Spring Training Baseball Begins At Walt Disney World - First Day Of Tampa Bay Rays Full Squad 2023
Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training Camp 2023
Transcript
0:02
today's adventure brings me to Market
0:02
Street in downtown Celebration Florida
0:04
as a recording of us it is Monday
0:06
February 20th about 10 minutes
0:09
until 9 00 A.M
0:11
celebration theater right over there the
0:13
spiers heading up to the sky the sun is
0:15
already formulating itself up into the
0:17
air
0:18
at this hour
0:24
like Reinhardt it is good to be back
0:24
I was gone a month I was going 28 days
0:27
out of Florida and now I'm back at an
0:30
appropriate
0:32
time welcome everyone
0:35
here wearing an appropriate hat wearing
0:38
an appropriate t-shirt and consuming a
0:40
piping hot caffeinated beverage I am
0:42
excited not only because of the fact
0:43
that I am getting caffeine into my veins
0:46
but the Tampa Bay Rays my favorite
0:47
baseball team are spring training for
0:49
the first time as far as I can think in
0:51
the history
0:52
of their organization at Disney Wide
0:55
World of Sports pitchers and catchers
0:57
reported a few days ago but today is the
0:58
first full Squad meaning the entire team
1:01
and staff
1:03
we'll be there
1:11
five minutes five minutes commute from
1:11
my Homestead here I'm inviting you
1:13
to join me raise up
1:16
shall you it's good to be back big the
1:18
foot
1:19
it's good to be back
1:21
I missed you too
1:23
talking to an air freshener but then
1:25
again I also talked to power poles so it
1:27
kind of makes sense
1:49
okay yeah it is ESPN Wide World of
1:49
Sports I knew it was Wide World of
1:50
Sports
1:51
but I was kind of guessing on the ESPN
1:53
so yeah ESPN Wide World of Sports here
1:57
at Disney World
1:59
does that say raise ah raise oh I am
2:02
excited about this
2:05
I'm not really sure where it is I don't
2:06
know if it's over there or farther up
2:12
I don't know where I'm going all right
2:12
now evidently there are a couple
2:13
different things going on here today not
2:15
just the spring training baseball but
2:16
there's something else going on over
2:18
here and I believe spring training
2:19
baseball is over here in this Stadium
2:21
there's quite a few people out here but
2:23
there's like I said there's another
2:24
couple different events going on okay
2:26
it's a little a little bit of a walk so
2:28
if you're planning on coming out from
2:29
the parking lot to where they're going
2:31
to be practicing you have to go through
2:33
the main stadium not in the State
2:34
stadium you go through kind of a pretty
2:36
good amount of walkway and then you end
2:38
up going around
2:40
to the outskirts of the main stadium and
2:43
then you're on this little practice
2:44
field over here and there's also a
2:46
soccer field where that is the other
2:48
event that is taking place there just
2:50
finished up a soccer game over here
2:51
hopefully there's like some youth
2:53
leagues and whatnot and they said the
2:55
players aren't out yet but they're going
2:57
to be on fields two three and four I
2:59
talked to one of the cast members kind
3:00
of neat to say cast member because they
3:01
were in the uh the cast member name
3:03
badges I'm at Disney about to watch the
3:06
Rays warm up and practice all right it
3:08
appears as if there is a courtesy stop
3:10
if you so choose if you need to take a
3:12
motorized vehicle there is a courtesy
3:14
stop that they could take you out I
3:15
haven't seen any but evidently according
3:17
to that sign there are the players are
3:19
not out here this is kind of nice for me
3:21
too because Tropicana feel if I go to a
3:23
raise home game it's at least a two-hour
3:25
drive from my place so this is nice that
3:27
it's just right here to see the players
3:29
according to one gentleman he was saying
3:31
Fields two three and four
3:33
this field here they do have some MLB
3:36
stuff placed up in some some buckets
3:38
full of balls and stuff and there's a
3:39
few people yeah searching for autographs
3:41
over there too so I'm thinking maybe
3:42
they're going to be here momentarily at
3:44
some point now I'm not a huge
3:46
autographed guy and I'm not going to go
3:48
out of my way to you know wait and see
3:50
players and kind of like try to get
3:53
autographs but I did bring a few cards
3:54
bought a couple Sharpies if it's the
3:56
vibe it's just really laid back and
3:58
really cool and the players are signing
3:59
very easily and it's not like a super
4:02
stressful inconvenience type of thing to
4:05
try to kind of get my way to the front
4:07
with a lot of people to try to get some
4:09
signatures I will but I thought I bought
4:11
a few cards but autographs really aren't
4:13
the most important thing to me but if
4:14
it's super simple sometimes the spring
4:15
training it is I might get it might get
4:16
a few signatures okay this is looking
4:18
like it makes a little more sense you
4:19
got restricted access over there which
4:21
you can't go that way so everyone can
4:23
kind of just
4:24
formulate over in this little area you
4:26
can see there's not really a whole heck
4:28
of a lot of people here I mean even the
4:30
turnout at Tropicana feels sometimes is
4:31
lackluster so I would imagine
4:34
for the opening of spring training two
4:35
hours from Saint Pete
4:37
it's probably just going to be like the
4:39
die hards and then those are just like
4:40
you know autographed hounds
4:43
so this is going to be a good Cool vibe
4:46
for me some of my favorite players from
4:47
last year's have moved on Brett Phillips
4:49
is gone he went about three quarters of
4:51
the season last year
4:52
and G-Man has kind of also
4:57
also moved on wander still here
4:58
Fairbanks are still here Yandy still
5:00
here Mandy Margo still here of course
5:02
Randy Rookie of the Year
5:04
still here last year the year before
5:06
brujan plays for the
5:08
Durham Bulls but they bring him up a lot
5:10
of times of course Rasmussen almost
5:12
threw a perfect game went to the ninth
5:13
inning of a perfect game last year
5:15
Josh Lowe glass now
5:18
of course Sugar Shane klanahan I stated
5:22
if I get the assigned cool if not no big
5:24
deal it's going to be a little unusual
5:25
and a little weird not having KK Kevin
5:27
Kiermaier and of course Brett Phillips
5:28
on the team this year they were Nick I
5:30
don't say the heart and soul of the team
5:31
but they were like
5:32
when you thought of the Rays you thought
5:34
of those two players a lot of players
5:35
are returning from last year a lot are
5:37
gone even though sometimes even through
5:39
the course of a season you can almost
5:41
have the the the tide of the team will
5:44
change considerably with injuries
5:46
players on the IL players coming up from
5:49
the the minor leagues up and down it's
5:52
really a it's a complex game of chess in
5:54
a lot of ways baseball is having those
5:57
two guys gone and of course G-Man gone a
6:00
little unusual but a lot of the key
6:02
players are still around I just talked
6:03
to a cast member he was saying there are
6:05
probably over in the main stadium doing
6:07
some press stuff because this is the
6:09
first full Squad day earlier they were
6:11
in the batting cages but soon they will
6:13
be making their way out over to the
6:15
fields oh it looks like this is the
6:17
place to be there's like some people up
6:18
here on top of these little bleachers
6:20
looking down into the stadium see who's
6:21
walking by
6:22
definitely a lot of people looking for
6:24
autographs
6:29
I just like the vibe more about the vibe
6:29
just that's that's just so cool
6:30
beautiful I think that's Wonder right
6:32
there
6:40
what's up buddy
6:40
awesome
6:45
got a little away from the Wonder Boy
6:48
Wonder Franca I was gonna sign for some
6:50
people too that's awesome
6:56
all right it appears there's a little
6:56
Congregation of a crowd over here where
6:57
all the players are walking into the
6:59
practice fields that almost looks like
7:00
things are about to get started over
7:01
here you can see some of the news crews
7:03
and some of the official media that's
7:06
lining up over here to get some of the
7:07
angles and stuff and the players are
7:08
kind of walking in documenting the first
7:10
day hear of a full Squad day here at
7:13
Wide World of Sports at Disney Tampa Bay
7:15
Rays and Disney this guy just run
7:17
running along grisly with the bat
7:29
this guy's backing up
7:29
point out the obvious that's what I do
7:31
this guy's got a microphone
7:34
yeah now it's not just the Tampa Bay
7:36
Rays but it's also their farm team so
7:38
they got the drum Bulls are out here the
7:40
Montgomery Biscuits are out here the 1A
7:42
team they're all out here as well I
7:44
think I think maybe these players over
7:46
here might be the Bulls or the biscuits
7:47
as well and with the soccer games going
7:49
on on these fields
7:52
kind of walk up here and just see
7:53
exactly who's over
7:55
see if this is these are the farm teams
7:57
or not see what players are over here
8:03
well you know what some of these players
8:03
might be
8:04
yeah I think they're just like a they
8:06
kind of like Mix Squad with everybody
8:07
that's out here
8:09
see if I recognize anybody
8:11
obviously during spring training they
8:13
don't put the names on the back of their
8:14
jerseys
8:19
for the back of their shirts I should
8:19
say
8:20
oh there's a wander right there round at
8:22
first wanna Franco
8:24
he always wears the bright bright shoes
8:27
he has the bright pink shoes on
9:04
it's kind of tough to tell but I think
9:06
that might be
9:07
sock Paradis over a third over there in
9:10
some ground balls
9:54
oh my God
9:54
walk back up to these bleachers and I'm
9:57
looking into the main stadium over there
9:58
you can even see
10:00
there's some players even over in the
10:01
main stadium also
10:17
looks like they're using a total of four
10:17
Fields right now main stadium this one
10:20
that one over there and this one
10:42
all right now move back over to this
10:42
area where it looks like a lot of
10:43
players everyone's just kind of
10:45
transferring from field to field so you
10:46
got over here and then over to here
10:48
because they're walking across I
10:49
completely understand how a lot of
10:50
players they just they kind of won't
10:51
even like some of them oh look wander's
10:53
always sign a wanders over there Simon
10:55
too but a lot of players are kind of
10:56
like look the other way obviously it's
10:58
you know they're here for a job they're
10:59
not here to like completely sign
11:00
autographs but notice how they all just
11:02
kind of look one way as they're just
11:04
kind of like going that way you know
11:06
they're like kind of tunnel vision
11:07
because they want you to make eye
11:08
contact you kind of have to commit to go
11:10
over there and wonder I must say
11:11
wander's over there in the corner
11:13
signing how awesome is that one of the
11:15
best players for the race
11:16
signing a lot of signing which is great
11:33
thank you
11:33
if you wonder
11:41
thank you very much
11:41
good job buddy
12:07
a couple wander Franco cards but I just
12:07
didn't want to get into the Knicks over
12:08
there I have to you know obviously if it
12:09
works out again maybe I'll I'll pull the
12:11
Sharpie out but it's just kind of cool
12:12
to see the players signing especially
12:14
one of the best players that rides at
12:15
kind of the future of the the face of
12:17
the race for the next series of years
13:50
now I do see Jose Siri over there but I
13:50
haven't seen Randy or rosarina yet I
13:51
haven't seen Mandy Margot I haven't seen
13:53
Harold Ramirez I mean they could be at
13:55
one of the other fields or maybe they're
13:56
in the main stadium but still quite a
13:58
few people I have not seen and a lot of
14:00
the pictures of course obviously I
14:01
haven't seen it probably in a different
14:02
area
14:03
one thing I find kind of interesting is
14:05
they do not have any merchandise over
14:06
here in this area or food or beverages
14:09
snacks drinks anything like that in the
14:12
spring training little quadrant of the
14:14
four Fields this field that field that
14:17
field and of course this field which is
14:18
using being used today for soccer and so
14:21
I guess over in the main area where I
14:23
walked in so I parked way over here got
14:26
to go through and around the stadium and
14:27
then up this way and then around this
14:29
way so maybe on the way out I'll check
14:31
for some merchandise there's this little
14:32
stand right here you can easily have
14:34
some took for some mashup merch of not
14:37
only Disney but also the Rays kind of
14:39
like they did the press conference I
14:40
just want to do the press conference
14:41
they had Mickey ears on the Press table
14:43
when they were you know last week when
14:45
they were
14:46
kind of announcing all of it the
14:47
pitchers and catchers reported but since
14:49
then I haven't really seen anything
14:50
eluding the fact they're at Disney other
14:52
than actually being at Disney no
14:55
merchandise or anything and here walks
14:56
up Kyle Snyder the pitching coach of the
14:58
race
15:05
Jose Siri
15:05
kind of took over for Kiermaier in a lot
15:07
of ways
15:09
center fielder Jose came in like that
15:11
three quarters through the way the last
15:13
season
15:22
not even sure what time all this kind of
15:22
winds down I don't know if this is like
15:24
a full day or what it is exactly but it
15:27
seems like really this is the only field
15:29
that's left where there's anybody over I
15:30
haven't even seen Kevin cash today it
15:33
seems like most the players are not
15:34
getting on golf carts or walking away
15:36
over at the other end if you players
15:39
signed not all of them
15:46
that's right
15:46
Jose is going to pick someone up maybe
16:15
I'm gonna say it's basically probably
16:15
the end of this it seems like
16:17
at least the fields are clearing out
16:18
maybe they're heading over to the
16:19
batting cages for a little BP
16:42
all right
16:49
and the grounds crew is out moving over
16:49
from one field to the next
16:51
I think that's probably it really wasn't
16:53
a long
16:54
time frame of the spring training here
16:56
for the first time
17:00
yeah it looks as if those are the
17:00
batting cages over there
17:12
see a few players in there
17:15
I think that kind of wraps it up though
17:17
for the main focus of the spring
17:19
training
17:20
first Spring Training Day see a lot of
17:22
players going back to the locker rooms
17:23
now too
17:31
check out the merchandise and then see
17:31
if I can maybe go around that other side
17:33
at some point on the way out there's
17:37
only one game being played here for the
17:39
spring training for the race spring
17:40
training us at the end of the month
17:42
I believe it's already sold out unless
17:44
you get third party tickets I believe
17:46
but it's good for Yankee so it's going
17:48
to be
17:49
probably gonna be pretty packed but I
17:51
wish they were playing more than just
17:52
one game
17:53
but after the end of this month for
17:56
spring training 10-year here ends and
17:58
then they're heading
17:59
doing the rest of them at the Trot which
18:01
I don't know if I probably won't go down
18:03
to
18:04
Tropicana Field of their spring training
18:06
the second you know into March
18:08
maybe bye now oh there are the flags
18:12
over there center field the ESPN
18:14
Wildwood of sports the gate is closing
18:17
and there's a few autographed Seekers
18:19
over here
18:24
that have
18:24
stood over in this area trying to get
18:25
some last minute autographs of maybe the
18:27
players were going to come out of that
18:28
door I don't know and I am now going to
18:29
walk over Pat you cannot go into the
18:31
actual Stadium itself but you can't walk
18:33
over down this little Corridor they do
18:35
have the merchandise store that is open
18:37
so I'm going to peek in a merchandise
18:38
store and see if I can find anything
18:40
that possibly is related to the Rays
18:42
being here at Disney it's a slim chance
18:44
but you never know maybe it'll happen
18:46
there are some Mickey Mouse baseballs
18:48
which is pretty cool there's Mickey's
18:49
Mickey's face on the side of this
18:51
baseball right there and of course she
18:53
got Minnie down here and you got Mickey
18:55
Mouse not in a baseball uniform or with
18:58
a baseball cap on but there is a
19:00
prominent amount of Mickey and Minnie's
19:01
and even got the baseball bats and the
19:03
balls right here now if it was game day
19:05
you could it says Legends were made are
19:07
made here if it was game day you could
19:09
walk right past home plate and then out
19:11
to the field itself and the thing that's
19:13
kind of neat is because this is Disney
19:15
you can do pin trading here at Tampa Bay
19:18
Rays spring training if you so want to
19:20
choose to do some some pen trading check
19:22
that out truthy though it's kind of
19:24
strange that they don't have anything
19:26
like a mashup of like you know like a
19:28
raised cap like this that has Wide World
19:31
of Sports Disney World on it I think
19:33
that's a missed opportunity that's just
19:35
my opinion maybe they'll have it maybe
19:36
they'll have it for the games maybe
19:38
maybe on game maybe on the game day
19:40
they'll have something but as I'm
19:42
walking out as you go out the main
19:43
entrance I try to get a a little four
19:46
posterity a little photo with my raised
19:48
gear on in front of the globe
19:50
the Wide World of Sports ESPN globe and
19:53
then kind of you know obviously
19:55
no game today and they weren't really
19:57
even doing like a scrimmage or anything
19:58
like that when they kind of like match
19:59
up and play each other you know the
20:01
inner squad team where they have like
20:03
this you know playing any gameplay or
20:05
anything like that it was basically just
20:06
practice little batting practice a
20:07
little catching practice pitching
20:09
practice things like that but all in all
20:11
pretty fun time back in the mid 90s I
20:13
used to work for the Astro spring
20:15
training in Kissimmee at Osceola County
20:17
Stadium and even when I wasn't like
20:19
working there I would go to a lot of
20:21
spring training there you know I've been
20:22
to Plant City I've been to Lakeland I've
20:24
been a lot of spring training stuff but
20:25
this is the closest in proximity to
20:28
where I've ever lived five minutes well
20:31
seven minutes let's call it from my
20:33
place in Celebration Florida to where
20:35
Tampa Bay Rays are spring training until
20:36
the end of the month pretty awesome that
20:38
was a pretty good day I will say I'm
20:41
slightly just oh there's a bird right in
20:43
the way there there's a big stork
20:45
excuse me excuse me bird I am a little
20:47
disappointed that they did not have any
20:49
you know collaboration type of merch I'm
20:51
just gonna it's gonna go around just
20:52
stork
20:57
I thought maybe they would embrace it a
20:57
little bit more maybe on the Ray Side
20:59
maybe on the Disney side they didn't
21:00
have the rights to do that because they
21:02
are only here like nine or ten days less
21:04
than two weeks but man it'd be cool to
21:07
own some rays Disney gear if that
21:10
happens I'm on board
21:12
hey this Donald going by never thought I
21:14
would see Donald
21:16
three feet well not three feet a few
21:18
hundred yards away from some of the
21:21
raised players but you know sometimes
21:23
things just work out in a way that
21:25
you're not expecting them last time had
21:27
to go all the way down to Port Charlotte
21:29
for spring training which is another
21:31
hour farther than St Pete where
21:33
Tropicana Field is
21:45
I can't come to think of it it was kind
21:45
of different that there was no snack bar
21:46
area over where the they were practicing
21:49
as well
21:50
that was kind of kind of interesting
21:52
there's also quite a few players that I
21:53
did not see obviously I may have been
21:55
off the radar they may have been in the
21:57
backstage area or without or maybe I
21:59
just miss them in the transition going
22:00
between field to field I didn't see here
22:02
Ramirez I didn't see Pete Fairbanks
22:05
I didn't see Jason Adam one of my
22:06
favorite relief pitchers
22:08
didn't see Randy arose Arena didn't see
22:11
Manny Margot
22:13
maybe they weren't there today I thought
22:14
every player was supposed to report
22:15
today but
22:17
they were there I just need Kevin cash
22:20
so yeah
22:21
of course it's not the only day they're
22:23
there for a series of days
22:24
I was thinking
22:26
Barney's breaks these things are pretty
22:28
good you can cram a bunch of cards down
22:30
there it's like six or seven
22:32
stacks of cards in each of these sleeves
22:34
I didn't get one autograph I kind of
22:35
just I think I feel like I kind of
22:37
really I'm not like I said I'm not an
22:38
autograph guy
22:40
I don't know if I'm gonna take cards the
22:41
spring training or any games anymore I
22:43
normally don't but I figured today heck
22:44
it I'm gonna bring some some cards
22:46
because I saw some of the players
22:47
signing I just figured it wasn't really
22:49
that vitally important for me
22:51
to really take up the time for them to
22:53
sign so I don't know if I'm gonna bring
22:55
any more cards I like collecting cards
22:56
but I don't really know if I want to get
22:57
all my cards signed now I do have a
22:59
quite a wide variety of Tampa Bay Ray
23:01
hats and this would have been really
23:03
good on the bill so maybe I'll you know
23:05
I'll I'll bring my Sharpie or bring a
23:07
Sharpie to each game or training or
23:09
because I've been going a lot of games
23:10
during the course of the Season at the
23:12
shop and then away games and maybe I can
23:14
get a player if I really like a player
23:16
maybe I can get them for good luck on
23:18
the bill but I don't think I'm gonna do
23:19
the whole card thing just I don't know
23:21
not my thing and it seems like majority
23:23
of people there were pretty much like
23:25
autographed him trying to get autographs
23:28
I would say yeah pretty much everywhere
23:30
I mean it's definitely a great great
23:32
spot to get some signatures I just
23:34
cannot wait to watch some baseball it
23:37
was kind of neat to see the players like
23:38
warming up and doing their their
23:40
practices and whatnot but I am ready
23:43
for baseball season
23:45
and spring training games too I've
23:47
noticed when it comes to collecting
23:48
things especially even baseball cards a
23:50
lot of it has to do with autographs you
23:52
go to a baseball card shop it's mostly
23:55
autographed cards now more than just
23:56
like the wax packs and things back when
23:59
I used to collect in the 80s and 90s
24:01
it's all about the cards but now it's
24:03
all about having the signatures on them
24:05
which I kind of understand but I also
24:07
kind of don't understand sometimes you
24:10
can even go to a baseball card shop and
24:11
buy a pack of cards it's something to be
24:13
in like 10 or 12 or 16 or 8 whatever the
24:16
normal amount is it's like three cards
24:18
for like 15 20 bucks just like random
24:21
cards that are signed the players will
24:24
sign them before they even go in the
24:26
package themselves
24:27
so I guess it's just an autograph world
24:29
map back to where I began this morning
24:31
hey kind of a short and sweet video kind
24:33
of nice being able to be at the road for
24:35
so long to have a day that kind of ends
24:38
before it gets too late into the evening
24:40
hours
24:42
because I definitely have some things to
24:43
take care of now that I am back been
24:45
gone I was gone for 28 days four weeks
24:48
and you know when you're away from home
24:49
that long
24:50
sometimes you have you know when you're
24:51
gone for away from your place for a full
24:53
month
24:54
so you have the other stuff you have to
24:56
do
24:57
so it's kind of nice to have a just I
24:59
guess like the players I thought maybe
25:00
they would go to like late afternoon but
25:02
they really just went till around two
25:03
o'clock one or two o'clock
25:05
some lily pads down here oh I gotta see
25:07
if the gator
25:09
Gators are out here
25:10
there's a bird over there right in the
25:12
middle of the water take a look at that
25:13
right there Wings spread out
25:17
hello bird just enjoying the sunny day
25:22
yes I realize I'm now back in Florida
25:25
with the with the sun it's not really
25:27
hot but the sun is permeating
25:29
I think it's like in the 70s today but
25:31
it definitely feels warmer spring
25:32
training baseball at least a training
25:34
aspect the games have not started yet
25:36
baseball for 2023 is here and I am very
25:41
excited about it I'm going to be doing a
25:43
lot of traveling this year I'm going to
25:44
be going to Tropicana Field quite a bit
25:45
but I've also got more than a dozen new
25:49
stadiums
25:50
slot you know allotted slotted or
25:53
allotted for this year throughout I've
25:56
been doing a lot of traveling I'm going
25:57
to use those games you know I'll go to a
25:59
game but then I'll do other stuff around
26:00
a city you know stay like a week in
26:02
every place you know at least a series
26:04
of days
26:05
look there's stairs there I never
26:06
realized there's like stairs you can
26:07
kind of see them in the stairs go down
26:09
into the water down there take a look at
26:11
that
26:12
well that's gonna do it for today I'll
26:13
see you in the next video raise up the
26:16
Vlog
26:16
is over