WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- It isn't quite as emotional or historical as the Dodgers leaving Dodgertown in Vero Beach, but Cleveland is bidding adios to Florida at the conclusion of this spring as well.
The Indians, who haven't trained in Arizona since leaving Tucson following the spring of 1992, is joining Arizona's burgeoning roster and moving to Goodyear.
They've trained in Winter Haven for the past 16 springs, beginning in 1993.
"I'm excited for the franchise," general manager Mark Shapiro says. "Geographically, this place (Winter Haven) is fine for spring training, but the facility is substandard.
"From a leadership position, the last few years when we've come in here, I feel like I'm letting our guys down. They all know what else is out there."
And next spring, the Indians no longer will have to simply watch as others take advantage of modern facilities. The Indians' new joint will feature an 8,000 seat stadium and the usual bejeweled clubhouse amenities and training facilities that will keep pace with everyone else.
Though there's been much grumbling about Winter Haven -- a city with, horrors, no Starbucks coffee! -- it's got its own kind of charm and the setting for Chain of Lakes Park, right next to Lake Lulu, is very pretty. Lake Lulu houses several large alligators and, though I've never seen one during my stops there, the place is rife with stories. Many of those center around Gator, one of the chief field guys here, who has been known to catch alligators with his bare hands.
Not only that, veterans around here tell tales of Gator hiding baby alligators -- with their mouths taped shut -- inside the lockers of some of the young players. Kenny Lofton was one those kids who nearly jumped out of his skin years ago upon finding a real, live alligator stuffed into his locker.
Most of today's Indians don't seem too sorry to be leaving.
"Not at all," says pitcher C.C. Sabathia, a native of the San Francisco/Oakland bay area. "I'm looking forward to Arizona, and bringing a lot of my family down."
Likes: The corny p.a. announcements before Grapefruit League games in which the guy with the mike broadcasts the local game-time temperature, followed by the weather update for whatever Northern city we're talking about (Detroit, if you're in Lakeland; CLeveland, if you're in Winter Haven). Predictably, it never fails to elicit great whoops and catcalls. It shouldn't, either, given what these people are paying for their Snowbird trips and sunblock tabs. ... The Hank Steinbrenner-John Henry vociferous debate about Yankees Nation or Red Sox Nation. You might be burnt out on Yankees-Red Sox, but those two are entertaining. ... The jambalaya at Harry's in Lakeland. ... Hall of Famer Al Kaline in uniform each spring at Tigers camp.
Dislikes: Here's a prayer for