The Wandering Disciple

Spring is in the air as MLB spring training camps are in full swing throughout Florida and Arizona. While camp takes on a different look this season due to COVID-19 protocols, the goal of preparing for the upcoming season and run for the World Series is still the same. Workouts continue this week and game start next week. Once games begin, limited fans will be permitted within the stadium. Spring Training concludes at the end of March. (Photo: February 20, 2019)

St Petersburg, Florida: The final stop of the Tampa/St Pete day was a Major League Baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays vs the Los Angeles Angels. I have always wanted to see the Angels play. One of the hottest lineups in the MLB with Trout, Pujols and Ohtani. And in typical Trop fashion, there would be a lot to talk about. First off it was good to see more than a handful of people in the stands. The Rays offered up $5 tickets for the week and attracted a decent ground. Then we saw history with Ohtani hitting for the cyle. Finally a nice black-out and delay due to a power outage which caused the Trop to go dark for the second time this season. All and all, I love baseball and I love being out at the park. Click on the photo above to see the entire Rays/Angels photo gallery for photo from the game.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter gives home plate umpire John Hirschbeck a piece of his mind following a controversial call during a spring training game in 2015. Umpires are human and make mistakes but there is nothing better then watching a manager spotlight those mistakes for the crowd to see. A good manager argument is just as much a part of the game as hitting, pitching and fielding. (Photo: March 27, 2015)

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado warms up before a spring training game in 2015.  Drafted by the Orioles as the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, Machado made his major league debut with the Orioles in 2012.  He is one of the premier infielders in the league, earning a spot on the all-star team three times and winning two gold gloves and one platinum gloves.  (Photo: March 11, 2015)

Despite the cold weather sweeping the nation, Florida and Arizona are about to heat up with spring training baseball in a little over 45 days.  The crack of the bat and baseballs snapping the leather of the gloves with fill the air as the boys of summer take to the field and begin preparations for the 2018 season.  (Photo: February 28, 2015)

St Petersburg, Florida:  The Tampa Bay Rays played host to division rivals as they hosted the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Tropicana Field in the first game of a three game series.  The Rays jumped out to an early lead only to watch the bullpen falter in the late innings resulting in an 8-4 loss for the home team. Both starting pitchers, Chris Archer for Tampa Bay and Francisco Liriano for Toronto were dialed in to start the night.  They posted zeroes to the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game. The Rays broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the forth.  Daniel Robertson and Derek Norris delivered back to back homer to put the Rays in front.  Later in the inning, they loaded the bases and Steven Souza Jr drew a bases loaded walk to score Tim Beckham and give the Rays a 3-0 lead. Toronto scored their first run of the evening in the fifth inning.  Justin Smoak hit an RBI single to center, scoring Kendrys Morales to make it 3-1. ...

Baltimore Orioles shortstop JJ Hardy ranges out into shallow left to record an out during a Grapefruit League spring training game in 2012.  The popular shortstop has been a member of the Orioles since 2011 and before that he played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins.  Hardy has been named a Gold Glove winner three times as a member of the O's.  (Photo: March 8, 2012)

Sarasota, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays ventured north to Ed Smith Stadium for a Grapefruit League matchup against fellow AL East competitor Baltimore Orioles. Despite having the long ball working for the home team, it was the consistent offense production of the Rays that lead to the 9-6 Rays win. The Rays jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Steven Souza singled home Corey Dickerson to put the Rays on the board. Souza Jr later scored on an RBI single by Curt Casali to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. Both teams exchanged runs in the second. In the top of the inning Dickerson singled home Braxton Lee. Then in the bottom, Orioles catcher Francisco Pena scored on an RBI single by Craig Gentry to make it 3-1. The Rays pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Lee scored for the second time this afternoon on an RBI single by Nick Franklin. Franklin would later score on a single by Souza Jr to increase the led to 5-1. The Orioles would get back a run in the fi...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The bats were red hot on Sunday afternoon as the Tampa Bay Rays blasted the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 in Grapefruit League action at Charlotte Sports Park. The Rays combined for four homers including two by Casey Gillaspie who hit one from each side of the plate and a moon shot by Jake Bauers. The Rays broke the scoreless tie in the second inning on a two run blast Bauers. The ball landed on the roof of the administrative building in right field with unofficial estimates of 450 feet from home plate. The Blue Jays battled back to tie the game in the fifth. Dwight Smith Jr delivered a two run double to left that scored Rowdy Tellez and Jonathan Diaz to tie the game. The Rays regained the lead in the sixth on a solo homer by Evan Longoria, his first of the spring. The Rays added some insurance in the form of three runs in the seventh. Gillaspie struck his first of two homers to get the scoring started. Later in the inning Ryan Brett singled home Pat L...

Sarasota, Florida:  With the World Baseball Classic just days away, the Baltimore Orioles hosted the defending champion Dominican Republic in exhibition action at Ed Smith Stadium.  The Dominican Republic lineup looked like a team of all-stars as they rolled into Sarasota for Tuesday’s game.  The home team Orioles broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning.  Two runs would score on an RBI single by Hyun Soo Kim to make it 2-0 Orioles. The Dominican Republic countered in the top of the sixth.  They waked the bases loaded and then a free pass to Carlos Santana plated Jose Reyes for their first run of the after.  Later in the inning, Jonathan Villar scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. The Orioles regained the lead in eighth inning.  Audry Perez singled home Sean Coyle to give the Orioles a 3-2. The Dominican Republic countered with a pair of runs in the ninth to take their first lead of the afternoon.  Nelson C...

The face of the Rays warms up prior to a spring training game in 2011.  Evan Longoria, the Rays all-star first baseman is one of the most recognizable player on the Tampa Bay Rays.  (Photo: March 5, 2011)

In just a little over a month, the boys of summer return to Florida and Arizona to prep for the 2017 baseball season.  The spring training sites spring to life with the sound of baseball when pitcher and catchers report this year on February 13.  (Photo: March 1, 2011)

Tampa Bay's favorite sea dog Raymond runs through the outfield at Tropicana Field to rally the Rays fans prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game.  Raymond is the lovable mascot of the Tampa Bay Rays and can be found making fans smile throughout the Trop.  (Photo: September 4, 2016)

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays played host to the hottest team in the American League when the Texas Rangers came to town to kick of a three game series. The Rays struggled to contain the long ball as they dropped the opener 6-2 on Friday night. The Rangers broke the scoreless tie by scoring in the top of the fifth inning. Mitch Moreland opened the frame with a solo home run to put the Rangers on the board. Later in the inning, Ian Desmond delivered an RBI single to score Elvis Andrus to make it 2-0. The Rangers momentum carried over to the sixth inning where they pushed across three more runs. Adrian Beltre got things started with a solo home run to center. Jonathan Lucroy followed with a single and Moreland drew a walk to put two runners on the bases. Nomar Mazara then singled home Lucroy with a ground ball through the left side. Moreland later scored on a bases loaded walk by Jurickson Profar to increase the lead to 5-0. Beltre led off the seventh with an...

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics locked horns in an exciting game of long ball to conclude “Play Ball” weekend at Tropicana Field. The ball had a hard time staying in the yard as the game featured a combined seven homers. The hit parade started in the first inning as both team exchanged homers in the first inning. It was Danny Valencia striking his first of three homers in the top of the inning. Then Brandon Guyer answered with a solo shot in the bottom of the first to tie the game 1-1. Guyer homered again in the second, this time a three run blast to left gave the Rays a 4-1 lead. The Rays added a run in the fourth as Guyer drove home his fifth run of the afternoon via a sac fly to score Steve Pearce and give the Rays a 5-1 lead. The A’s inched closer to the lead by manufacturing three runs in the fifth. Coco Crisp drove home a run with an RBI single to score Yonder Alonso. Then Valencia cleared the bases with a two run homer to pull with...

St Petersburg, Florida: After losing to the Blue Jays on opening day, the Tampa Bay Rays returned to the field at Tropicana Field for game two of the four game opening series. A combination of a red-hot power lineup for the Blue Jays and a tough to hit knuckleballer on the mound, the Rays dropped the game by the score of 5-3. The Rays took an early lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Steven Souza Jr to make it 1-0 Rays. But the Blue Jays quickly countered on a solo homer by Josh Thole in the third to tie the game. The Blue Jays took the lead fourth inning on a sac fly by Troy Tulowitzki and a two run homer by Michael Saunders to make it 4-1. Both clubs exchanged runs on the fifth, a solo homer by Josh Donaldson in the top of the inning for the Blue Jays and Kevin Kiermaier scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning made it 5-2. The Rays scored their final run of the night in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Kiemaier. But the Rays could not m...

Tampa Bay Rays pitching leader Chris Archer congratulates lefty Matt Moore on a great outing during live batting practice on Saturday morning at Charlotte Sports Park.  The team continues to fine tune their skills prior to opening the spring training exhibition schedule on Tuesday.  (Photo: February 27, 2016)

Current Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher of the year Blake Snell gets some pointers from former minor league pitcher of the year Matt Moore during a full-team spring training workout at Charlotte Sports Park. (Photo: February 27, 2016)

St Petersburg, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays opened up their final series of the season with a three game set against the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays were unable to keep the red hot offense of the Blue Jays quiet as they fell 8-4 in the last Friday night game of the season for the Rays. The Blue Jays had already clinched the American League East title and had their ticket to the postseason punched but they didn’t roll-over for the Rays as they pushed to secure home field advantage for the playoffs. They were also looking to put starter Mark Buehrle in the record books as the sought his fifteenth straight 200-inning season. The Blue Jays jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. A ground ball to short by Kevin Pillar scored Chris Colabello to give them a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the bottom of the fifth when the Rays struck for four runs. Luke Maile tied the game with an RBI single to score Richie Shaffer. Then l...

Sarasota, Florida: With spring training in its final days, the Tampa Bay Rays took its opening day lineup on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays took an early lead and never really looked back as they won 4-3. The Rays wasted no time in taking the lead, scoring in the first inning. Asdrubal Cabrera double to left to score John Jaso and make it 1-0. The Rays pushed across three more in the third. David DeJesus homered to right. Then a sac fly by Desmond Jennings and an RBI double by Logan Forsythe made it 4-0. The Orioles strung together three one-run innings in the six, seventh and eighth but it wasn’t enough as they Rays held on for a 4-3 win. Click on the photo above to view my Rays/Orioles photo galler y.