When you are on the tight travel schedule I am, you quickly find lots of little things fall through the cracks, so I am going to take a few minutes and do some catch-up.  First, a few things from Bradenton, home of the Pirates.  I was lucky enough to cross paths with one of our stalwart message board users, ChiSox1, also known as Mike K., whom I met last year just by chance.  Its great to be able to stay in touch with readers, and one great thing about Mike is he is a Pirates spring season ticket holder so he’s always in the same seat! I can’t thank Mike enough for what he brings to the LoveMyTeam message board.   Another little tidbit that came from Pirates camp is a good story about Andrew McCutchen which one of the volunteer security folks shared.  A family that had followed Andrew as a minor leaguer had come to say hello to him.  McCutchen had gotten to know them and stopped to talk for awhile.  After he went back to the cage the folks shared with the security lady that their house had recently burned down, and they lost everything, including their son’s baseball glove. They had come to spring training as a little break from all of the stress.  After they moved on, the security woman asked Andrew if the family had shared the news about the fire.  They had not.  She asked if there was anything he might be able to do, as a little extra thing, for the boy.  Andrew headed into the clubhouse, and returned with a hat for the kid.  The boy thanked him exclusively and as Andrew turned to leave, he said, “Oops, I almost forgot”, and pulled a glove and ball from the back of his waistband and handed them to the boy- who jumped 5′ off the ground.  My source, the fine security woman that guards the batting cages, said she wasn’t sure whose face wore a bigger smile, the boy or Andrew.  That’s one of those stories that makes you feel good about baseball players, doesn’t it.

Now yesterday I was in Port Charlotte, to see the new spring home of the Rays.  What a difference from last year in terms of visible fan support for the players.  Many more hats, t-shirts and jerseys throughout the stands.  Its the first time I have seen the Twins fans outshone in support, in fact.

The new stadium is quite nice.  Perhaps not the best of the new, but so great really that one cannot complain.  Fans can walk all the way around the field, with a great party deck in the outfield and a grass seating berm right down the left field line.

Port Charlotte- Spring home of the Rays

Near the end of the game, I was  lucky enough to meet Dusty, who was seated just behind the plate, and was a vocal rooter for her Rays. She has lived nearby since the Rangers trained in Port Charlotte, and said there is no comparison to the stadium as it was then to what this park is now. Definitely worth the trip, in my opinion.  Its a shame it took so many teams leaving Florida to get this built, but it seems by the number of fans in the park, there should be no problem filling it for many springs to come.

Tuesday Trivia: Today’s Trivia contest is brought to you by a brand new sponsor that we are excited to have the opportunity to work with Sportnecks.com.  Sportnecks creates beautiful sports related souvenir jewelry, perfect for those of you  who might be involved in youth leagues, or a booster club. Last month we gave away a bracelet, and the winner, Mike K., my friend from Bradenton was the winner.  He said the bracelet was “very nice!” He gave it to his granddaughter.  Unfortunately, Mike isn’t eligible to win a second prize from Sportsnecks, which means everyone else has a chance! Today’s Question is: The Pittsburgh Pirates have won the World Series five times.  There was one player that was on the team in both of the Pirates last two championship seasons- 1971 and 1979, can you name him? Drop the answer in the text box at the bottom of the page, and be sure to include your email address and you may win the two Sportnecks.com prizes seen below.