Spring Training and more
As some of you have probably already read, we’ve taken another step in the process of moving our Spring Training operations to Glendale. There’s still more work to be done, but this is a positive step in the right direction. For a little deeper background on the various issues the entire state of Arizona is facing when it comes to this issue, check out the Arizona Republic’s story from this morning.
Also, for those who haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, Time Warner’s Dodgers On Demand is up and running and it’s really pretty cool. They’ve been doing a Hot Stove Report throughout the winter with updates about the team and there’s a lot of archived stuff from earlier in the year, too. With technology changing all the time, I have a feeling this sort of "choose your own adventure" media is where we’re all heading.
Inside the Dodgers 
I have to admit, I was really hoping this wouldn’t go through. It’s really hard to let go of all that tradition in Vero Beach. I guess I have to grin and bare it !! I know the AZ facility will undoubtedly be state of the art and it’ll be within driving distance. And I’m sure I’ll learn to accept it in time.
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
This is one of the worst moves ever. Dodgertown was special, and now instead they will have a generic SHARED spring training home in the middle of the desert. And east coast dodger fans really get the shaft here. You Cali folks get to see our beloved team 81 times ayear, so whoever complains that they cant make it to FLA for ST can go **** it!
Good Afternoon.—I am reading a book that I thought some of you would like to read called, REEL BASEBALL By Les Krantz. It describes newsreel footage from the golden age of baseball from the 1930’s thru 1965. It is full of old pictures from that time. IT ALSO INCLUDES a 1-hour DVD of the newsreel footage of the careers of many of the all-star players of that time and also movietone newsreel footage of the DODGER-YANKEE world SERIES’games for 1947, 53, 55 & 56.
GO BLUE
Hey Harold, you need to get that book !! So do I !! Thanks Kday01
GO Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
I wish Direct TV would pick up “Dodgers on demand” I would literally be in heaven!
Just a note from the above mentioned book I am reading.
In 1959, Ted Williams hit only .259, the first time in his 20 year career he had batted less than .317. He then demanded that the Red Sox cut his salary from $125,000.00 to $90,000.00 as he had not earned the $125,000.00. Can anyone see that happening today?!!!
Pearl is right on, and Gary I feel the same. This move to AZ is bad for the fans. East coast folks like me who have followed them since Brooklyn get shafted again. Vero is one of a kind, and can’t be beat on any level. It’s baseball heaven. Will there be walkways named after Dodger greats in AZ? History and tradition are being cast aside- for what? The reasons for the move that I’ve read are ridiculous. I’m a lifetime fan living in NY and there are thousands more like me. Just look in the stands at Shea when the Dodgers are playing. Having the team train in Florida gives the east coast fans something at least. The organization must understand that the team’s roots are from coast to coast.
Very Sad.
Not much tradition left in baseball and the Dodgers are throwing theirs away.
Josh, I think I understand the business necessity for the move to Arizona, to share a facility. However, my heart tells me that something very precious and, in fact, unique in the world of sports is being lost as Dodgertown is abandoned. We subsidize subpar players and take a loss on them, why can’t we subsidize Dodgertown, if it is not a money maker? Something tells me if it has been workable since the Dodgers moved to LA almost 50 years ago it must still be workable regardless of the logistics. Of course, it takes more effort, but all good things do. Giving up on Dodgertown is almost on a par with giving up Dodger Blue. On a brighter note, a very wonderful Christmas to all the posters on this blog. Frank and asq a prayer that 2007 continues to find you in good health. Ray a prayer for a job for you. Also a wish to everyone for a happy, healthy 2007 filled with Dodger memories.
Too caught up in Dodgertown Josh. Thank you so much for this blog and your patience with us. Must be difficult for you at times knowing what you do on the inside and we are talking from our tradition and with our hearts. A wonderful restive Christmas for you and your family. Also a happy and healthy new year. Once again, thank you for the opportunity to post on this blog and to make Dodger friends who truly care for each other.
Hey guys – Check out this e-mail I got from some guy named Richard Weber. This is a Hoot!
====================================
Dodgers won’t win 80 games this year
30 years of that hall of shame guy’s influence on ownership, Ned give
it away Colletti and Grady Little Brain all belong on the left coast,
which won’t be in existence in 5 years due to a sunami, 2
earthquakes, 5 mudslides and 11 forest fires. Don’t bother replying
to this because your answer is already known, it’s always the same
for people in denial.The beauty of baseball is it’s stats & LA has
been stat proven to be the worst franchise for dollars spent,
attendance = victories.s Only the people in LA look at the number one
and see it as a vertical hyphen mark!!. Dumb & Dumber–mini and
mutated descendants of Forest Gump. Ah yes tinsel town–what a
distortion of reality–a place where murderers’ such as OJ and
balcony killer get acquited, not to mention Randolph Hearst, or is it
Hurst? VIVA NEW YORK, PURA VIDA NEW YORK, and may geography show a
western port in the USA at Lake Mead within 5 years. Please Lord?
Richard & Graça Weber
richaweber@mac.com
====================================
Here was my reply:
You are right, they won’t win 80 games… They will win 90!
====================================
GO DODGERS!
Great, great move by the Dodger organization to move to Arizona. It makes absolutely ZERO sense for the Dodgers to continue to train all the way on the other side of the country in Florida. As an LA resident, I’ll definitely be attending more spring training games now, its not only much closer, but much more affordable.
BTW, “tradition” isn’t a valid defense for doing something dumb. It makes no sense for the LA fans, the employees of the franchise or the players to have to travel all the way across the entire country to train every spring. Thank you McCourts!
BTW, its just simple supply and demand. If Dodger fans supported the Dodgers in vero beach, they’d stay there……………but they don’t. They are in the bottom five in spring training attendance, so that makes the move a very easy one. If nobody shows up to watch the team, why stay there? They will sell out almost every game in Arizona, thats where all the fans are, thats where it makes the most sense for them to be.
Merry Christmas & A Happy & Prosperous New Year To All.
Gary, I hope you purchase the book it is “reel Entertaining” and the DVD is great newsreel footage of the Dodgers.
With all due respect trapp, you are outnumbered on this blog 3 to 1 so far. But I love you anyway because you’re a Dodger fan. Have you ever been to Dodgertown? My guess is No. As pearl said, you don’t need to go there because you have 81 games in your backyard. As far as fans not supporting the team in Vero, that is not true. Check the seat capacity in Vero against other spring training parks, and you’ll see it’s smaller than most. That’s what makes it intimate and a great experience for fans.
Stay in Dodgertown!
OK, from a business sense, Glendale makes sense. But it’s more than tradition in Vero. Ask anyone from LA who’s attended the fantasy camp there and you’ll get a resounding “BAD MOVE”. The facility instills a feeling of TEAM and the ghosts of Dodgers’ past are everywhere, not to mention the living legends who either live there or come to visit. Economies are one thing, but emotions are something else. I’ll always be a Dodger fan, but a part of me will remain in Vero (as it has in Brooklyn) once Dem Bums are uprooted again.
Happy Holidays to everyone. Thanks, again, Josh, and Ned, for crying out loud please get us a power-hitting player for one of our far-too-many starters.
im sorry you had to read that e mail fansince53…that made me want to throw up. wow i knew new yorkers were territorial and all but thats going a little far huh. when you start wishing tsunamis and earthquakes on people just because we live here and root for our team here,you have to go to the doctors office and get checked out. i feel embarrased…..my family is originally from new york via ellis island, my great grandma and nana are huge brooklyn dodger fans. i got a pee wee reese autographed ball from way back when and a jackie robinson bowman rookie card passed down to me. hope you got as big a kick out of reading that than i did 53.
on a side note also sad to see dodgertown go. im torn because i live in los angeles and love the idea of driving to arizona to see sprong training games. but all the tradition is in Vero and thats hard to ignore. good business doesnt usually mean good for the fans.
KDay,
The only one that I can recall doing something along the same lines as the Splendid Splinter when he demanded his cut of salary is Mark Mcguire when he was still with the Athletics. If I remember correctly, he was having foot problems, didn’t play for most of the year(don’t recall which year) and the next year gave most of his salary back. Said he hadn’t earned it. I may be wrong on this but I recall that I was most impressed by his integrity in doing this. Anyone else remember this?
For those of you on the East coast, I truly feel bad for you all that Spring training is moving to Arizona. I realise the tradition that is being forfeited for a newer state of the art facility. In fact I had hoped that someday I would be able to visit Vero Beach and take in the Dodger history that was made there. But things change. We all have to accept these changes and make the best of them. This move will be a good one for the franchise logistically and financially. Plus it will be a great move for the majority of fans who will now be able to plan Spring vacations around Spring training much easier and more inexpensively, able to enjoy Spring baseball like all you East Coasters did for all those many years. Yes, Vero Beach is part of our Dodger heritage,just like Brooklyn is part of our heritage. But the Dodger world will not end just because Dodgers will be training in Arizona instead of Florida just as it did not end when the Dodgers moved to L.A. Try not to be too selfish and see the move as a sound business move as well as one that will benefit the majority of Dodger fans who are not able to travel across country to see our beloved team at Spring training in Vero Beach.
infantino, my friend, you have spoken words of reason. I appreciate you trying to make it easier for those of us who oppose the move. Please understand that people like myself are not being selfish. That is the wrong word to use here. I have seen people, and lived with people, my father included, who got their hearts ripped out in 1957. That was a sound business decision too, I guess. But you could never understand what that is like. It changes your whole perspective on right and wrong. And it changes your whole perspective on what change is good, and what is not. I hope that you will never have to go through something like that. And that is the last I will say on this subject.
Although we may not always agree on everything, there is a real brotherhood I feel on this blog among people who share the love of a team. And what a team they are. Too all, I wish you the merriest of holidays.
dagliolo, they don’t get very good attendance in Vero Beach. They were in the bottom five (maybe even bottom three) last season in spring training attendance and its not because the field is small. Every time I watch a spring training game on TV, the crowds are usually sparse there. Meanwhile, look at how teams like the Yankees and Red Sox draw in Florida. It just doesn’t make sense for the Dodgers to be out there anymore for the same reason you don’t see any east coast teams going to Arizona for spring training.
It just works about 100 times better for the Dodgers, all of their fans (most of them in LA) and the organization in general. The Dodgers don’t play in Brooklyn anymore, they play in Los Angeles and the LA fans should come first because we’re the ones that pay the bills. Don’t mean to sound harsh, but its just better for a lot of reasons.
Dagliolo, You are right, selfish is too harsh a word. What I should have said was try not let to your heart get in the way and see the move for what it is. Try seeing it as an oppurtunity to visit another part of the country while being part of a new Dodger experience. As for getting my heart ripped out, we west coast Ram fans had the same experience not too long ago. You’re right, it ****** but life goes on. I guess what I’m saying is I see your point, I know the pain you’re feeling but I have to agree with Trapp76.
Now for all those bloggers reading this blog, I want to send out my good wishes for all of you through the holidays and throughout the new year. May only good things come to us all.
trapp, this is for you. I said I wouldn’t comment on it anymore but you forced me to comment again. You have a right to your opinion, but before you disagree with my opinion get your facts straight. You say the fans don’t support the team in Vero Beach. I say you don’t know what your talking about. I want you to reseach the seating capacities of all the 30 MLB teams spring training sites, then post them on this board for all to see. I’ll make it easy for you- google “spring training seating capacities.” You can’t be near the top in attendance, or even in the middle, when Holman Stadium only seats 6474. Then, if you want to prove your contention that their attendance is “not because the field is small” do an attendance to seating capacity ratio and see if that supports your statement. I’ve done it. And your statements are wrong. So if you love the move, fine. But don’t say the fans don’t support the Dodgers in Vero Beach unless you have facts to support it.
And I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it was the fans of Brooklyn supporting the Dodgers all those years that has given you the OPPORTUNITY to pay the bills today.
I’m going to have to agree with dagliolo. I’ve been to Vero a number of times, and I’ve never been to a game there that wasn’t 90% to 100% soldout. Yes it’s a small stadium, but quite frankly that’s what made it sooooo great. You could sit right next to the players and they heard you. The interaction was unsurpassed. And I’ve been to 12 other spring camps( I had to count them up to be sure !!) At Dodgertown your up and personal with the practice fields etc… It isn’t so at any other I’ve been to and I suspect it won’t be at the NEW AZ fields. Trust someone that has seen it first hand, we the regular spring training fans will experience a loss. Now I did say that I would still be a fan and yes being in AZ will be more accessable to us from So. Cal. I just hope over time the new AZ facility will resemble Vero Beach. I’ll also bet you that Vero Beach will have no trouble finding another team to move into this fabled site.
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
We have been to Dodgertown twice. Every game was filled to capacity. On the seconed trip we arrived without advanced tickets, got to the ticket office, to find there were no tickets available. Needless to say coming from Nova Scotia that was a bummer. While we were standing, debating what to do, Tommy came along in a golf cart. He stopped near us so I approached him and told him of our problem. He directed me to a most helpful young lady in the office who was able to fix us up with tickets. The intimacy of the facility will never be duplicated because of the layout of the complex. There are reasons to move I expect but lack of support isn’t one of them. The town of Vero Beach loves this team.
Here you go (sorry about the formatting, but I calculated this based on the figures I found here: http://media.visitflorida.org/travel/news/?ID=657)
Team Capacity Avg. Attendance % Filled
BOS 6990 7878 112.7038627
ATL 9500 9498 99.97894737
NYY 10200 10134 99.35294118
STL 6800 6604 97.11764706
MIN 7500 7151 95.34666667
PHI 7515 7025 93.47970725
HOU 5225 4298 82.25837321
PIT 6562 4971 75.75434319
LA 6474 4835 74.68334878
NYM 7347 5191 70.65468899
FLA 6800 4787 70.39705882
CIN 7500 5276 70.34666667
TB 6759 4717 69.78843024
BAL 8340 5729 68.69304556
CLE 7000 4631 66.15714286
TOR 5510 3595 65.24500907
DET 8500 5254 61.81176471
WAS 8100 3904 48.19753086
So, yes dagliolo, the Dodgers don’t look as bad when you rank by capacity filled, however they’re not nearly as great as you’re making them out to be (they rank 9th in the grapefruit league behind teams such as Pittsburgh and Minnesota which is still pretty ridiculous). Not to sound harsh again, but the LA fans would never let them fall that far down a list like this if they played in AZ. We’ve come out in droves and consistently put them in the top 5 of regular season MLB attendance season after season. We’ve been paying the bills since 1958 (longer than the entire lives of 90% of the posters on this blog if not more), this is our team and we deserve to have them playing their spring training games closer to us. Luckily for us, Dodger management tends to agree.
trapp, nice job posting the numbers. You have thus shown that your statements “they were in the bottom five in spring training attendance last season (maybe even the bottom three)”… “and it’s not because the field is small” were totally wrong. You also conveniently left out from the same web link that the Dodgers were one of 5 grapefruit teams (of 18) to set attendance records in 2006. You also conveniently left out that the Dodgers outdrew the Mets percentage wise. There are more transplanted New Yorkers living in Florida than from anywhere else in the country. Of the 8 teams that outdrew the Dodgers in Florida, one is the Yankees (again the Florida/New York factor), one is the Red Sox, who along with the Yankees dominate the baseball media on the East Coast, and one is the Braves, who play in Disney World for cryin’ out loud, and get the overflow from that.
And before you get too exited about getting what you deserve by having them play in AZ, remember we are talking about 15-16 games here, where most of the time the regulars aren’t playing. If you were really so desperate for Dodger spring training games, you would have been to Dodgertown already and gotten a history lesson. And I think that is what you really need.
Dagliolo, the Mets are below the Dodgers (and barely below the Dodgers btw) because more of the transplanted New Yorkers are going to see the Yankees. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Yankees are more popular than the Mets.
You still haven’t explained why the Twins, Astros and Pirates outdraw the Dodgers in Florida yet, I’m waiting…….
I make the spring training trip to Arizona every year, thank you very much. The main reason being that its within driving distance and its much more convenient for a weekend trip where I don’t have to take time off work (unlike flying across the entire country to Florida).
The Giants left NY just like the Dodgers did, but you don’t hear anybody crying and whining because they train in Arizona. Everyone knows it makes zero sense for them to train in Florida, they’ve played on the west coast since the 50s for crying out loud.
I don’t need a history leson. Whats done is done, its over, its the right decision and I can’t wait to get my tix in 2009 (big smile).
trapp, there is no hope for you. You have made no sense since you first commented on this and you continue making no sense. How many times must I point out that you don’t know what you are talking about before you get it? You said that the Dodgers were 5th (or even 3rd) lowest in attendance and you were proven wrong by facts.
Now you’re an expert on the popularity of New York teams. Something else you know nothing about. So you can learn something else, do another analysis of attendance to capacity from 1962 to 2006. Then tell me who is more popular among NY fans. That should keep you busy until New Year’s. You obviously don’t know Florida geography either. Get out a map for crying out loud. The Dodgers and Mets train about 40 miles apart in Florida. Yet the Dodgers outdrew them. The Yankees train on the west coast of Florida in Tampa. Believe me, there are enough New Yorkers in Florida to go to both places. I sincerely apologize if you are under the age of 18.
If you ever need to know anything about the Dodgers past, present, or future just ask me.
This really isn’t that hard.
I made a claim that the Dodgers didn’t draw that well in spring training, a claim that you challenged while insinuating that the Dodgers drew very very well in your opinion.
I went out and found the numbers (and you’re welcome for doing all the leg work on that while you sat there and did nothing BTW). Those numbers illustrated that the Dodgers didn’t draw that poorly afterall.
However, what they did illustrate was that the Dodgers DID NOT DRAW WELL EITHER (something you had claimed). Turned out they ended up somewhere in the middle (9th behind teams like the Pirates, Twins and Astros proving us both wrong since you overestimated and I underestimated). Anyway, despite those results being better than I though, I still found them to be very very sub par, considering the fact that we (the LA fans) put them in the top 2-5 for regular season attendance almost every year. If they go to Arizona, they will do much much better than 9th…..they will be 1 or 2 (behind only the Cubs possibly). They know it, you know it and I know it, thats why they’re going there, end of story.
If you want to see research on the Mets and the Yankees, try finding it and formulating it yourself this time. I really could care less about either team to tell you the truth, this is a Dodger board.
Trapp, you have made statements that were proven to be not factual. I would like you to go back through my posts and quote one statement I have made on this issue that is not factual. Just one. I’ll be waiting.
When someone has an opinion and makes statements that are not supported by facts, that opinion is easily challenged, like I have challenged your opinion.
If you had ONLY said that you like the move because it’s more convenient for you, or something similar, then I wouldn’t have challenged you. But you also said that the move was justified because “nobody shows up” and the “crowds are sparse” “they don’t support the team” etc. All wrong. BTW, I had all the numbers before you, I just wanted you to see for yourself because the next time you make statements that are not true, maybe you’ll think twice.
The bottom line is this: Dodgertown is a special place where you can get up close to the players, walk down Vin Scully Way and visit Campy’s Corner. Try it, you may like it. BTW, how old are you if you don’t mind me asking? I’m 57. Do you know who Campy is? Skoonj? Oisk? Shotgun? (Don’t look it up now).
PS- New York is a National League town. Always was, and always will be. I don’t need to look it up. Like I said, you can ask me anything.
“All wrong. BTW, I had all the numbers before you, I just wanted you to see for yourself because the next time you make statements that are not true, maybe you’ll think twice”
– No, you didn’t and you know it. What happens when you google “spring training seating capacities” as you suggested? Nothing comes up. You tried to insinuate throughout your posts that the Dodgers were well supported in Florida, if you truly did have the numbers already, you would’ve known that while they aren’t in the bottom five, they’re also barely in the top 10. (I was big enough to admit that I underestimated, now you need to be big enough to admit that you overestimated). I’m still waiting for you to explain how teams like the Twins, Astros and Pirates are all able to outrdaw a team with the fan base and the following of the Dodgers in Florida btw. Anyway, the main point I was trying to make is that attendance will be INCREASED BIG TIME if they move to Arizona. (and it will)
“New York is a National League town. Always was, and always will be. I don’t need to look it up. Like I said, you can ask me anything.”
– No, its not. I worked in NY for quite awhile. Who always gets the front page? Who always leads baseball in attendance? Which hat do you see the mayor wearing all the time? Which team gets the most coverage on local tv? You don’t even have to be from NY to know which team is more popular in NY. C’mon, give me a break, you’ve got to be kidding me.
“I’m 57. Do you know who Campy is? Skoonj? Oisk? Shotgun? (Don’t look it up now).”
– I don’t mind answering, I’m 30 and of course I know all about Campy, Duke, Jackie (UCLA alum), Newcombe, Pee Wee, etc. But here’s what you don’t seem to get: The fact that the Dodgers played in NY 50 years ago doesn’t justify them having to train in Florida now, same reason that the Giants don’t train there anymore. There comes a point where you have to move on my friend, we’re talking about 50 YEARS AGO.
Now let me ask you, do you know who Koufax, Drysdale, Cey, Lopes, Baker, Garvey, Valenzuela, Gibson, Hershiser, Piazza and Gagne are? The point being, we have our own traditions here in LA, and moving to Arizona is the beginning of a new one for our team.
Just as I thought, there wasn’t one quote of mine you could show that was not factual. I don’t know what your computer knowledge is, but if you google “spring training seating capacities” you get exactly that, all the individual teams spring training seating capacities on individual links. Anyone else on this blog is, I’m sure, smart enough to do that. That is ANOTHER erroneous statement you have made to add to the list. And with this last erroneous statement, you are calling me a liar. I think you have gone too far buddy.
As far as the popularity of the teams in NY, again you talk off the top of your head without knowledge. You are trying to correct me when I’ve lived in NY all my life. That’s your arrogance and stupidity. You say the Yankees are more popular than the Mets in New York. Wrong. Most of the Dodger and Giant fans became Met fans in 1962. The Mets outdrew the Yankees for most of the 60’s, even though they were generally a last place team except for 1969. They outdrew the Yankees because the National League fans were starved for baseball. Whichever team is doing better will generally outdraw the other at any given time.
As far as I’m concerned, you’re 30 years old, you obviously don’t know who skoonj, oisk, and shotgun are, as most of the fans on this blog already know, so you don’t know much about the Dodgers. Therefore, you’re not even qualified to give an opinion on the issue of the potential move. You don’t know much about team history and tradition, you’ve never been to Dodgertown, and you are a relatively new Dodger fan.
PS- Please explain who all those players are you named as I’ve never heard of them.
“, but if you google “spring training seating capacities” you get exactly that, all the individual teams spring training seating capacities on individual links. Anyone else on this blog is, I’m sure, smart enough to do that. That is ANOTHER erroneous statement you have made to add to the list. And with this last erroneous statement, you are calling me a liar. I think you have gone too far buddy.”
http://tinyurl.com/yxp28x
BTW, its been 4 posts now and you still haven’t explained why the Twins, Astros and Pirates all outdraw the Dodgers in Florida……just as I thought.
Spin it however you want, the Yankees are the most popular team in NY, everyone knows that, I lived there as well.
As far as the Dodgers, I’ve been rooting for this team all my life, they’ve played in my backyard for the entire 30 years of my life, and I’ve attended more Dodger games in person than you could ever hope to. Don’t tell me I don’t know about the Dodgers. Now go back to taking your medication, putting on your diapers, watching Matlock, eating dinner at 4:00 or whatever else it is you do all day.
That’s a **** of a way, to end the year. Tsk, Tsk..Shame
on BOTH of you. You’re both Dodger fans. this should NOT be happening. Talk about the pleasant things in life. This
is difficult to believe.
“Happy New Year, to ALL…..
Sorry pat25, but this guy Trapp is a complete ***** who’s wet behind the ears. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we used to tell each other to shut your trap. Trapp, *****, you put “spring training seating capacities” in quotes when you researched it. IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN QUOTES egghead. I put it in quotes because grammatically it is the way you are supposed to write it *****. pat25, how do idiots like this ever get on this board?
You are a complete *****. I’ll tell you what, when you can tell me who oisk, skoonj and shotgun are without looking it up, then you deserve to have an opinion on this board.
Now go change your diapers and have your mommy tuck you in for the night.
Hey its not my fault you put it in quotes. I still don’t understand why you couldn’t get off your fat ***, pull yourself away from the latest episode of Murder She Wrote and do it yourself anyway.
I’ll tell you who oisk, skoonj and shotgun are after you explain to me why the Twins, Astros and Pirates draw better than the Dodgers do in Florida. Guess we’ll be here for awhile right?
It’s not your fault that you couldn’t think of trying it without the quotes. That’s what clueless people do. Like I said, when you can tell me who oisk, skoonj and shotgun are without looking it up, then you deserve to have an opinion on this board. Otherwise, I’m just wasting my time talking to you.
I found the info didn’t I? (and you have no right to complain if you were too lazy to do the work yourself anyway).
You’re pretty much wasting your time trying to talk to ANYBODY besides your buddies down at the Elks Lodge.
what happened to this blog…i could have sworn this is a LOS ANGELES DODGER blog. I have a lot of respect for dodger greats in the past as does every other dodger fan. so maybe some of us younger fans didnt get to witness that magic that made the dodgers the dodgers. But the dodgers have been in LA for 5 decades now and we have been putting 3 million plus in those seats with bad teams for quite some time. I take offense when i hear people being called new dodger fans just because they are not 60 years old. Thats outrageous. Im not taking sides here but this is all over an argument about our spring training facilitys. Sorry to break it to some fans but dodgertown is outdated and the numbers there dont reflect the true dodger fanbase, because if it did we would be right up top. Its a simple move when you take everything into consideration. We will soon be selling out that facility in arizona no sweat with some people on the outside looking in. Overall this was a great move for the LOS ANGELES DODGERS. If we were still in Brooklyn stay in dodgertown. Its time to build tradition in arizona.
ah nice to get back to baseball after that little holiday break huh.
Oisk? Skoonj? Shotgun?
Twins? Astros? Pirates?
BTW, good post graffitigenius.
The two of you sound like 13 year olds trying to have the last word. It makes more sense to me to be in AZ then in Florida. I am 66 years old and have been a Dodger since I was 15 years old. I live in Idaho. My son is a dodger fan and so is my grandson. I have done something right. What or who is Oisk? Slooj? and Shotgun? I thought I knew most of the players. I do not see many games in person, but watch them on television almost every night.
alarnzen@clearwire.net
Sorry to do this, Trapp & Dag.
since I’m one of the elders,
Skoongili, is Carl Furillo:
Oisk, is Carl Erskine: and
Shotgun, Is Shuba..Sorry again
Perhaps, this will end it…
Pat, you are spoiling all my fun.
I can’t help but think of the many former Dodgers who have made homes in Vero Beach. I don’t know their motives, but I’m guessing they were thinking:
A) Vero Beach is a nice place to be.
AND
B) They wanted to remain close to the Dodgers and the tradition that they were part of.
I feel like this move is also kind of selling them out. There could be no greater testimony for Vero Beach than members of the Dodger family making homes there.
I am an East Coast Dodger fan. My grandfather and my dad pulled for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn and remained loyal to the Dodgers when they moved west. My dad taught all of his kids to love the Dodgers, and one of the most incredible baseball experiences of my life was visiting Dodgertown. While I understand the economic motivation behind moving to an AZ training facility, and I understand that baseball is a business, the tradition at Vero Beach was one of the richest elements of the long-standing Dodger tradition that Mr. McCourt claimed to be committed to with affection and respect. This move makes those claims ring hollow.
How much big, big money can really be made from Spring Training anyway? I know a businessperson should try to maximize profits, but I wonder how profitable the whole thing is, even for very well-attended facilities. I wonder if it wouldn’t make more sense to maintain tradition and one of the most incredible up-close fan experiences in baseball, in hopes of throwing the East Coast Dodger families a bone and helping young kids on the East Coast have a chance to have that awe-inspiring Dodger experience that will make them fans for life (so they’ll buy merchandise, etc.)
How much more profit will this actually yield? Are fans in CA who actually get to see real games on a regular basis actually going to travel to AZ to watch split-squad games, etc.? (As opposed to me, from NC, who drove to Florida during spring break in college in order to visit Dodgertown and catch of glimpse of my beloved team…)
I leave for a couple days and look what happens to you guys. I keep expecting to read that one of you is a “whipper-snapper” and the other “has cooties”. 🙂 From a tradition standpoint, yes the move of ST facilities stinks, but that’s what needs to be done. I’ve never been to Dodgertown, but I can assure you that I’ll be there for a week this year and next. I want to get a glimpse of that part of Dodger tradition.
Conversely, I’m already planning my ST trip for ’09, because I live in New Mexico. I grew up in Orange County and have been living in NM since I was a teenager. As it stands, I get to LA for about a half dozen games/year, but I go to all of the ones at Chase Field. It’s less than half as far.
Another thing to think about is the players. Our guys do a lot more traveling that last week of March than anyone else has to, and few of them get to see their wives, families, etc. Think about how much more energized they’ll be for Opening Day when they only have a 5-hour bus ride and no time change. Many of our players actually make their homes in the Phoenix area.
From a financial standpoint, raise your hand if you’ll be attending more ST games now that they’re closer to your home. I wish I could see the raised hands, but I’m sure there are many of them. What Dodger fan wouldn’t love the opportunity to go to Phoenix every weekend to see the boys in blue play. For those of you who live in the desert, it’s only a couple hours drive. Dag, if you still live in NY I’m sure this is gonna be hard for you, same for you Ms. Travis. But the Dodgers had to leave Ebbets Field, Sandy Koufax had to retire, the Dodger Dogs aren’t always grilled anymore, and JD Drew opts out. Things change(JD’s mind, for those who don’t make the connection), embrace it. Because we still get Dodger Dogs, Vin Scully’s still there, we still wear blue, we got new pitchers, and our outfield promises to be stronger now. It’ll work out.
Has anyone heard anything else about JD Drew’s contract? Last thing I heard there was still a big holdup because of his shoulder. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Boras made a fool of himself and couldn’t even get Princess a 3 year deal? I’d love to see him mess this up.
Hey Pat,
Are those nicknames for Carl Erskine, etc. common to the Brooklyn area? I have never heard of these nicknames in the Pacific Northwest. I did know who Campy was.
I feel this is a bad move for the Dodgers as others have stated. It cuts the last real tie with their historical past. These were the fields that the “boys of summer” walked and trained on. Going to Dodgertown was a reverant event. The streets named for Campy, Jackie, etc were places they had been not just named for them. All that will be lost as well as being truly a “National” team. Now only the Yankees will be a “National” team. Now the dodgers will just be an LA team – like the Angels.
After 60 years of loyalty, I now feel completely deserted. I feel that once again money has overruled the sandlot and all those wonderful images that baseball use to summon are gone replaced by a bought and paid for Hollywood image. My trips to VB have been usurped by some “financial plan”. Final score …… Make Money – 1 Baseball Fans – 0
The spirit of Hodges, Robinson, Campanella, Erskin, Preacher, Newk, Reese, Furillo, Cox, Labine, Black, and Snider will forever walk the fields of Dodgertown not Arizona. The LA Dodgers now only share a name, not a history, with their past.
As others have stated, this move is wrong for the franchise. Josh, if you’re still reading this, I want to know the exact reasons for the move spelled out in detail from the organization. I have the highest respect for the McCourt family, and I believe they have done well for the Dodgers thus far. In their short time as owners, they have appeared to respect the tradition and history that has made the Dodgers the most storied team in the history of professional sports, in my opinion. They must know that they are only temporary caretakers of a national treasure. And as caretakers they must understand that the Dodgers belong to baseball fans across this nation. Coast to Coast. As ESPN correctly described them in a mini-series, the “Original America’s Team.”
So please, Josh, just as you responded to questions about all you can eat pavillions and fan rewards programs, respond to those of us opposed to this move and tell us exactly why the current caretakers are doing it. Because this move is more than just a business decision. It is a symbolic decision.
Let’s hear it.