Rites of Spring Training

• Published in: The New York times
• Main Authors: Anderson, Dave, Dave Anderson is a sports columnist for The Times
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 12.03.1989
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: ANDERSON, DAVE; BASEBALL; TRAVEL AND VACATIONS; ARIZONA
• ISSN: 0362-4331

Hundreds appear transfixed by the rhythmic interplay between pitcher and batter, as the Chicago Cubs prepare for their exhibition game with the Oakland Athletics. But as the sun rises high overhead and more spectators enter the stadium, the rigid concentration gradually gives way to the noisy exuberance of baseball fans anticipating the beginning of another season. ''Hot dogs - the only time I eat hot dogs,'' says a man in a Cubs cap, ''is at a ball park.'' Around him fans are talking about the hop on a rookie pitcher's fastball, or the rust on an aging slugger's swing. The Oakland Athletics, the defending American League champion, is the only Arizona-based franchise to win the World Series in that span -and win it three years in a row (1972, 1973, 1974). In batting practice you can see their two young sluggers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, dispose of dozens of baseballs over the Phoenix Stadium fences. The first time I talked to Canseco was after a 1986 workout at the stadium. I mentioned that in the minor leagues the year before he had hit 40 homers. ''Forty-one,'' he said without a smile. Then a 21-year-old rookie, Canseco took his slugging seriously enough to become that spring's ''phenom,'' baseball slang for phenomenal prospect. T HE EXCITEMENT OF SPRING training, however, does not just come from observing the season's new stars. I last saw an aging Henry Aaron there in 1976. The man who broke Babe Ruth's record would complete his career with a record 755 home runs. But that spring he was hoping to finish with a flourish for the Milwaukee Brewers, who then trained in Sun City, northwest of Phoenix. ''Every once in a while,'' he says, ''I like to blow it by these kids.'' Not really. But later on [Bob Feller] might sit in the Indians' left-field bull pen and talk to the fans. Sometimes he even sits in the stands with them. That doesn't happen anywhere during the season. And that's the beauty of spring training. PLAY BALL