by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

TEMPE AZ–This week pitchers and catchers report to Arizona and Florida for 2015 Spring Training. Reading the reports for most teams optimism is running high, even Barry Zito is now joining the Athletics for the first time since he won the Cy Young for the green and gold, who says he has a new pitching style. That was a low risk pick-up for the A’s, if he comes back in the form as the good Zito, the A’s win, if he does not, they let him go, no harm no foul. Many things have changed in the game of baseball, but one thing that remains a constant is that you really never have enough pitching; so the Barry Zito signing in a way is a win-win for the A’s. And if Zito has nothing left? He might want to retire with the A’s, the A’s have a sellout at the Coliseum on Barry Zito Day and everybody is happy. Does anybody believes the Giants would have won last October without Madison Bumgarner?

Meanwhile half dozen teams still in pursuit of Cuban infielder Héctor Olivera, all dangling a $70 million multi-year contract on the rookie, with the Los Angeles Dodgers looking as the front runners as of today. Starting this week the Athletics will train at Hohokam Park, in Mesa, Arizona, with a capacity of 12,500. The Giants continue at Scottsdale, plus another 13 teams in the Phoenix area opening their camps. All California teams train now in Arizona, A’s(Mesa),Giants(Scottsdale),Angels(Tempe),Dodgers,(Glendale), and Padres(Peoria).

Having traveled to the Phoenix Area for Spring Training, every year for the past 30 years, I have seen the amazing transformation of the Valley of the Sun. For example, because a total of 15 teams have their training camps there, you must make accommodations no later than early January, if you want to have a good place to stay. Hotels are close to capacity at this time of the year. Spring is the perfect time for Arizona, an average of 75 to 80 degrees everyday and if you like baseball, this is heaven for you. Snowbirds drive down with their trailers and camp for weeks, many big baseball fans. One of the most favorite teams that train there are the Chicago Cubs, who will continue to train in Mesa, in a sensational new facility, (the biggest and the best I have seen so far). I visited that Cubs facility last spring, when they inaugurated a replica of historic Wrigley Field.

There is nothing wrong with Spring Training in Arizona, maybe the traffic is the biggest negative, but if you have the time, and you are a baseball fan, you can’t go wrong. You can hop from park to park on one day, or you can stay and watch one team all day. If you stay in the Phoenix Area, most teams are within 45 minutes by car.Thousands of people from all over California, plan their vacations this time of the year, others just fly for the weekends, it is a quick hour to hour and half flight from most places in California. You can drive it also, depends where you live, from the Bay Area, plan on an all day drive from sunrise to sunset.

Giants and Indians were the pioneers in Arizona. The now famous Cactus League, became a reality in 1947, when Horace Stoneham’s New York Giants and Bill Veeck’s Cleveland Indians began to open their camps in Phoenix and Tucson. For Bill Veeck’s Indians it was easy, since he owned ranches in the Tucson area. Other teams that previously have trained out west were the Chicago Cubs, who in 1905 training in Santa Monica(LA)California. The Cubs liked California so much back then, that between 1922 and 1942 they had their Spring Training camp in Catalina Island, and then again in 1950 and 1951.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio voice and the Los Angeles Angels Spanish TV voice and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com