A Field of Dreamers

#10: It's Showtime!

By the time we arrived, we had just an hour to check in and get to the team meeting. Kent and Ranger got checked into their room, and we agreed to meet in the lobby at 6:45. We went to our room and got settled in, and pretty soon, we were heading down to the lobby for the team meeting at 7:00 pm.

At the team meeting that evening, we listened to the coaches explain the schedule, and they defined the number of innings each player would play. We were to meet at the Padres spring training complex Thursday morning at 9am, and the game would start at 10am. As we were leaving, Kent told us that we should try to get a good nights' sleep, as tomorrow was going to be the start of an event we'd never forget. We agreed to meet downstairs at 7:30 for breakfast, and then head over to the baseball complex by 8:15.

All of us were pretty tired after the drive and slept well.

I don't think Kent slept at all. He was too excited for tomorrow to arrive.

After breakfast the next morning, we headed west to the community of Peoria, and found the Padres facility. The Peoria Sports Complex was the first Major League Baseball Spring Training and player development facility in the country to be shared by two teams.

Built in 1994, the complex has served as a model for other facilities of its kind. The Padres share the complex with the Seattle Mariners, so each team has a total of 6 full size regulation practice fields, several other specialty fields and batting tunnels, and a 12,000-seat main stadium for both teams to use during the Spring Training schedule.

It is an impressive site to see as a first-timer, as I've never seen practice fields that were so flat, and so impeccably-maintained.

Austin was eager to get to his field and start warming up, so as soon as we parked, he said his goodbyes to us, and made a beeline towards his field. Before he left us in the dust, Kent pulled him aside and wished him good luck. He told him not to worry about any schools showing up – just focus on getting warmed up, and ready to play, and everything else will take care of itself.

Austin nodded and the two friends said goodbye.

By the time we got our passes and the tournament guide, the team was already on the right field side warming up. There were already several coaches milling about behind the backstop, and some of them were wearing college logo shirts. All of them wore sunglasses and a hat as it was already 90-degrees and climbing. Fortunately, the player stands were all covered in shade, so that and a cooler of waters made the time waiting bearable.

Kent brought his chair, and found a place to sit just down the line from 3rd base. Ranger used the shade of the chair to rest comfortably at Kent's feet. Old habits are hard to break I suppose. Kent had his scorebook, coffee, and sunflower seeds, but no windbreaker this time. That was substituted for an umbrella to keep him in the shade.

It was too hot!

Occasionally, I'd see him walking from field to field with Ranger. You could tell he had been to these events many times before. He would watch and listen to the players on the field - and then the coaches behind the backstops; and then move to the next field, just like all the other college coaches were doing. He seemed to never miss a thing. Occasionally, Marshall and Alec would walk over to give Kent a bottle of water, and make sure Ranger had water in his bowl.

Over the course of the tournament, Austin platooned at catcher with another, and performed well. He received and blocked well, and even threw a few players out. Over the showcase, he hit .324, which was pretty good for the caliber of players he was playing against. The teams' last game was Sunday morning, and as soon as the game ended, we hit the road to head back home.