Dunedin Blue Jays 11 at Daytona Cubs 10 - June 29, 2012

The Daytona Cubs are the only team in the Florida State League who don't play in a stadium that is also used during spring training. So I was really looking forward to seeing a typical minor league ballpark to finish off the Florida portion of the trip and complete the entire league at the same time. It turned out to be one of the best experiences I have enjoyed on a sports road trip.Jackie Robinson BallparkIn 1946, Jackie Robinson was to play in...

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Brevard County Manatees 1 at Tampa Yankees 7 - June 28, 2012

In 1989, the Cincinnati Reds moved their spring training operations from the Tampa area, ending a stretch of 75 consecutive years in which the city had hosted a major league team during the pre-season. It took seven years before Tampa could find a team to fill the void, using the promise of a new spring training stadium to lure the New York Yankees from Fort Lauderdale. The Yankees are baseball's biggest franchise everything they do is over...

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Bradenton Marauders 5 at Dunedin Blue Jays 3 - June 27, 2012

Another camp day awaited me on Wednesday morning but first I had to make the three-hour drive from Fort Myers. The winds from Tropical Storm Debby had subsided and so the Sunshine Skyway was open and I arrived at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium ten minutes before the 11 am first pitch.Florida Auto Exchange StadiumFor Blue Jay fans growing up in the 1980s, before the days of the internet and 24-hour sports news, Grant Field was always a mysterious place,...

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Tampa Yankees 6-6 at Fort Myers Miracle 7 (8)-5 - June 26, 2012

Tropical Storm Debby disrupted the Florida State League schedule when it moved across the west part of the state over the weekend, causing rainouts at a number of stadiums. The upshot for me was that the Fort Myers game that was scheduled for 7:05 on Tuesday night had been changed to a doubleheader that would start two hours earlier. This meant a quick drive from Port St. Lucie was  after the St. Lucie Mets and Daytona Cubs went 12 long innings...

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