CSS and Converge takes on Spring Training: Day two
By Charles Hamaker
Goodyear, AZ – The second day of our Spring Training trip was a bit different than day one, for a few different reasons. The Mariners again played a night game, a 6:05PM MST start, but on the road this time at Goodyear ballpark against the Cincinnati Reds. With our brief idea of the layout at the Mariners facility, the time spent before we headed out to Goodyear was used to stock up on supplies for the rest of our time down in Arizona. It would be unwise to live off just ballpark food, as potentially fun as that may be, so stocking up was a must.
Stocking up
Getting supplies was straight forward and as cut and dry as it can get. Liv and Charles collecting necessary nourishment and beverages to get through the rest of the days they’re here for, trying to stay mindful of not wanting to bring anything more back home. Given the usage of the appliances at our hotel, it made the shopping a bit easier to do. Charles was hoping to find a pack of baseball cards or two to buy for the group, in the spirit of baseball and Spring Training, but the Target had no such thing on sale unfortunately. He is still going to try and pursue that, in the spirit of baseball and because he enjoys it anyway, but we’ll have to check on that later.
Heading out for our only away game of the week
Outside of the trips to and from the hotel, the journey down to Goodyear to pick up our credentials is the longest that Liv and Charles will embark on during this trip to Arizona. It was about a 50-minute trip from our hotel down to Goodyear, which wasn’t bad considering the distance. Cincinatti’s facility itself is about a mile down the road from their ballpark, which is different from the Mariners complex which is just a minute or so walk away from the ballpark. While the weather forecast displayed a projection of 30% chance of a thunderstorm, Liv and Charles were bathed in the Arizona sunlight as they grabbed their credentials from the complex and headed over to Goodyear ballpark.
Goodyear ballpark (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Goodyear ballpark shines
Upon arrival at the ballpark itself, Charles and Liv were pleasantly surprised at the status and overall makeup of the facility. Not for any reason, but the ballpark that hosts the Reds and the Guardians is well made and has great backdrops when on the main concourse. Some nice mountains to the South of the ballpark, palm trees surrounding it entirely, and just a well laid out facility make for an excellent spot down in Arizona to catch some Spring Training baseball. The ballpark amenities appear modern as well, with the food stands and concourse itself seemingly finished within the last ten years.
All things considered, including the spacious patches of grass off to the sides of each outfield corner where fans can rest, play, what have you, this would be a prime candidate for a “day off” game or so here at Spring Training. Obviously considering that it is a Thursday, the seats were surprisingly not as filled as I had expected. Maybe it’s because of the amazing turnout at last night’s Dodgers at Mariners game, but I would’ve figured with how nice the facility is and considering that it’s a late week game, we’d see more than this. No matter, we still enjoyed our time at this park. The Mariners thumping the Reds with multiple homers certainly helped that, too.
Liv’s position on the third base well (Photo by Liv Lyons)
What’s next?
Tomorrow’s game is back at the Peoria Sports Complex, another night game, this time against Oakland Athletics. Mariners 2022 midseason trade acquisition Luis Castillo (Nicknamed La Piedra) will start the game for Seattle in what could be his last Spring Training appearance. That game will be broadcast on Root Sports, but as always, we invite you to join us on our twitter (@CirclingSports) for our live commentary and Liv’s excellent photos of the game. Charles is hoping and planning on getting some interviews done tomorrow prior to the game taking place, so be on the lookout for those.