My Trip to Sloan Park

After an aborted trip to the World Baseball Classic (ticket prices were too high, and the friend I was supposed to go with got a new job and couldn’t get the time off) my wife and I decided to pivot and take a 10-day trip to the Southwest. This included starting in Phoenix so that we could check out a Cubs Spring Training game.

It was my first visit to Phoenix, which is very hot and sunny, but fortunately not too hot the day we arrived – with temps topping out in the mid 80s on the day we went to Sloan. Temperatures would rise into the 100s a week later.

It was a really great experience, reminding me of the minor league games I’ve gone to in St. Paul. Parking was easy, as I’d reserved a spot in the Purple lot. There was a bit of traffic getting in, but not too much. As it was a game day, we did not have access to the back fields, but there was no line to get in about 30 minutes before game time.

After getting a tall beer as we entered, we toured around the stadium to take in the views. There was also free sunscreen available in the building behind the outfield seating, which was an absolute must for my very pale complexion.

Our seats were in row 15, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game that close to the field behind home plate. Honestly, every seat in that place is really nice. We managed to get our seats for a really good price on the secondary market a few weeks before the game.

The concessions were a bit sparce, but there was plenty of beer, hot dogs and ice cream. The one unique feature I enjoyed was the condiments for the hot dogs – basically a spread that allowed you to build your own Chicago-style dog (minus the celery salt) – dill spear, tomatoes, relish, onions, mustard and, of course, sport peppers. My dog experience got off to a rocky start, as I was sold a bun without the hot dog, but that was quickly rectified, and I build the dog.

The game itself was a back and forth affair, with lots of home runs by both teams. We got to witness the rare Spring Training experience of the Royals remove their starting pitcher to close an inning and then bringing him back to start the next inning. We also saw homers from Nico Hoerner and Pedro Ramirez, with Ramirez hitting a grand slam.

Colin Rea, who has managed to start the last 3 Cubs games I’ve gone to (in three different stadiums) was decent but not great. I also got to see Matt Shaw play first, which was not a disaster.

As the game wore on, we decided to walk around a bit more. Just a note, pictures with the World Series Trophy and replica red Welcome Board are much easier to get during the game, but close down in the 7th inning. We barely beat the clock to get the image on this post, and almost missed out as stadium staff had to scramble to assist a patron who had collapsed due to the heat.

I already had my picture with the trophy at Wrigley, so I decided to skip that.

Everything was pretty spendy, as would be expected. The store was full of items, many of which were unique to Spring Training and Mesa. I decided to buy a T-Shirt to commemorate my visit.

Things were not looking great for the Cubs going into the bottom of the 9th, as Gavin Hollowell had given up a solo home run (the 5th surrendered on the day by the Cubs) in the top of the 9th to give the Royals the lead.

But the ABS Challenge system proved crucial, as the Cubs challenged a couple strike 3 calls that were overturned. The first allowed Justin Dean to get a single. And the second led to a game winning double by Matt Halbach. Spring Training outcomes mean very little in the grand scheme of things, but it was nice for the fans to see a win.

The rest of our trip was amazing, as we visited Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon in Page, and Zion, before finishing out in Las Vegas to watch March Madness and fly home. I also made a wager on the Cubs to win the World Series while I was in Vegas. Temperature were warmer than normal, but we managed to avoid the extreme heat until we got to Nevada. But I would strongly recommend anyone who hasn’t visited the Southwest of a Spring Cubs game to make the journey someday.