Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Here are some reasons to be excited about spring training
Pitchers and catchers reported last week, and position players are starting to workout all across Florida as spring training gets into full swing. Grapefruit League games will begin later in the week.
If the loss of a few key Marlins players and the new management have some fans feeling less-than-excited about this annual rite of spring, there are still plenty of reasons for South Floridians to hit the ballparks.
Smorgasbord of spring baseball
With the opening of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches last year as the shared home of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, there are now four teams within 12 miles in northern Palm Beach County. Watch the Marlins or St. Louis Cardinals work out in the morning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, then catch the World Series champion Astros in a Grapefruit League game in the afternoon.
Check out the champs
Think there’s no chance the Marlins will ever be worth watching again? Then take a trip to the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and visit the World Series champion Houston Astros, who underwent a similar painful rebuilding project as the Marlins are attempting. The Astros not only lost 111 games in 2013, it was the third consecutive season of triple-digit defeats. But look at them now.
Flipside of Giancarlo
Still angry the Marlins traded National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees? His counterpart, AL MVP Jose Altuve of the Astros, is worth checking out. Although only 5-foot-6, he packs a wallop. He not only batted .346 last season, the Venezuela native hammered seven home runs in the postseason.
Chilling at the ballpark
The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, which opened last year as home of both the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, offers a laid-back spring training experience in northern Palm Beach County (5444 Haverhill Rd, West Palm Beach). The party deck provides a shaded, sports bar-like setting overlooking the field. Craft Corner in left field features 32 craft beers on tap.
Upgrades in Jupiter
Now known as Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, as the spring home of the Marlins and Cardinals turns 20 this month, the 7,000-seat ballpark in the Abacoa community of Jupiter has undergone $560,000 of improvements. Among the fan-friendly upgrades is a new chickee hut by the left-field bullpen, shade canopies shielding more of the seats and a makeover of concession stands, which now accept credit cards exclusively.
Who are these Marlins?
Although the Marlins traded away their best and most recognizable players, get to know some of the promising prospects they got in return. Coral Springs native Lewis Brinson is a fivetool player who will be vying for the starting job in center field, while Sandy Alcantara is a hard-throwing righthander with a fastball that registers in the high-90s who has a chance to win a spot in the starting rotation.
Before the Bryce sweepstakes
Nationals superstar outfielder Bryce Harper can become a free agent after this season, so this could be the last spring to watch him at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Fans may have a better chance to get him to sign an autograph at a Grapefruit League game than the Nationals do of signing him to a new contract, which is expected to cost a king’s rans
Catch your favorites
Two of the more notable Grapefruit League games on the Marlins’ schedule at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium will be when they play host to the Boston Red Sox on March 9 and the New York Yankees on March 11, both at 1:05 p.m. at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. While that may be an opportunity to see Giancarlo Stanton in a Yankee uniform, there is no guarantee he will make the trip, as stars often avoid the long bus rides in spring training.
A Jeter sighting, perhaps
New Marlins CEO Derek Jeter will be a presence in spring training for the first time since his final season playing for the Yankees, in 2014. It is unknown how visible he will be around the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex, but there may be an opportunity to get an autograph from the future Hall-of-Famer or to give him a piece of your mind about his controversial decisions since taking control of the Marlins.
Just a blur
Jorge Guzman, another pitching prospect acquired by the Marlins in the trade for Giancarlo Stanton, throws even harder than Sandy Alcantara. With a fastball that reaches 102-103 mph, he has been touted as the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in baseball history. Guzman needs refinement and will not be in big-league camp, but he can be seen throwing with Marlins minor-leaguers on the back fields at Roger Dean Stadium.
Didn’t get very far
If one of the Marlins players you are missing is All-Star left fielder Marcell Ozuna, you are in luck. Since he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason, Ozuna will still be playing his spring home games in Jupiter.
There’s always Tebow
He’s back. Tim Tebow, the former UF star and Heisman Trophy winner, is in big league camp with the Mets this year, his second in pro baseball. The Mets — and potentially Tebow — are set to visit West Palm Beach on Feb. 26, March 2, March 8, March 13, March 17 and March 19. They’ll visit Jupiter on March 3, March 14, March 20 and March 24.