Spring training with Phillies means warm weather and daddy-daughter bonding

My daughter, Rosanne, and I share a few more things than just our last names. We share a birthdate, an appreciation of fun, good friends and a love of baseball. Naturally, if you live in our area and you love baseball, then you have little choice but to be a Phillies fan. They have gotten close to winning it all for the last few seasons but have fallen just short. However, the Phillies fan is by definition very resilient and supportive as the many sold-out games last season illustrate.

I decided to help nurture Rosie’s love of the game and felt that some good father-daughter bonding could take place so I suggested that she and I spend a few days at the Phillies Spring Training camp in Clearwater, Fla. We would take in some “grapefruit league” games and enjoy the late March weather of tropical Florida as opposed to the potpourri of craziness that is the Philadelphia area winter. So, in March 2006, we made our first trip and then followed it up annually with five more. For added pleasure, we traveled with my good friend, Bill, on several of the trips and my cousin, Joanne, and her husband, George, on another. To say the least, the trips afforded a lot more fun than just watching the games.

For instance, there was the time in 2010 that we arrived, with our cousins, at the Tampa airport and went over to the Avis counter to pick up my “reserved” Ford Taurus. It was 11 p.m. and just my luck that all of the full-size cars were out. The counter man apologetically offered me two alternatives for no additional cost. One was a Chevy Impala and the other was a brand-new white Mustang convertible.

Guess which one I picked!

It was unseasonably cool for the five days we were there. Typically, the temperature would climb to near 80 degrees at that time of year. It struggled to get out of the 50s for the first four days. Taking the comfort of the girls into consideration, I decided not to put the top down for the first two days. However, on the third night, after dinner, George and I agreed that it would be close to a mortal sin not to have that top down for three days in a row. So, with the ladies in the somewhat cramped back seat, down went the top. Promising to only put them through the torture of the cold night air for only five minutes, I tuned to an oldies station and we drove down Tampa’s Dale Mabry Boulevard, top down, singing backup to Frankie Valli as he sang lead to the Four Season’s “Let’s Hang On.” It was five minutes of heaven, at least for George and me.

Then there was the day in 2007 when the Phillies had an away game which meant their minor leaguers would be using the Clearwater facility for workouts and a “B” game against the Yankees farm team. We decided to go to the complex early to “scout the young guys,” prior to leaving for the “Big League” game in a neighboring town. As I walked over to one field, Bill and Rosanne noticed the Yankee team bus pulling into the drive to discharge their minor league players. They decided to walk over to see them. As the bus emptied, a shiny Cadillac pulled up behind the bus. As the driver exited, Bill recognized the driver as one of the all-time Phillies greats, an extremely controversial power hitter who starred in the 1960s. This player had been estranged from the team for years but the passage of time had cooled things off and now he was back in the good graces of the team and the fans. Since only a few people were around, Bill decided to surprise Rosie with the player’s autograph. However, when politely asked, the response from the former superstar was a wave of both hands, and a semi-polite, “Not today, my man, not today.”

Naturally Bill was upset and when Rosie heard the story, she was very disappointed. I was OK with it because I had another card to play. My former baseball coach at Temple University and dear friend, Skip Wilson, knew a lot of people in the sports world. I knew that one of Skip’s closest friends was also a close friend of the player in question. Skip and his wife, Sue, happen to love Rosie and in fact had spent time with us during another spring training trip. When I told Skip what happened he simply said, “I’ll take care of it.” Within one week Rosie received a personal note from the player, apologizing for the “misunderstanding” along with an autographed replica of a Sports Illustrated cover that featured him during the height of his fame. To his credit, the player did the right thing.

All was well again in Phillies land.

After our six years of Spring Training trips, we decided to change up a bit and see the Phillies in different venues. Subsequent trips included seeing the Phillies play away games against the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Aside from the obvious benefits of enjoying the baseball experience, I quickly learned that the greater blessing is in sharing a relaxing, fun time with one of my kids and hopefully providing a memory or two she’ll be able to look back on with a smile.