At last! Spring training games begin today in Florida and Arizona. And down on the Treasure Coast of Florida, there are now five major league teams in residence, including the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, the New York Mets in Port Saint Lucie, and the Saint Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, where I took the above photograph of my mother Mary one August when we attended a Florida State League baseball game. I like Roger Dean Stadium, but like all the new facilities, it is a mini major league stadium - nothing like the old spring training facilities like Payne Park in Sarasota (where the Chicago White Sox used to train) and Dodgertown in Vero Beach. These older fields had a lot of personality, a much more intimate environment where the players and fans used the same entrances and exits, which made for much better player-fan interactions. But even so, spring training is a lot of fun. If our condo in Stuart, Florida wasn't rented, I would be down there in a flash. I wonder if my tenants would mind a house guest for a few days, or possibly weeks?
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