Spring training is a beautiful time for baseball fans. Its pure. It signals a new beginning. It lacks the corporate feel the regular season seems to choke us with. Maybe its because the bleachers are so close to the action. Maybe its because of the peculiarly cool, casual uniforms. Sometimes a player shows up with a newly formed gut. Thats always fun, because it reminds us that these guys getting paid millions to play a kids game are not unlike us after all. Spring training ushers in summer with the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of a ball smacking leather, the taste of a ballpark hot dog and an ice-cold beer, and the sight of little boys carrying oversize mitts and grown men scribbling on scorecards. Yup, its time for baseball to reawaken. And its beautiful.
If youre up for a drive, you can catch spring training fever at Roger Dean Stadium, as the hometown Florida Marlins take on their springtime nemesis, the Baltimore Orioles. First pitch is at 1:05.
Fri., Feb. 29, 1:05 p.m., 2008