I’ve been going since the mid 2000’s when I was in grad school and could more easily and less encumbered drive from Auburn. I’ve always stayed on Anna Maria Island, which has incredible beaches and eateries, but for me has become increasingly difficult to make the drive over to PC or LeCom park (breaks my heart to call it this). Not only because I have younger kids, which presents a challenge, but the traffic on the island has gotten almost unbearable in the last 5 years. I still like the area and staying on the beach is a must for me and my family but the traffic and restrictions that are now present at PC make it harder for me to justify the drive. The games are easier because the whole family can get on board but watching “practice” doesn’t hold the same allure it does for dad. Also has been much more expensive since Garth Brooks bought the property that my fathers company owned to build his own oasis!
I've been going to Pirates spring training for about 20 years. Things have certainly changed, but I've been to some other team sites in Florida in recent years and they have reduced access as well. In fact, the Pirates seem to be one of the last teams to put these measures in place. I'm sure a lot if it was driven by the players. It wasn't that many years ago when Jung Ho Kang and the rest of the offense walked right past me a PC on their way to one of the fields. I remember Cole Tucker when he was in the minors talking to people right beside me. At LECOM park, the batting cages used to be behind the first base bleachers. You could literally lean against the cage and watch the player take batting practice just a few feet away. I can still remember the sound of the ball off of Pedro Alvarez's bat and how much different it sounded vs the other players.
The Bradenton/Sarasota area is great for a lot of things at least in the Spring when the weather isn’t too hot. Beaches and restaurants are all around. If you’re talking baseball, you can go to games at Lecom and drive a few miles to the Orioles park in Sarasota to see a lot of games without leaving the area. The best part in my opinion has to be Pirate City. Just go park under the trees and roam around the fields there. Baseball activities are all around and you can never tell who you might bump into, literally. I haven’t done it since Covid and the lock out in 2022, when I went but the entire place was locked up tight. I suppose it could have changed some, but it used to be a Field of Dreams type experience for me anyway.
Last year was my first trip to Pirate City. IMO, It is very fan friendly for the hitters, but pitchers can hide if they want to. I was glad to see Aroldis Chapman make the extra effort to sign and get pictures for every fan that wanted one.
It's more restricted at PC than it used to be. They've put up chains in the central area, leaving less room for the public. The design is such that it's obvious they're trying to keep fans away from the players. One field isn't accessible at all now, another one not very.
When I was out there a couple days ago, one of the volunteer staff asked me whether I was getting good photos. I said no, with the newly chained off areas it wasn't really possible. I added that PC has gotten less and less fan friendly under the current FO. The person agreed.
I’m starting to think the way they’re building, or not building, the Pirates might be designed to keep fans away too. Great business acumen by Mr. Nutting but if no one goes to the games it probably helps him justify doing as he pleases. How much longer is the lease on PNC and how far away are Nashville or Charlotte? At the very least he can continue to suck up the revenue sharing money while doing nothing to improve the team. Win-win for him but lose-lose for everyone else. What a guy.
Can I assume that it’s still worth the effort to visit PC despite the restrictions? I’d planned on driving down next week to hang out and go to some games but wound up with a doctor’s appointment I couldn’t reschedule. I might still try to make it the first week of March depending.
Honestly I was intending it as a joke when mentioning the Pirates relocating anywhere outside of Pittsburgh, but I think the current PNC lease is due to expire in 2030. As long as Nutting is allowed to get away with his cries of not being able to afford to improve the team in this “small market” area (a claim that has been and continues to be pure bull shit), who knows what he might do?
People say he’s from the area and would never do it, but if some growing area (Las Vegas, assuming the A’s don’t do it first, Charlotte, Orlando, Nashville, Indianapolis or wherever) offered him anything he wanted financially to move there or if he suddenly decided to sell the Pirates to another multi-billionaire from one of those other cities? Much stranger things have happened. How many people even remember the Brooklyn Dodgers or NY Giants (not the football team) and there’s the current Oakland situation. Tradition isn’t likely to have much influence on him or any other owner either and billionaires don’t stop other billionaires from doing whatever they want. Yikes, I’m scaring myself. In the meantime, Let’s Go Bucs!
In theory yes, but I don’t think either city could actually support an MLB franchise. For the mid-major cities, the threshold seems to be two professional sports franchises.
Yes, and both cities have gotten behind their newish MLS teams who draw comparable to NHL and NBA teams, though with fewer games. OTOH, both locations have some rich baseball history, so an MLB team could take off.
As a Tennessean, I'd love to see a team in Nashville, ideally an AL team that will give me a second team to support and maybe one that will have an owner who is willing to spend.
I’m not discounting the rich tradition or growth in these cities/regions, my point is purely economic in nature. The regional spend on entertainment is an aggregate amount, as households we only have so much money we allocate to these types of events/activities, introducing another major sport to the region will divert those dollars to MLB, which will then take dollars away from NFL, NHL, and MLS. The pie is only so big, and you’ve just invited another hungry guest. This is not to say there won’t be times when it would look sustainable, usually at the very beginning and/or when they’re winning, but I can’t fathom an MLB franchise in either city that doesn’t rely on a publicly funded stadium and revenue sharing dollars that doesn’t adversely impact the existing professional sports franchises.
I was going to respond to Anthony that he truly needs to spend some time around Nashville. The only reason an MLB franchise is not there now is the pressure the Titans ownership put on the city when they were building the new stadium which is now about 20 years old.
I remember when there were breaks between Nashville, Smyrna, and Murfreesboro along I-24 East, but it is now just one megalopolis for about 30 miles and the same is true of the I-65 corridor north and south out of Nashville and the I-40 corridor East and West out of Nashville.
It's still worth it, but a lot of fans liked the close contact with the players and they're clearly trying to eliminate that. If you want photos, it's no good for that.
The close contact with players was nice, but I guess anything’s better than nothing. They used Covid as an excuse for limiting it after 2020 but didn’t the Pirates and some other teams start limiting contact because they supposedly were afraid spies from other teams would sneak in and steal their secrets? Right, like the Pirates have secrets.
The impact on minor league operations at PC was greater than major league. The MiL practices were closed. FCL games were, too, in 2021. It was pretty obvious they were using COVID as an excuse to keep things secret from other teams. I got media access through the team and, at one point, still had trouble with one staffer. He seemed convinced I was a scout, which if you saw me you'd find pretty laughable.
I have been to PC 5 or 6 times the last time being in 2023. I met the father of a newly drafted pitcher (DeWeese), who had driven all night from Houston to get to Pirate City to watch his son - nice kid. He had a lot of questions that I tried to answer, but we had access behind the plate to all 4 of the fields. There was a game going on at the first field on the left as you walk in, and IF/OF going on at the field right behind it that is right behind the Dorm. Between those two fields there was a chain up so the public could not have access to either of the dugouts. On the first field on the right I sat and watched a group of young players including the Rivas manchild (all 6'7" of him). He very easily drilled balls out to the golf course parking lot. It's harder though when you do not know what's coming!
The first time down, we stayed in Tampa (Sheraton City Walk) and spent a lot of time at the Hard Rock Casino when not in Bradenton. Probably only a 45 minute drive down to Bradenton. Last year we stayed in Orlando and caught the Pirates visiting the Tigers at Lakeland before traveling over to Bradenton - maybe 40 minutes from the SW side of Orlando, and a beautiful facility. And another year we started out in St Pete, drove over to Dunedin, parked in town and had lunch, and then we walked to the stadium to watch the Pirates at the Bluejays. Dunedin is a beautiful place to visit.
It sounds like how it was immediately after the pandemic when MLB implemented restrictions on all the clubs where the primary object was to keep the players and the fans separated as much as possible.
It was. In fact, they closed the facilities to the public, but that's over now and the Pirates are increasing the restrictions. I've been to about half a dozen facilities along the Gulf coast and the Pirates, under this FO and not the previous one, are easily the least fan friendly.
This is disappointing to hear. I'd throw Shelton in with the FO as they've made a point in the past that it's his camp to run. At best it seems they're indifferent to us fans and at worst they seem to feel contempt.
We're a long way from when Hurdle took the job saying that his goal was to re-bond the team with the fans. I miss that kind of attitude around the Pirates.
Forrester has the potential to be good in a Haines/Cherington/Fangraphs kind-of-way. He has a good eye and lays off stuff out of the zone. He has some power to the pull side.
The real question is whether they will try to make him into a three-true-outcome pull-only hitter or whether they will let him try to make contact with a baseball sometimes that is not a homreun. I just don't think he will ever show enough power to be a proper three-true-outcome guy. Whatever the case, I seriously doubt he will ever make as much solid contact as Schanuel, but your prognistications would be much better than mine.
I like Forrester as a player but not for the Pirates. If his power developes he'll still be hindered by PNC. His power has been from centerfield to straight away left. His all field approach lacks power much like Schanuel showed at the major league level. Being a few months older than Schanuel, he has a long way to go to reach Schanuel's floor. This might be the only year he out slugs Schanuel because he'll most likely be playing in Greensboro while Schanuel is facing MLB pitchers.
If they let him go and be the hitter that he is, Forrester will be OK. I just don't trust the Pirates to do that. He already has a good eye and can go the other way well. They will try to get him to lay off everything that is not in his wheelhouse with less than 2 strikes.
Went through Suprise a few weeks ago and was floored by this gigantic baby alongside the highway... it was a lifelike cutout some two or three stories high and it was playing with a life-size tractor... In the field in front of it a relatively normal size looking father was fleeing in panic and his flustered wife was standing hands on hips as if the child had pissed her off.... Funny. Cool.
I’ve been going since the mid 2000’s when I was in grad school and could more easily and less encumbered drive from Auburn. I’ve always stayed on Anna Maria Island, which has incredible beaches and eateries, but for me has become increasingly difficult to make the drive over to PC or LeCom park (breaks my heart to call it this). Not only because I have younger kids, which presents a challenge, but the traffic on the island has gotten almost unbearable in the last 5 years. I still like the area and staying on the beach is a must for me and my family but the traffic and restrictions that are now present at PC make it harder for me to justify the drive. The games are easier because the whole family can get on board but watching “practice” doesn’t hold the same allure it does for dad. Also has been much more expensive since Garth Brooks bought the property that my fathers company owned to build his own oasis!
LEE-FOO LIVES!!!!!
I've been going to Pirates spring training for about 20 years. Things have certainly changed, but I've been to some other team sites in Florida in recent years and they have reduced access as well. In fact, the Pirates seem to be one of the last teams to put these measures in place. I'm sure a lot if it was driven by the players. It wasn't that many years ago when Jung Ho Kang and the rest of the offense walked right past me a PC on their way to one of the fields. I remember Cole Tucker when he was in the minors talking to people right beside me. At LECOM park, the batting cages used to be behind the first base bleachers. You could literally lean against the cage and watch the player take batting practice just a few feet away. I can still remember the sound of the ball off of Pedro Alvarez's bat and how much different it sounded vs the other players.
The Bradenton/Sarasota area is great for a lot of things at least in the Spring when the weather isn’t too hot. Beaches and restaurants are all around. If you’re talking baseball, you can go to games at Lecom and drive a few miles to the Orioles park in Sarasota to see a lot of games without leaving the area. The best part in my opinion has to be Pirate City. Just go park under the trees and roam around the fields there. Baseball activities are all around and you can never tell who you might bump into, literally. I haven’t done it since Covid and the lock out in 2022, when I went but the entire place was locked up tight. I suppose it could have changed some, but it used to be a Field of Dreams type experience for me anyway.
Last year was my first trip to Pirate City. IMO, It is very fan friendly for the hitters, but pitchers can hide if they want to. I was glad to see Aroldis Chapman make the extra effort to sign and get pictures for every fan that wanted one.
It's more restricted at PC than it used to be. They've put up chains in the central area, leaving less room for the public. The design is such that it's obvious they're trying to keep fans away from the players. One field isn't accessible at all now, another one not very.
When I was out there a couple days ago, one of the volunteer staff asked me whether I was getting good photos. I said no, with the newly chained off areas it wasn't really possible. I added that PC has gotten less and less fan friendly under the current FO. The person agreed.
I’m starting to think the way they’re building, or not building, the Pirates might be designed to keep fans away too. Great business acumen by Mr. Nutting but if no one goes to the games it probably helps him justify doing as he pleases. How much longer is the lease on PNC and how far away are Nashville or Charlotte? At the very least he can continue to suck up the revenue sharing money while doing nothing to improve the team. Win-win for him but lose-lose for everyone else. What a guy.
Can I assume that it’s still worth the effort to visit PC despite the restrictions? I’d planned on driving down next week to hang out and go to some games but wound up with a doctor’s appointment I couldn’t reschedule. I might still try to make it the first week of March depending.
Either Nashville or Charlotte would be great locations for an MLB Franchise. The Brewers have their AAA club in Nashville.
Honestly I was intending it as a joke when mentioning the Pirates relocating anywhere outside of Pittsburgh, but I think the current PNC lease is due to expire in 2030. As long as Nutting is allowed to get away with his cries of not being able to afford to improve the team in this “small market” area (a claim that has been and continues to be pure bull shit), who knows what he might do?
People say he’s from the area and would never do it, but if some growing area (Las Vegas, assuming the A’s don’t do it first, Charlotte, Orlando, Nashville, Indianapolis or wherever) offered him anything he wanted financially to move there or if he suddenly decided to sell the Pirates to another multi-billionaire from one of those other cities? Much stranger things have happened. How many people even remember the Brooklyn Dodgers or NY Giants (not the football team) and there’s the current Oakland situation. Tradition isn’t likely to have much influence on him or any other owner either and billionaires don’t stop other billionaires from doing whatever they want. Yikes, I’m scaring myself. In the meantime, Let’s Go Bucs!
In theory yes, but I don’t think either city could actually support an MLB franchise. For the mid-major cities, the threshold seems to be two professional sports franchises.
Yes, and both cities have gotten behind their newish MLS teams who draw comparable to NHL and NBA teams, though with fewer games. OTOH, both locations have some rich baseball history, so an MLB team could take off.
As a Tennessean, I'd love to see a team in Nashville, ideally an AL team that will give me a second team to support and maybe one that will have an owner who is willing to spend.
I’m not discounting the rich tradition or growth in these cities/regions, my point is purely economic in nature. The regional spend on entertainment is an aggregate amount, as households we only have so much money we allocate to these types of events/activities, introducing another major sport to the region will divert those dollars to MLB, which will then take dollars away from NFL, NHL, and MLS. The pie is only so big, and you’ve just invited another hungry guest. This is not to say there won’t be times when it would look sustainable, usually at the very beginning and/or when they’re winning, but I can’t fathom an MLB franchise in either city that doesn’t rely on a publicly funded stadium and revenue sharing dollars that doesn’t adversely impact the existing professional sports franchises.
I was going to respond to Anthony that he truly needs to spend some time around Nashville. The only reason an MLB franchise is not there now is the pressure the Titans ownership put on the city when they were building the new stadium which is now about 20 years old.
I remember when there were breaks between Nashville, Smyrna, and Murfreesboro along I-24 East, but it is now just one megalopolis for about 30 miles and the same is true of the I-65 corridor north and south out of Nashville and the I-40 corridor East and West out of Nashville.
It's still worth it, but a lot of fans liked the close contact with the players and they're clearly trying to eliminate that. If you want photos, it's no good for that.
The close contact with players was nice, but I guess anything’s better than nothing. They used Covid as an excuse for limiting it after 2020 but didn’t the Pirates and some other teams start limiting contact because they supposedly were afraid spies from other teams would sneak in and steal their secrets? Right, like the Pirates have secrets.
The impact on minor league operations at PC was greater than major league. The MiL practices were closed. FCL games were, too, in 2021. It was pretty obvious they were using COVID as an excuse to keep things secret from other teams. I got media access through the team and, at one point, still had trouble with one staffer. He seemed convinced I was a scout, which if you saw me you'd find pretty laughable.
I have been to PC 5 or 6 times the last time being in 2023. I met the father of a newly drafted pitcher (DeWeese), who had driven all night from Houston to get to Pirate City to watch his son - nice kid. He had a lot of questions that I tried to answer, but we had access behind the plate to all 4 of the fields. There was a game going on at the first field on the left as you walk in, and IF/OF going on at the field right behind it that is right behind the Dorm. Between those two fields there was a chain up so the public could not have access to either of the dugouts. On the first field on the right I sat and watched a group of young players including the Rivas manchild (all 6'7" of him). He very easily drilled balls out to the golf course parking lot. It's harder though when you do not know what's coming!
The first time down, we stayed in Tampa (Sheraton City Walk) and spent a lot of time at the Hard Rock Casino when not in Bradenton. Probably only a 45 minute drive down to Bradenton. Last year we stayed in Orlando and caught the Pirates visiting the Tigers at Lakeland before traveling over to Bradenton - maybe 40 minutes from the SW side of Orlando, and a beautiful facility. And another year we started out in St Pete, drove over to Dunedin, parked in town and had lunch, and then we walked to the stadium to watch the Pirates at the Bluejays. Dunedin is a beautiful place to visit.
"we had access behind the plate to all 4 of the fields"
Not any more.
It sounds like how it was immediately after the pandemic when MLB implemented restrictions on all the clubs where the primary object was to keep the players and the fans separated as much as possible.
It was. In fact, they closed the facilities to the public, but that's over now and the Pirates are increasing the restrictions. I've been to about half a dozen facilities along the Gulf coast and the Pirates, under this FO and not the previous one, are easily the least fan friendly.
This is disappointing to hear. I'd throw Shelton in with the FO as they've made a point in the past that it's his camp to run. At best it seems they're indifferent to us fans and at worst they seem to feel contempt.
We're a long way from when Hurdle took the job saying that his goal was to re-bond the team with the fans. I miss that kind of attitude around the Pirates.
Forrester is gonna be better than Schanuel, you read it here first. ( see if the big fish takes the bait, waiting….waiting)
Hook line and sinker lol
🎣
I hope, but I still think Schanuel has a higher floor than Forrester's ceiling.
Hope Forrester shows some power in Greensboro this year, while Schanuel does in the majors.
Forrester has the potential to be good in a Haines/Cherington/Fangraphs kind-of-way. He has a good eye and lays off stuff out of the zone. He has some power to the pull side.
The real question is whether they will try to make him into a three-true-outcome pull-only hitter or whether they will let him try to make contact with a baseball sometimes that is not a homreun. I just don't think he will ever show enough power to be a proper three-true-outcome guy. Whatever the case, I seriously doubt he will ever make as much solid contact as Schanuel, but your prognistications would be much better than mine.
I like Forrester as a player but not for the Pirates. If his power developes he'll still be hindered by PNC. His power has been from centerfield to straight away left. His all field approach lacks power much like Schanuel showed at the major league level. Being a few months older than Schanuel, he has a long way to go to reach Schanuel's floor. This might be the only year he out slugs Schanuel because he'll most likely be playing in Greensboro while Schanuel is facing MLB pitchers.
Totally agree with your assessment.
If they let him go and be the hitter that he is, Forrester will be OK. I just don't trust the Pirates to do that. He already has a good eye and can go the other way well. They will try to get him to lay off everything that is not in his wheelhouse with less than 2 strikes.
CSN is back :) I know that will make at least one member here very happy!
Probably me!!!!
NO. ME. Big CSN fan.
I can't speak for Florida but I'm hoping to make it to a cactus league game this year.
Assuming I do, I'll write up a lame little trip report and let you know what's up.
Went through Suprise a few weeks ago and was floored by this gigantic baby alongside the highway... it was a lifelike cutout some two or three stories high and it was playing with a life-size tractor... In the field in front of it a relatively normal size looking father was fleeing in panic and his flustered wife was standing hands on hips as if the child had pissed her off.... Funny. Cool.
The Phoenix Metro area is pound for pound tbe strangest city in the USA. Somehow Tucson gets a bad rep but I enjoyed my time there much more.
Jason Mackeys wife wrote a great article in the P-G last Sunday about all the cool things that you can see and do in Bradenton!
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