Everything about baseball


cbaforfans.com keyword stats



Most current MSN search phrases:

sandiegostateuniversitybaseball blemished baseball products
baseball dragonballz budakai 2
anime freebaseballgames
league strat-o-matic baseball rules
"blemished baseball bats" official eight ball rules
Watch Japanese Dragon Ball Episodes dragonball online episodes
baseball bat companies missouri blemish baseball bats
dragon ball z budakai tenkaichi 2 cheats dragonball gt episodes
Little League Baseball Field Dimensions rawlings sporting good company
free dragon ballz clips Dragonball Episode 90

Spring Training in Tiger Town

Like a number of major league baseball teams,façade looks. With a host of palm trees
the Detroit Tigers head to Florida every yeargreeting your arrival, the ticket booth is
for spring training. And if you want to seethe nicest of its kind, with the word
the Tigers play any preseason games, you"Tickets" emblazoned in big orange letters
might have to hitch a limo or luxury sedan toarched overhead. On either side of the ticket
the airport and fly down Lakeland, FLA, for abooth, the Tigers pay homage to their history
seat  in  the  stadium.with large banners containing artist's
renditions of Tiger greats Lou Whitaker, Alan
Tiger Town is the Spring TrainingTrammell,  Norm  Cash,  and  Al  Kaline.
headquarters for the Detroit Tigers and the
regular season home of its minor league farmThe first thing you notice when you enter
team in the Class A Florida State League, TheJoker Marchant are the 698 bright orange box
Lakeland Tigers. It's owned and operated byseats that comprise the first rows of seating
the City of Lakeland. The City of Lakeland'sbelow the main aisle in the grandstand that
Parks and Recreation Department isextends from first base to third base. The
responsible  for  maintaining the facilities.majority of the seats are above the main
concourse and are aluminum bleachers with
Named in honor of the late Joker Marchant,blue  seat  backs.
Lakeland's former parks and recreation
director, Joker Marchant Stadium was used byPerhaps the most striking feature of the
the Detroit Tigers for Spring Training forstadium is the large grandstand section down
the first time in 1966 at which time itthe left field foul line, which was built in
contained seating for 4,900 spectators.1988 and increased Joker Marchant's original
Expansion projects undertaken in the earlyseating  capacity  of  4,900  to  7,027.
1970's and the addition of new grandstands
along the left field foul line in 1988The metal bleacher section is one of a kind
brought the stadium capacity to its currentdue to its height and structure. Built in
capacity of 7,100 seats. But just because theconcrete, it's the only bleacher section in
stadium is older than most in Florida, youFlorida that can't be removed once Spring
can't start calling Joker Marchant "TheTraining is over. The section also towers
Joke."high above the field. Sitting at the top and
even with the outfield fence in left field,
The Detroit Tigers began coming to Lakelandthe vantage point is as far away from the
for Spring Training in 1934 and have beenfield as you can get, and is the Grapefruit
coming back each year ever since. The 70-yearLeague's  premiere  nosebleed  seat.
relationship between the Detroit Tigers and
the City of Lakeland is the longest lastingIt's from up here that you realize just how
relationship between a major Leaguespacious the outfield is. At 420 feet to
baseball team and a spring training hostcenter and 340 down the lines, Joker Marchant
city.has the most outfield territory of any
ballpark in the state of Florida. If center
The most impressive aspect of attending afield were just a little bit deeper, the
Spring Training game in Lakeland is the factoutfield dimensions would actually form a
that the Tigers have trained in this city forsquare.
so long. With the exception of the World War
II years (1943-45), Detroit has trained inChanges are on the horizon in Lakeland, with
Lakeland since 1934, the longest relationship$10 million in renovations scheduled to be
between a franchise and host city in springcompleted in time for the 2003 spring
baseball history. The next closest isn't evenschedule. Enhanced seating, including the
that close: the Phillies in Clearwater sincecreation of a berm in left field, will
1947. For an even more amazing fact, considerincrease  Joker Marchant's capacity to 9,000.
that 18 of the 30 MLB teams changed or
established new spring homes in the '90'sWhile the team continues to plan changes to
alone.Tiger Town there's always the one constant
that fans can count on -- the Tigers in
The ballpark has aged rather well. When youLakeland. And the team recently extended its
drive into the main entrance of Tigertownlease with the city through 2016.
you'll be surprised at how new the outer



1 A B C D 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 97 98 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108