Pitchers and catchers check in first, reporting for work in mid-February. A few days later their teammates and coaches join them out on practice fields scattered across the Valley of the Sun. Baseball fans start flocking to the Valley from all over the Country for Cactus League spring training games a few weeks later. 10 ballpark host 15 MLB Teams and entertain over 1.5 million fans every spring. Basking in the warm Arizona climate, these diehard baseball fans can experience a rebirth of their annual optimism for their favorite teams and players. “Maybe this will be THEIR year”. “Just maybe”.

In March of 2010 I was able to attend one of these Cactus League games with my buddy Neville Jacob, who was visiting from the UK. For the first time ever, Neville was able to hear the sharp crack of the wooden bats, he could listen to the raucous cheering of fans, and he could sniff the scent of pine tar, peanuts, and hotdogs. There he was, standing beside me as our National Anthem was sung and Old Glory was presented in the stadium. And there he was standing a second time and joyfully singing ’Take Me Out to The Ball Game’ during the seventh inning stretch. MLB baseball, spring training, I’m doubtful that there is any other experience Neville could have attended that was more authentically American than Cactus League spring training. Sure, American football grabs most of the National attention and hype, also most of the TV revenue and lucrative Super Bowl adds. But baseball is certainly America in its most condensed and naturally authentic manifestation. I’m so thrilled that Neville was able to share in this great Arizonan and American experience with me for the very first time.

As I was growing up in Phoenix in the 60’s and 70’s, us local yokels had no resident MLB baseball team to cheer for. The Arizona Diamondbacks did not arrive in the Valley until 1995. Back in our youth my brothers and I could only listen to the eloquent calls of Vin Scully announcing for the L.A. Dodgers or San Francisco Giants on our AM transistor radios. Or we could go see the budding young players on the minor league Phoenix Giants team, which we enthusiastically did. But if we wanted to see the Major League Baseball (MLB) professional stars out playing for glory on a manicured green diamond, we were required to wait for spring training. Only then could we get to see our favorite teams or idolized players. I am sorry but no, not the L.A. Dodgers, who did their spring training in the Grapefruit League in Florida. But there were pro teams aplenty, and it was then that we had to get our yearly MLB baseball fix in quickly. Spring training only lasted one month each year, it was then or never for us locals. Arriving at the stadiums wearing our mitts and toting our autograph books, we might be able to get near enough to the players that they could hear us call out their names. The Cactus League stadiums were much quainter and cozier than their summer MLB stadiums in the host cities, the players were much more relaxed and accessible. The pressure of the actual MLB season not yet weighing on the pros. The entire experience was exciting and exhilarating for us as young adolescent boys.

I have heard people say that Arizona has no seasons. They say that we have the searing heat of the spring and summer, followed by the muggy heat of late summer, and then the rest of the year… just warm. But I beg to differ. For me our Arizona seasons started with the arrival of pitchers and catchers. The end of spring training meant school would soon be out, and the Little League baseball season would kick in. We could wear uniforms with long stockings and black cleats just like the pros. Then, in early September school would be back in session, soon then October would arrive, and it became time for that most hallowed of all baseball events, the World Series! After that, next would come the big Holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And finally, the seasonal cycle would start all over again with the arrival of pitchers and catchers. Our Arizona seasons did not revolve around harvests or solstices, I propose that they revolved around the arrival of pitchers and catchers.

Until Neville’s eventful visit, I may have taken all this annual cycle for granted. The cycles of baseball in Arizona were so natural to my internal rhythms that I may not even have paid attention to their importance. It was Neville’s visit that reminded me just how integral that the annual baseball cycle was in my basic makeup.

2024? Pitchers and Catchers report on Valentine’s Day. Interestingly, Valentine’s Day just happens to be Arizona’s birthday as a State in the Union (February 14, 1912). Come check out a Spring Training game if you happen to be in the neighborhood. We’ll leave the ballpark lights on for you.

Cheers, nca