Boston Red Sox spring training past to the present

Boston Red Sox spring training has changed dramatically over the decades. Here is my own personal look at three different spring training sites.

Oh, how the times have changed in spring training for the Boston Red Sox. Spring training is now big business at its best with ticket packages, destination trips, modern ballparks, hustling one community against another and generally raking in as much money as possible. Since I have no access to “The Books” I cannot say beyond a doubt that it is just a fiscal wash. Pressed I would say that spring training is no longer break even, but highly profitable.

My first spring training was in Scottsdale, Arizona as a teenager as my father took me along on a business trip. That was the desert. I don’t care for deserts as there are too many critters with a nasty disposition and blowing sand. But in Scottsdale, it was open season as players were extremely accessible and I even got to play catch with Gary Geiger. Players would actually have coolers with beer to really enjoy the Arizona sun.

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My next spring training venture was Winter Haven. If I was ever going to design a location as remote as possible for spring training it would be Winter Haven a town that had somewhere around 20,000 inhabitants and, of course, the real tourist attraction – Cypress Gardens. On this visit, I was now an adult – at least chronologically – with a wife and children and this was a business trip and not pleasure.

This was the late 1970s and I was there for my employer – Howard Johnson Company – that had a motel location that was in dire need of a computer system upgrade along with several others in Florida. The hotel/motel was virtually leased out to players who were primarily minor leaguers. Nearby was another hotel – I believe a Holiday Inn – that seemed to have a slightly higher up the baseball food chain clientele.

For some players that were best classified as talented, and the 1978 team had many, there were other housing options, but the main focus for me is the younger players who were either single or had their families with them.

The hotel groups were quite typical of what would expect from any group with a spouse and young children in tow. Take-out food, Bar-B-Que, plenty of pool time and sitting around the pool or fire pit with a beer after the sun set. But there were certainly exceptions and with a certain degree of freedom and celebrity comes a world of opportunity.

Some players were single and even in a remote location like Winter Haven one could still find company and that also applied to some married players whose spouses were back home maintaining hearth and kettle. I will certainly avoid naming names, but enough anecdotal information has surfaced through the years.

The last spring training I attended was a few years back at Ft. Myers and was the first season of Jet Blue Park. The atmosphere was more relaxed than a regular season, but from my view still had the trappings of a smaller version of the regular season. There were some degrees of accessibility to players if one wished to do that and the hangouts of players were well known. I could care less since I was never one for autographs, picture taking or memorabilia.

Ft. Myers also convinced me to stay as far away as possible from future spring training visits. The city – if it is that – is a virtual traffic gridlock and hotel space is at a premium and expensive. There is enough to do either in the immediate area or wandering further north or south. For me, it simply was an airboat ride and a casino. My life is now complete now that I have paid a visit to the National Shell Museum.

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Something is missing as through the years spring training has drifted into a highly commercialized venture for the more laid back approach of Winter Haven and Scottsdale, but still it does provide a unique opportunity that is certainly worth it. Just expect to spend a lot of money, get stuck in traffic and catch some nice sun in the seats.