Cactus League Spring Training Trip - Summer Shandy, Pitching Prospect Evans, Roka Akor, Batting Cages, & Padres Park (2020)

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Spring Training is not all about baseball!  It is all about great food!  Oregano's has great pizza and WINGS!  I emphasis the wings!  My buddy and I had to get some before our first game.

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Our first game of the trip this year was to the American Family Field of Phoenix to watch the Rangers at the Brewer's Park.  We beat them pretty bad that day!

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I like going to the Brewer's Park so I can get my Summer Shandy!

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We enjoyed dinner at the Cholla Steakhouse so much last year that we made reservations again for that prime steakhouse this year.

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The amuse was a little filet mignon piece.

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The shrimp and crab cocktail was delicious!

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A nice raspberry sorbet was served before the main course to cleanse my pallet.

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I got the filet mignon with grilled shrimp.  I enjoyed my Whistle Pig Rye whiskey as well.

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The next morning, we went to the Rangers Practice Fields in Surprise to watch the team warm up for the game against the Dodgers.

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I was so upclose to the action at the Rangers Practice!

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Walking around, I saw our pitching prospect Demarcus Evans.  He signed a baseball for me, and I got to pose for a photo with our future star!

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This was so cool to watch the players warm up so close to us!  The weather was great too!

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Here are some minor league players going for a run.

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I ended up geting two balls signed at the practice!

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Hey!  Mr. Daniels (Rangers GM) - let me work out for the team too!  LOL.

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We got some great BBQ at Rudy's BBQ before the game started.

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Rudy's had Blue Bell Ice Cream also!

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Here is the starting line up for the Dodgers at Rangers game!

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I got the 2020 Rangers Spring Training hat at the game.  It is nicer than the ones they had the past few seasons.

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My Rangers started out losing by 7 runs!  We came back however!

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My Rangers ended up winning 9-8 that day!

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We met up with another buddy of mine, Bruce.  Here is a good example of a Rangers and Dodgers fan getting along well.  LOL.  Well, I guess we are not really rivals.

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For dinner on Sunday night, we went to Roka Akor in Scottsdale!

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The sushi was amazing!  I think I had the freshest Amberjack ever that night!

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The next day, the three of us went to a batting cage in Peoria before the game to hit some softballs and baseballs.

Padres
We saw a few innings of the Dodgers at Padres game with my buddy Bruce before heading to the airport for our flight home.

    I went back to Spring Training in Arizona to watch my Texas Rangers play in the Cactus League once again in 2020!  This was my 8th consecutive season of attending Spring Training ball out there.  One of my friends from Sacramento joined me, and we met up with another buddy of mine down there.  The three day trip was really fun!

    We started out by going to watch my Rangers play at the newly renovated and named American Family Fields of Phoenix Park where the Brewers play.  Our seats were right behind homeplate, and we got a great view of the action.  One of our new pitchers, Gibson who we signed from the Brewers, was on the mound to start for us that day.  The Rangers 11 to 2!  The Brewers Park has always featured Summer Shandy by Leinenkugel's so I had to make sure I got a big glass for myself at the game!  We enjoyed a nice dinner after the game at the Cholla Steakhouse in Scottsdale.

    The next morning, we headed out early to the Rangers Practice Fields in Surprise to watch them warm up.  It was so cool!  The players were all just walking around among the fans.  We saw the players in the batting cages, taking live batting practice, warming up, and more!  I ran into our pitching prospect Demarcus Evans.  He signed a baseball for me that my buddy down there got me from one of his friends who is a volunteer at the Surprise Stadium.  This was an actual MLB ball used either during a game or practice!  Evans closed for one of the games this spring and got the save!  After watching the practice, we had a great BBQ lunch at Rudy's.  We joined my buddy who was down there already for the Dodgers at Rangers game in Surprise.  He is a Dodgers fan so he was happy when the game started since they had a 7-0 lead against us.  One of our outfielders Willie Calhoun got hit in the jaw by a ball and needed to be airlifted out of the stadium area.  It was sad to see that.  While checking out the team store, I found a Spring Training 2020 Rangers hat that fitted me perfectly so I got it.  When we got back to watch the game, the Rangers mounted a comeback and beat the Dodgers 9-8.  I think my hat was the rally cap!  LOL.  We enjoyed dinner at a highly rated restarant called Roka Akor in Scottsdale that night.  The sushi was so fresh!  We enjoyed dessert and a drink at Tilted Kilt after dinner.  The Kilt Girl closing that night was super friendly, and I even practiced a little Spanish with her since she was of Mexican descent.  Yes, I am learning Spanish via Audible's Pimsleur courses for all the travel that my wife and I do to Mexico and Latin America.

    We hit the batting cages the next morning in Peoria before going to watch the Dodgers play the Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.  There was a great restaurant across from the ballpark called Firewood.  After lunch, we caught a few innings before we had to leave for the airport.

Last Updated:  March 11, 2020 6:54 PM
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