2008 Spring Training: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

I've had the incredible opportunity to attend 2008 MLB Spring Training in Tampa Bay, Florida this year. Over the course of my three day vacation, I have been able to attend two different ballgames: Philadelphia at Cincinnati on Thursday, March 13, and Toronto at Tampa Bay today. Both were incredible games and offered a rewarding Spring Training experience.

The Cincinnati baseball game was held in Sarasota, Florida, which was quite a drive from our hotel in Clearwater, Florida. One of the first things I recognized when I got to Ed Davis Stadium was the incredible turnout: being only one of two night Spring Training games, I realized that my love for the game of baseball was shared by plenty of others down in Florida supporting their team. There were plenty of Philadelphia Phillies fans there, including two very vocal fans a couple rows in front of our seats on the third base side (ironically, they were able to snag a foul ball by Philadelphia star Shane Victorino). There were a great number of Cincinnati fans out there, as well. Since I attended Ohio State last year, I was able to point out a lot of Ohio State apparel worn by some of the Reds fans.

The Phillies started a good number of their starters, but their biggest star players, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, were absent from this game. The Reds started a majority of their starters, including household league name Ken Griffey Jr. and young star Brandon Phillips. Baseball America's top prospect, Jay Bruce, also saw a lot of playing time in this game. It was great getting a chance to see him play in real life.

Earlier today, my dad, brother, and I headed up to Tampa Bay to see the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Let me tell you, the Rays Spring Training ballpark is probably one of the nicest ballparks I have ever seen. We dug into some great hot dogs and took in a great ballgame: the Rays ended up coming away with the victory.

One of the big stories from this game was the debut of Toronto closer, BJ Ryan. He has been recovering from Tommy John Surgery for several months now, so it was great to see him back on the mound. This game was rain delayed by about 20 minutes, so it was somewhat of a surprise to see Toronto manager John Gibbons send in Ryan to start the game. Ryan was impressive, acquiring 2 strikeouts and no walks in one inning pitched. The pitcher who was supposed to start, Jesse Litsch, came in for relief in the second inning and pitched a few innings.

Overall, this spring training vacation has been an absolutely incredible trip. Though the weather was rainy today in Tampa, it is supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny for our final day tomorrow. We will be attending the Yankees-Rays game at Legends Field, and if the bench-clearing brawl the other day was any indication, it should be quite an experience.