We'll start with Day 1. After we landed in West Palm Beach during the evening, it was time to pick out a car. Sure, we were all thinking, "Okay, so we'll just get the standard rent-a-car." Then something changed, and we got a look at the 'luxury' cars that weren't too much extra to have. After a bit of debating, we decided to go with a black Mustang Convertible, because why not? And if we were going to be driving to the same complex as baseball players, we had to have a good looking car, right? So we chose that car and decided to drive to our hotel with the top down. Bad idea for your hair and because of the cold wind, but definitely worth it to see the Florida night sky. We were able to spot Orion's Belt and the Little Dipper amongst a sky full of stars. We had a nice and relaxing night before the early morning ahead of us.
Day 2 began with a bright and early wake up called of 5:45. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then drove down to the field to arrive 2 hours before we could actually enter the backlots. Since it was the first day of full squad, there was a good number of people. We relaxed in the sun, watched as players drove in, and saw Cespedes arrive in his newest car of the week (the white Jeep). 9:30 AM came around and we were let into the complex. We got our spot along the fence of the main field where workouts begin and end, and after waiting once more, the team came out to begin their day.
The bulk of the morning is spent being able to take pictures, watch workouts, and enjoy the weather while you're at the fields. It was during this time where I got to speak to a journalist after he asked me if I knew what I was doing with my camera. I responded I did, and he actually came off the field and allowed me to test out his lens. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to actually take any photos with it because we had to quickly get out of the path (where you could have a clear shot for photos off the field), since David Wright and Curtis Granderson were coming by. That small amount of time that the reporter took out to speak to me was much appreciated and a very cool experience. Although, I can't complain that it was Wright and Granderson that caused it to end. They said hello as they passed and both gave a smile; a very small gesture, but a very nice one.
Then came the time when David Wright was finishing his workout and he came over to sign for fans. Cue the deja vu. He was about to miss us again and run off, but my friend Kelly and I both said, "David, you missed us before. Would you mind signing two more?" And he, thankfully, turned back around and come over to sign for the both of us. We thanked him because he didn't have to come back just for us, since there were so many other fans there, but he did, and it was greatly appreciated.
While thrives of people were making there way to that area, we conveniently walked over to the small side field at the perfect time since Lucas Duda was finishing up the few things he still had to do on a smaller side field. He came over and signed for us and since there was such a small number of people, we were able to get a picture and talk to him for a little bit before he ran off to do his end of workout sprints. Really cool and casual experience to catch him without all of the people around because it made the experience more personal.
After all the players had gone inside, Terry Collins still remained and he came over and signed for us, as well. He was so sweet. You could tell he was so relaxed and genuinely having such a good time with the fans. There was an older woman in front of us who wanted to take a picture of him and he was waiting for her to snap the photo but she couldn't figure out how to work the iPhone/how close to get, so it was a funny little moment as he kept moving closer to her phone and making different faces. That's one of the things I loved about the atmosphere of the workouts - everyone was so laid back and enjoying themselves.
We're not done yet with Day 2. Everyone had gone inside and we walked back out to the parking lot and decided to wait around to see some of the players leave. Not a bad idea since when some of the players came out, particularly Danny Muno and Jerry Blevins, they stopped in their cars to sign for the fans still hanging out, which was really nice for them to take the time out before the left to do so. After we hung around for a little bit we realized how hungry we were so we went to Duffy's to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. We relaxed there for a while because we were all tired. Be warned: The sun takes a lot out of you after a while because of how strong it is. After relaxing, it was time to get ready for dinner and we went to a restaurant called Tutto Fresco, which is a delicious Italian restaurant. I highly recommend eating there at least one time. We pulled up in the Mustang, which the valet people actually remembered us for later on, and hung out by the bar for a little while as they got our table ready. Because this is the fanciest place around, people say to keep your eyes out, so we did, but we didn't spot anyone. Well... yet.
We sat down at the table outside and waited for a friend who was meeting us and as I was drinking my glass of water I happened to be staring at the perfect spot to see Matt Harvey also enjoying dinner with some other Mets staffers. "That's Matt Harvey," came out of my mouth almost instantly in a hushed breath and my friends' reactions were some of the funniest things I've seen because it was such a surprise. We didn't meet him, but we do like to make jokes about how we had dinner with him that night for fun. You never know who you'll run into while you're around.
And that brings us to day 3, finally! I have to say that the crowd on the Saturday, although a little smaller, was definitely slightly more aggressive. Again, the bulk of the players you meet are usually at the end of the day, but there's still interaction during the day. For example, we saw Granderson and Wright again and they said hello and gave us high fives when they ran by on their way to take some swings in the cage.
We had a few goals for the day. One was to help Kelly's mom meet Matt Harvey, which she was successful in doing! One for me was to meet Steven Matz. That also got accomplished, but it took some getting squished to do so. Originally I was behind a mother and her son without a mob around. (If there's a kid nearby screaming a players name, go near them. They usually always sign for kids.) Instead of Steven coming over, Noah Syndergaard came over and I've met him before so I decided to move out of the way, which was a struggle because as soon as he came over, I was instantly pushed forward. Anyway, I got out of that little pocket and moved to where Matz was and luckily was able to get a spot and get him to sign, despite being very, very squished the entire time. I even had a hard time getting out. It didn't matter, though, because I accomplished my goal for the day.
As we hung around and players began to complete their batting practice, we called over Danny Muno who signed for us the day before to grab a picture and he was very nice and friendly, so it was cool to meet him.
Having an idea of how things work better from the day before, we knew that the place to be was the field they end their workouts in when things start to die down on the other fields so we got a good spot over there. We got a few more people over here as their days came to an end. Dilson Herrera signed, as did Granderson, and both were very nice. Yoenis Cespedes, who seemed to just be running by, decided to stop and sign for Kelly and myself and a few more people along the railing, which was cool because we really didn't think he was going to sign again after signing some earlier. He was also very chill; probably exactly how you'd expect him to be.
Wilmer Flores and Michael Conforto were two of the sweetest people ever. Michael Conforto started at one end of the fence and signed for every single person along it till he reached the other end. Wilmer Flores also came over to sign for us and was so happy to be there. He had a smile on his face the whole time and when Kelly's picture didn't come out great, he asked if we wanted to take another. We said that if he had time we would love to and he told us he had all day so we could take as many as we wanted. You could tell how grateful he was to the fans for how much love they've showed him and it makes me, as a fan, so happy to see how happy he is to play for the Mets.
Once you've been at the fields for a day, it's a lot easier to get an idea of how things work and achieve your goals, so don't get discouraged if you're there one day and aren't entirely successful. After workouts were done, we stuck around to see the players leave since it was our last day. We spoke to the security guards that were around about a bunch of different things as we waited for players to leave, which was nice. The personnel at the field are really friendly and approachable. Players waved goodbye as they left and before David left he gave us a wave and a smile, which was a nice end to our final day at the field. We, of course, also saw Cespedes leave in his second Slingshot of the week.
The day ended earlier so we drove around for a while on random roads just for fun since the weather was beautiful and then we went to Target to pick up a few things. That trip ended with us getting aloe masks because we were all pretty burnt and a bear shaped cookie jar with white chocolate covered animal cookies, which were so good. We also helped Casey, Kelly's brother buy a new outfit for dinner since he didn't have any 'fancy' clothes. A successful shopping trip to Target for sure. That night we ate at Tutto Fresco again because it's that good.
Unfortunately, the next morning we headed home and the trip came to an end. What was nice was that in the moment, the days felt long and lots of things were happening, but looking back we all wished it was longer. It was also a fantastic opportunity to take some awesome photos, which I absolutely loved doing. All of the pictures you've seen throughout this post were taken by me (aside from the pictures with the players. Those were taken by Kelly's mom). I had an absolute blast and hope to return to the beautiful Port St. Lucie next year. It's such a great experience and it was by far one of the best weekends of my life because of how much fun and pure joy I got out of it. If you have the opportunity to go, I encourage you to definitely take the trip. You won't regret it.
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