Florida Spring Training: Your Guide to Touring the Grapefruit League [Paperback]

Alan Byrd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Spring training means magical moments for tens of thousands of baseball fans. But each stadium offers a different experience. In this guidebook, spring training journalist Alan Byrd gives the play-by-play on each stadium, from getting the best seats to getting autographs. Includes five week-long themed itineraries for fans who want to build an entire vacation around spring training.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An indispensable companion to any baseball fan or traveler who might wish to visit ... baseball spring training in Florida. -- Taste California Travel, January 2005, by Micheal Eady

If you're interested in visiting more than the Red Sox in Fort Myers, you'll want to pick up [this book]. -- Boston Herald, February 13, 2005, by Diane Daniel

From the Publisher

For major league baseball teams, Spring Training represents a new beginning, the first step on a pilgrimage to the World Series. For the fan, Spring Training represents the opportunity to watch the game’s heroes up close and personal for just a few dollars and maybe even get their autographs.

BUT every one of Florida’s 17 Spring Training stadiums is different. Each has its pluses and minuses, so capturing the ideal Spring Training experience can be elusive without the right information.

This book is your key to the ideal Spring Training experience. It will help you pinpoint the type of experience you’re after and where you need to go to get it. "Florida Spring Training" doesn’t ignore the history of great old parks, but Byrd is less interested in nostalgia than in ferreting out the little details that will make your visit to any of the Grapefruit League’s 17 parks special. tory of great old parks, but Byrd is less interested in nostalgia than in ferreting out the little details that will make your visit to any of the Grapefruit League’s 17 parks special. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Intrepid Traveler; 2nd Edition edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887140522
• ISBN-13: 978-1887140522
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,151,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What I Was Looking For!!, January 9, 2004

By 

David Mason (Brunswick, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Florida Spring Training: Your Guide to Touring the Grapefruit League (Paperback)

I did a search for books on spring training in Florida and
all the books I found had bad reviews. I saw that this book
was coming out and didn't know if it was going to be good or
not but for the price I went ahead and ordered it.

* The book has zero fluff and all you need to know about each
of the 17 spring training stadiums in Florida.

* It has a brief history of how spring training started in
Florida.

* Gives you the details you want to know for example
the shade, food, parking, attractions near by, and where to
sit.

I don't know why this book wasn't written long ago.

Last year I took my son to spring training for our first time.
I had the best time and will now make it a tradition each
year. Last year we went to Disney for the Braves, Kissimmee for
the Astors, and Lakeland for the Tigers.

This year we will be going to Vero to see the Dodgers, Port
St Lucie to see the Mets, and Melbourne to see the Expos. If
we have time and enough energy we may also go to Jupiter to
see the Cardinals.

Thanks to this book I know to spend some time at Dodger Stadium
in Vero which the author said is the best in the Grape Fruit League. Before I read this book I was only going to see one
game there but now we will see two games and will get there
early to see practice.

Like the author said there is something special about baseball
spring training not found in any other sport. I'm not a huge
baseball fan but I'm a huge baseball spring training fan.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hardcore fan's guide, November 27, 2005

By 

rdjsgirl (St. Augustine, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Florida Spring Training: Your Guide to Touring the Grapefruit League (Paperback)

If you're looking for a book about the rich history of the Grapefruit League, keep moving. This book is a straightforward how-to of gameday. I've been to six of the parks in Florida already and the book's information was very accurate. This makes me feel better about this upcoming spring when I get to visit some different parks. If you want to maximze your gameday experience, this is the book for you. Info on seating, parking, directions, traffic, food, programs, and the ever-important autograph tips make for a great book. Also includes 5 one week vacation itineraries to help you plan a vacation. If you want to make the most of your time at a Grapefruit game, this is the guide for you!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential and practical advice, April 11, 2005

By 

Englebert Humperdink (Red Sox Nation) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Florida Spring Training: Your Guide to Touring the Grapefruit League (Paperback)

This book is a total success in fulfilling its remit, that as a practical guide to touring the various venues of the Grapefruit League in Florida. The advice is uncomplicated, the observations are sharp and the recommendations are worthwhile.

If you are looking for a book that provides a broader perspective on the traditions or history of Spring Training, then perhaps you should look elsewhere. Alan Byrd does not really attempt to cover this here but should not necessarily be faulted for this.

From personal experience of visiting five different venues during Spring Training 2005, this book was a tremendous help and eliminated a lot of mistakes that would otherwise have been made when visiting ballparks for the first time.