I've avoided publicly taking sides on the Mesa vs. Naples thing.
But with the decision wrapping up, I have to make a confession. I wanted Naples to win the bid.
Now, before I go into why I felt this way, I need to defend my decision not to say anything in the first place.
I pretty much felt this way the first time anything was said about Naples late last year. For me, as I have said in the past, the most important thing is for the Cubs to have the best spring training facility in baseball...a facility that would give them an advantage...a facility that would help attract the best players. And the ultimate goal was to win a World Series. Whether it is Mesa or Naples, the what is best for the team was most important.
People tell me that if I have a blog, it is important to be controversial. This taking this position on this topic would seem to be rather controversial with the majority of fans wanting to stay in Mesa (and a significant number of blogs supporting that stance). Why didn't I say anything in support of Naples? Well, for a number of reasons....
I have been to spring training once in my life...and that was over 20 years ago and I was not quite in high school at that point (so I was quite young). That isn't enough time for me to really comment on the whole spring training experience. I also don't know enough about Naples or that particular area of Florida to comment much about what they might be able to all offer since as my last trip to that side of Florida was 16 years ago when I was in college.
I also know that there is a very passionate group of Cub fans in Mesa, and a passionate number of Cub fans who support Mesa. And the truth is, I didn't feel that passionately about the situation. I felt it would be wrong for me to try to convince others to take the same stance as mine on this subject when I could harm a lot of people who support the team in Mesa (assuming the 4 people who read this blog were super influential) and make other feel a certain way when I myself didn't have the appropriate expertise to comment on the subject.
So, I chose to just cover the debate as an observer.
Why did I want Naples?
Well, the first and most simple reason was this...in 60 some odd years at Mesa the Cubs have won a total ZERO National League Pennants.
Look, the statistic of 13 of the 16 World Series winners having spring training in Florida was a bit glaring.
Ok, so that's out there...but that doesn't mean Naples is better. But I honestly believe that the crappy competition in the Cactus League has hurt them. It's gotten better, but, I'm sorry, the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals beat up on each other each spring and seem to be alright more times than not. Having the best spring training facility in baseball is nice, but so would having the best spring training competition!
Then there is the distance issue. Am I the only person who feels that being a little further away from all the other teams isn't a bad thing? I know is sounds stupid, but I really think some of those long bus rides actually add to team chemistry. Now, team chemistry isn't nearly as important in baseball as other sports, but I would argue is still has an important role on a baseball team. To add to that, in my opinion, the Phoenix area has become too cluttered with ball teams in the spring. I like the idea of the Cubs being a bit more isolated away from everyone else...and it would give them a bit more ownership over the city they are in. The Cubs basically kept the Cactus League alive for years. And now it is thriving. But with all the new teams that have moved into the Phoenix area, the Cubs dominance as far as fan-dom is going to drop (especially with the Dodgers in town now). Wouldn't it be nice for the Cubs to have a large community all to themselves? Another thing to keep in mind is that Mesa has talked about trying to attract another team to move into the Cubs existing facilities once they move out...whether it was to Naples our to outer parts of Mesa. Ick.
Then comes the weather argument. Obviously you will have more rain delays and rain outs in Florida. Is this really that bad of a thing? It affects the ability to evaluate some of the players...but for teams like that Cubs, I argue that spring training is almost too long? Having games rained out I don't think is that bad. Why? The Cubs are a high revenue team that builds its roster around mostly veteran players whose roster spots are already determined. This is different than smaller revenue teams who tend to have more competition for all of their roster spots each spring. The grind of spring training in a hot environment like Arizona may have a negative affect on the team in the long run, especially adding to all the day games the Cubs play in the summer. Having games rained out in Florida I think might actually be beneficial.
Ok, so those are my unselfish reasons Naples...now for my selfish argument.
As I said, I haven't been to either of those areas, Arizona and the west coast of Florida, for many, many years. I have every intention of making a trip to spring training next year, and many more times in the future. But for me, I feel like I could plan a better family vacation which revolved around Naples than I can around Mesa. I'm sure all the Mesa supporters out there can tell me of all the wonderful things to do around Phoenix. Sorry, I just don't buy it. (And, no, Las Vegas doesn't count!)
Well, there you have it. My dirty little secret.
