Chase Pinder, left, of the San Francisco Giants signs autographs prior to a spring training baseball game against the Oakland A’s on March 9 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Fans — some with South Korean flags — vie for autographs from San Francisco Giants Jung Hoo Lee and David Villar before a spring training baseball game earlier this month.
Chase Pinder, left, of the San Francisco Giants signs autographs prior to a spring training baseball game against the Oakland A’s on March 9 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The San Francisco Giants open their season in less than a month, but one of the best parts of the year is already in full swing for many die-hard fans.
Every February and March, thousands of Giants fans congregate in Scottsdale, Ariz., to create an orange-and-black oasis in the desert. Spring training — Major League Baseball’s annual preseason training camps and exhibition-game season in Arizona and Florida — has become a go-to destination for baseball lovers and families because of the picturesque settings, festive environments and unique intimacy fans can have with their favorite players.
Plenty of fans have already arrived in the Valley of the Sun for the first three weeks of spring training, but the busiest part of the schedule is just beginning, as the big-league starters ramp up their playing time.
The Examiner asked spring-training veterans, team officials and Scottsdale business owners and officials for tips on how Giants fans can maximize their trips ahead of the team’s Arizona finale on March 23.
Where to stay
Local experts and longtime spring-training enthusiasts agree that Old Town Scottsdale, the city’s rustic and vibrant downtown core, is the best area for Giants fans to use as home base during their trip. The region is a half-mile walk at most from Scottsdale Stadium, the team’s Cactus League venue the past four decades, and contains myriad restaurants and bars. It’s a hub for fans to grab brunch before — or dinner and a happy hour after — attending a game.
“Old Town Scottsdale knows its audience quite well,” sports radio host and former Giants beat writer Kerry Crowley told The Examiner. “They are a Giants place not just during spring training, but for a lot of other portions of the year.”
Many of the district’s hotels offer special spring-training packages and discounts. For instance, the Triple Play spring-training bundle at the W Scottsdale includes a room, a baseball hat, sunglasses, and a bucket of beers.
Crowley said he’s found that a significant portion of Giants fans gravitate to the Scottsdale Marriott Old Town.
“Those who are specifically coming to watch the Giants play, it’s the best proximity and there’s such a wide swath of options and price ranges that can be accommodated,” said Christina Dicksen of Experience Scottsdale, which runs the city’s tourism arm, of Old Town Scottsdale.
A Giants-inspired mural inside RnR Gastropub in Scottsdale.
RnR
Where to eat
Several Scottsdale restaurants aim to be welcoming places for Giants fans. Perhaps the most popular is RnR Gastropub, a two-story bar and grill in Old Town that’s a 10-minute walk from Scottsdale Stadium. The restaurant is decked out with an orange-and-black color scheme and features a Giants-inspired baseball mural.
At the peak of spring training, the restaurant is overflowing with Giants fans. Uzra Vo, events manager at RnR, guessed that between 60% to 70% of the restaurant’s March customers are either Giants fans, players or staff.
“It’s wild,” Vo said. “It’s just a home away from home for them.”
RnR recently hired a new head chef who revamped the menu with new selections such as roasted salmon, steak frites and chicken paillard in a lemon-butter sauce, in addition to its traditional hot dogs, burgers and chicken wings.
“RnR is known as the pre-spring training spot if you’re in Scottsdale,” Dicksen said.
Another brewpub called The Vig, which has several locations near Scottsdale Stadium, is another popular gathering spot for Giants fans. The restaurant also serves pork tacos and mac and cheese as part of a concessions pop-up inside Scottsdale Stadium during Giants games.
In addition, fans who show their spring-training tickets to each restaurant will receive discounted specials — 50% off draft beers at RnR, or a $20 cheeseburger and draft-beer combo at the Vig.
Crowley said there is also a swath of breakfast or brunch options in Old Town — Morning Squeeze, ChopShop and Salty Senorita are among his favorites — which are perfect to eat at before walking to the park for an afternoon ballgame.
Outside of Scottsdale, Crowley touted Phoenix’s Little Miss Barbeque — it’s worth the long wait, he said — or Adduct Burger — “the best burger in Phoenix.”
In Scottsdale, he highlighted a karaoke bar named Grape Vine or Boondocks Bar, which he called the best place to watch the NCAA basketball tournaments that coincide with spring training.
Fans — some with South Korean flags — vie for autographs from San Francisco Giants Jung Hoo Lee and David Villar before a spring training baseball game earlier this month.
The federal government will make it easier to distribute methadone to patients suffering from opioid-use disorder, but California must follow suit before The City can…
Majority of voters supported Mayor London Breed’s ballot measure to boost the downtown economy
How to land autographs
Of course, one of the main allures of spring training is the unparalleled access it gives fans to major leaguers or up-and-coming prospects.
“It’s the happiest players will be all year,” Crowley said. “Even stars will carve out time to sign autographs. Your best bet if you want your kids to have that experience is to do it during spring training.”
“It’s the most fan-friendly environment in all of sports,” he said.
Hardened spring-training attendees know that often the best spots around the stadium to nab an autograph — especially without having to push through crowds — are off the beaten path, such the loading dock where the team bus parks or the players’ parking lot.
Over the last decade, teams have tightened security and made access to such locations limited. Still, the team-sanctioned autograph areas give fans ample opportunities to grab a signature. You just have to know where — and when — to go.
Giants Vice President Sara Grauf said there are several times each day that are best for autographs, depending on if the team is playing a home or road game.
On game days at Scottsdale Stadium, the team reserves a designated autograph area outside the players’ clubhouse, open from 9 to 11 a.m. and 30 minutes after first pitch. The front of the area is reserved for children 14 and under.
To get autographs on the field, she recommended that seekers arrive close to when gates open two hours before first pitch, which is roughly when players are finishing batting practices and will be walking off the field.
Crowley said his best tip for both autographs and player interaction is to hang around the outfield bullpen, where the bulk of Giants pitchers spend their time during games.
“They’re already happy, because like they get to pitch that day,” he said. “Just any guy who’s down in the bullpen, if you’re out on the lawn, strike up a conversation. It’s a great place to talk to major-league players or get autographs. That’s where I remember I got [World Series champion manager] Joe Madden’s autograph when I was 6, and he was the [then-Anaheim] Angels bullpen coach at the time.”
But when the team is playing a road game, Crowley and Grauf highly encouraged fans to attend the team’s free open workouts at Scottsdale Stadium, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting as long as 90 minutes. Crowley said those workouts feature smaller crowds than a typical game day and provide plenty of opportunities for signatures.
“Everybody’s excited to be getting back to baseball, and you can feel it,” Grauf said. “It’s a great environment out there. What we strive for is approachable, accessible, and making sure that everybody can just come out and have a very relaxed, good time to kick off the season. Our players do a great job of conveying that as well.
What to do around Scottsdale
Spring training coincides with one of the most temperate seasons in Scottsdale, which feature sun-splashed 70- to-75-degree days and provide San Franciscans an excuse to escape the foggy chill and bask in the Arizona daylight.
“The best thing about coming during spring-training season is the weather, because your options are just unlimited in terms of if you want to be dining outside or doing things outside,” Dicksen said. “You have your pick of things to do.”
There are dozens of hiking trails, golf courses, shopping areas, spas, wine-tasting venues and more than 800 restaurants in and around the city.
Dicksen specifically endorsed hiking, mountain biking or horseback riding along the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a 30,000 acre parcel of the Sonoran Desert with more than 225 trails.
Crowley also recommended visiting other ballparks outside of Scottsdale, which often provide cheaper and less-crowded venues to watch the Giants play.
“Try to see more than just Scottsdale Stadium, because there’s so much that spring training has to offer,” Crowley said.
