Spring Training has marked the end of winter in Florida for more than 100 years. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Greg Maddux, and today's stars have begun their legendary seasons and careers in places like Sarasota, Dunedin, Vero Beach, and Clearwater. On this episode, longtime southwest Florida newspaperman Glenn Miller, who's attended spring training games since the 1960s and covered the games since the 1980s, joins us to discuss Spring Training's history and characters in Florida. Pinch hitting for Chadd Scott is his wife, sports reporter, podcaster, author, baseball fan and annual spring training in Florida attendee, Kristi Dosh.
Above: Los Angeles Dodgers Duke Snider with bat boy in Bradenton, 1958. Below: Willie Mays at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, 1972. Images: Florida Archives.
Craig Pittman is the award-winning author of Oh, Florida!: How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, The Scent of Scandal, Cat Tale, Manatee Insanity and The State You’re In, and co-author of Paving Paradise. Born in Pensacola, he graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him “the most destructive force on campus.” Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature.
