You're definitely going to see fashion-focused jerseys that continue to escalate over the years."My first spring training game was 50 years ago in Pompano, Fla., sitting with my father in wood bleachers watching the Washington Senators. I can't recall the opponent but do know the game was tied after nine innings, because the loudspeaker announced, "No charge for extra innings."How times have changed. Monday in Fort Myers a standing-room-only crowd of almost 10,000 watched the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5. Fans munched on $14 plates of baby back ribs, sipped on $11 strawberry daiquiris, and watched Grady Sizemore take a giant stride to winning the center field job. He stroked three hits, scored three runs and made two nice catches, all you could ask of a leadoff hitter.
No wonder the 31-year-old Sizemore shooed a trainer back to the dugout after fouling a pitch off his foot Monday. He's waited too long and rehabbed too hard to let a contusion keep him from getting back in the box scores, where at one time his name appeared for 382 consecutive games.Nobody knows for certain who will make headlines in April, but with Jackie Bradley Jr. struggling, and Sizemore playing like the three-time All-Star he once was, it would seem he's the heir apparent to replace Jacoby Ellsbury. Another critical comparison: Sizemore has one strikeout in 21 at-bats this spring; Bradley has 10 in 37, including once against the Yankees on Tuesday with baserunners on second and third.With the exception of Roger Dean Stadium, where the hapless Florida Marlins play, every game I've seen this spring has been a sellout. Sometimes that's a bad word, but not in the sports arena, and it's not just the Red Sox and Yankees who are drawing big crowds. The Tigers have sold out nearly every game in Lakeland, as have the Pirates in Bradenton and the Phillies in Clearwater. Today, the Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays at Ed Smith Stadium and the only thing available when I went to the box office yesterday were $8 standing-room tickets.At JetBlue Stadium Monday, Rick Gamelin and I were sitting in the last row of the grandstand behind the home-plate screen.