The Weather Turns

Part of the reason I chose Arizona for this year's Spring Training trip was that Phoenix was enjoying a sunnier and warmer winter than Florida. By the time we flew in on Sunday night, that had changed -- 24 hours later, my first look at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, the home of the Dodgers and White Sox, was a soggy story.
The rain wasn't done on Monday night, the next afternoon's pre-game"highlight" was a sudden downpour, which quickly sent everyone outdoors scrambling for cover.
A couple innings in, it was finally Sunny and dry. Still cool, but otherwise perfect --unless you're a die-hard Dodgers fans. The Colorado Rockies posted a football score, winning 12 - 0.

It's the second year for this massive complex 20 minutes northwest of downtown Phoenix. My pal, KABC Dodgertalk host Ken Levine said there are 11 fields for the teams to use. And like many spring training parks, Camelback Ranch (in the valley beneath Camelback Mountain -- easily visible beyond right field), offers the informal seating area on a berm beyond the outfield fence.
It's always an honor to meet a Hall of Famer -- I spent a few minutes chatting with the Dodgers legendary Spanish radio voice and Cooperstown inductee Jaime Jarrin when he stopped by the press box. It was a delight to hear his take on this new spring training oasis after spending so many Marches at Dodgertown in Vero Beach.

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