jr.!"

"No way!" replied the other youngster.

About that time, the pool gate clanged, and who should walk in but the man himself. The second kid's jaw just dropped.

. It was certainly odd watching Junior just be a dad (and get roundly sassed by his four-year old daughter when he tried to make her get out of the hot tub.) Yet it was touching, too. For all the fame and fortune that comes with being one of the top baseball players of the day, it must be really difficult to just be "dad" on a regular basis. Fortunately, the adults around the hotel were very respectful of the family's privacy

As for the pseudo-military hardware, sure enough, out in the parking lot was a shiny black HMMWV (left) parked next to a black ragtop Corvette, both with appropriate custom Washington state license plates.

But back to baseball. The very next day, we set off for Tucson and Tombstone, first to see the Diamondbacks and the Rockies, and secondly to see the OK Corral and such. Tucson Electric Park wasn't quite as nice a facility as the Mariner/Padre place in Peoria, but it did have very nice fan access to the players as they came onto the field through the left field tunnel. Great place for autographs if you're down there next year. Here's young David Dellucci (right) obliging a whole bunch of fans.

For me, the game was of great interest because Randy Johnson was pitching for the D-backs. Warming up in the pen, he looked as mean as ever, except for the horrid purple uniform. Kind of like Barney the Dinosaur's ugly, skinny brother.

The highlight of the day was during the Rockies warmups, when a woman asked Darryl Hamilton for a ball. He said he'd throw her one if she threw him her shoes. So she did. And he took off his  cleats and attempted to put on her clunky-heeled sandals. He even walked around the outfield for five minutes in them (left) before throwing them back (with a ball, naturally.) Score a point or two for wacky Darryl.

As for the game, with the sun high in the cloudless sky, three fly balls were dropped by various outfielders in the first two innings. Johnson was victimized by a Gilkey miscue, resulting in a double. He then lost his concentration, walking the next batter, before getting his act together and striking out the side. Typical Johnson. We didn't stay long, but we did see enough to like what we saw of Tony Batista, the D-backs shortstop.

After that, it was off to Tombstone, the OK Corral and Boot Hill. Well worth a visit if Western stuff is of any interest to you.

Monday was getaway day, but not before we slipped into the Mariner/White Sox game. Nothing of note happened there, except that the Mariners' Russ Davis made his first error of the spring at third just after we left. With his league leading 34 errors last year, that was a hopeful sign, but he's now up to 4 as the season approaches and the icy hands of panic begin to grip his throat. Poor Russ.

One mad dash to the airport, and an interminable flight later, we were safely back in drizzly Seattle, ready for the season to start right then. Not to worry -- only a few days and a few last minute hole-filling trades to go now.

about the author

Dave Paisley is hoping to get a coaching job for the Rockies, wherein he would teach players the proper way to walk in clunky-heeled shoes. Suggest a matching bag at drdjp@strikethree.com.