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Fans battle chilly temperatures at spring training opener

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By JACKIE BARRON

jbarron@wfla.com

Published: March 3, 2010

SARASOTA - Baseball fans braved a bitter winter wind today as they made their way inside Ed Smith Stadium.

And the extra layers of clothing didn't curb a renewed enthusiasm for the return of spring training.

The game marked the beginning of a new era in Sarasota baseball as folks watched the Baltimore Orioles take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

County commissioners threw out the first pitches and Josh Cole, tenor for the Sarasota Opera, belted out the "Star-Spangled Banner."

As fans settled in they shared a collective shiver.

Ann McLaughlin, who had a hood pulled over her head and arm wrapped around her husband, managed to utter a single word, "Cooollldd."

Jean Harris came wearing ear muffs.

"I think I could have sold these today," she said with a laugh. "I've been coming here ever since this place opened and I know how to dress when it's cold."

Harris has watched three baseball organizations call the stadium home.

The most recent, the Cincinnati Reds, moved west last year to Arizona. Fans feared this spring Ed Smith might sit empty until the Orioles decided to call it home.

Troy Bake brought his 5-year-old son, Scott, to the game before the family moves back to Cincinnati.

"He went to a Reds game down here," Blake said. "He's now been to an O's game on their first game. I'm trying to raise a baseball fan."

"I came here from California to see my son play in his first game with the Orioles," said Clyde Tucker. "It's kind of cold out here."

His son Jonathan, an outfielder, is a non-roster invitee of the Orioles.

Behind home plate sat sports icon and Sarasota resident Dick Vitale.

"I think it's great because there was a real threat that we weren't going to have baseball (in Sarasota) and I think it's great that we do," Vitale said. "I'm a baseball fanatic."

But Vitale admitted he's a devout Rays follower, too.

"I spoke to the team (the Orioles). I said I'm a Rays fan so beat the Yankees, beat the Red Sox but don't beat our Rays."

But the Orioles did exactly that. They beat the Rays 12-2.

City officials said 5,328 turned out for the game, a solid mid-week opener, especially given the chilly conditions.

Reporter Jackie Barron can be reached at (813) 221-5708.

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