Good morning everyone, happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Even though I am still recovering from my sunburn last weekend, I wanted to share some pics of my quick trip to Phoenix to watch a few Spring Training games.  If you haven’t already, please read my first Spring Training post and the comments: Spring Training Major League Baseball Games – Advice for a Rookie.  After looking at the Spring Training game schedule, I decided to go to 2 Angels games and 1 Dodgers game.

After looking for hotels close to the Angels stadium (Tempe Diablo Stadium), I settled on the Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel Tempe.  When I originally booked the stay, the cost was 3,000 SPG points for weekend nights (4,000 SPG points for weekday nights).  The hotel has since increased to 7,000 SPG points per night.  I am an SPG Gold Elite Member and was given access to the Club Lounge on the 4th floor.  The lounge is very small (8-10 small tables) and the food goes fast.  I recommend going to breakfast early before all the breakfast food is gone.

From the hotel, it is about a 25 minute walk to the Tempe Diablo Stadium.  You do need to cross over a freeway and walk through a cemetery, but the walk is nice.  If you have lots of Marriott points available, you could stay at the super conveniently located Phoenix Marriott Tempe at the Buttes for 35,000 Marriott points per night.

Here is the view from the Buttes.  There are a few practice fields on the left and the cemetery we walked through on the right.

If you have ever been to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, the spring training stadium has a very familiar front entrance.  Most of these pictures were taken during the Giants vs. Angels game.  We got there about 15 minutes before the game started and found a spot on the grass to sit down.  The grass is sloped down and has no shade, so bring a blanket and a hat.  During the second game (Rangers vs. Angels), we arrived an hour before the game and sat on the grass in the left outfield.  It was a great location as 2 homeruns were hit 10-15 feet away from us.

After the first game ended on Saturday, we headed to the Dodgers stadium via Lyft.  If you can get a Lyft with no surcharge (read Lyft Line Total Price Changes In-App in Real-Time due to Prime Time Rate Changes to learn a cool trick), the price is about $25.  If Lyft has a 75%-100% prime time rate, the total cost will be between $40-$50.  If you are trying to request an Uber or Lyft to/from a large event, try to get far away from the event so that the driver can easily get to your location without getting caught up in event traffic or road closures.

The Dodgers stadium is much newer than the Angels stadium.  I walked around the stadium and took a few pictures from the outfield, bullpens, and scoreboard.  If you are interested in autographs, I think you have much better luck going to away games.  Since most fans are interested in the home team, there is less competition for autographs at away games.

Here is a cool sign that shows how far the Dodger’s minor league teams/stadiums are from Glendale.

The big problem with the Dodgers stadium is that it is in the middle of nowhere.  There are no restaurants or chain hotels nearby and it seemed like everyone at the game drove to the stadium.  Getting a Lyft after the game was difficult since there were no drivers nearby and the prime time rate stayed at 100% the entire time.

After Sunday’s game, we went to Four Peaks Brewing Company for dinner and drinks (pizza and spicy chicken lettuce wraps) and then walked to Yogurtland for dessert.  It was a fun weekend spent with my brother and dad.  Will we do it again next year?  Maybe, maybe not.  Tickets cost about $20 per person per game and I can usually get cheaper tickets to Giants games.  It was still a fun experience that I definitely wanted to try at least once.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!

P.S. Please drink green beer responsibly.