Joe Garagiola, the famed baseball broadcaster and former catcher, scanned the springtime crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and broke into a huge smile.
Not so long ago, the Cactus League looked as if it might wither away. But here it was, in full bloom and growing stronger by the year, with large crowds and renewed interest.
Next season, the Cactus League will grow from 12 to 14 teams. By 2010, it could be 15, up dramatically from six in 1993 and equal to Florida's Grapefruit League.
"I love it," said Garagiola, who lives year-round in Phoenix. "The more the merrier; let them all come out. We've got room."
Even the Dodgers are coming to Glendale; that's Arizona, not the Los Angeles suburb.
Actually, the Dodgers already are in Phoenix, borrowing the A's facility for two weeks while Oakland is in Japan. It's a chance for the N.L. club to get acclimated to Cactus play.
Said A's general manager Billy Beane: "It's great for Arizona. It's great for the Dodgers. The more teams out here, the better. It's good for all of us."
Such a move makes sense for West Coast teams and fans.
"Our fan base is concentrated in the southwest part of the country," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti recently told reporters. "We thought it would be easier for our fans to see us if we were in the Southwest rather than in the Southeast."
Longtime baseball fan Bee Hylinski agreed. "It's about time," said the Alamo woman who annually treks to Phoenix for spring baseball. "They have such tradition in the Grapefruit League. I'm sure it was hard to pull up those roots, but it didn't make any sense to stay there any longer."
Added A's fan Gus Haney, who planned to catch a Dodgers game at Phoenix Muni: "I'm excited. I like the Dodgers because I hate the Giants."
After 48 springs in Florida, the Dodgers officially vacated their famous Vero Beach Dodgertown facility Monday for a palatial venue (including a four-star hotel and 18-hole golf course) under construction in the desert near the Arizona Cardinals' NFL stadium, the site of the recent Super Bowl. The Dodgers will share the $76 million facility with the Chicago White Sox, who plan to move their spring home north from Tucson in 2010.
Building a shared stadium in nearby Goodyear are the Cleveland Indians, who will move from Winter Haven, Fla., next season, with the Cincinnati Reds in talks to head west from Sarasota, Fla., in 2010.
The two-fer stadium model has proved popular in the Phoenix area. The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals teamed up in Surprise. The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners set up their spring digs side by side in Peoria.
Baseball has been an Arizona spring mainstay for generations. Wednesday marks the 79th anniversary of the first spring training game in Phoenix. The Detroit Tigers hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates in that Cactus League exhibition.
But when the Diamondbacks debuted in 1998, Arizona's continued lure for spring training was in doubt. What was the big deal about spring exhibitions when fans could see "real" games from April to October?
"Ten, 15 years ago, people were worrying that the Cactus League was dying," Commissioner Bud Selig told the New York Times. "Florida has had so much spring training and history, but Arizona has been very aggressive."
The state of Arizona and Maricopa County (greater Phoenix area) used a series of hotel and car-rental taxes to build, upgrade and maintain the Cactus League facilities. They pursued every team west of the Mississippi River and have gone further east, luring both Ohio franchises.
The migration west doesn't surprise Beane.
"I've been on both sides (in Arizona and Florida)," he said. "To me, there's no comparison. Logistically, travel is much easier. The teams are closer together (in Arizona). The weather is more consistent. For teams on the West Coast, it's obviously easier to get here."
The resurgence of the Cactus League mirrors Phoenix, Beane added. "Look around. The whole town has taken off in the last 15 years. It just gets better and better every year."
The Dodgers' early arrival is a milestone, said Renee Montoya of Cactus Sports, the largest retailer of Cactus League merchandise in the Phoenix area.
"Absolutely, everybody is excited," she said. "We get lots of Californians; they're so close. Florida is so far away."
Arizona's appeal is simple, Montoya added.
"It's totally the weather. Arizona is beautiful in March. Really, who wouldn't want to come here?"
Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 326-5514.
