MLB's Cactus League is on pace for "perhaps the most successful spring-training season" in its history, according to Parker Leavitt of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The Cactus League had "unofficially drawn more than 1.63 million fans through Saturday, nearing the previous record of 1.73 million" set in '13. Eleven of 15 Cactus League teams "were drawing
more fans per game than last year, while the other four have remained
mostly flat." Multiple ballparks "set new records for single-game attendance this year, including a league-best 15,331 fans" for a Cubs game at Sloan Park in Mesa. The D-backs "broke a team record three times, topped by 13,507 fans on March 22 at Salt River Fields." Ovations Food Services handles concessions at four Cactus League ballparks, and Regional VP Jay Satenspiel said that the company "has seen its sales soar this season." He added that Ovations' projected sales of hot dogs, water and beer for 15 Cubs games are figures that major-league ballparks "don't see" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/30).
SPRING TO ACTION: In Dallas, Evan Grant wrote as a marketing tool for the game, Spring Training "has never been better, but as a prep tool for the championship season, it’s never been worse." Grant: "Spring training is terribly, horribly, utterly broken. It is too long. It is used for experimentation, but not really evaluation. It is an exercise not so much in preparation anymore as it is in trying to avoid attrition." Grant examines the "issues and possible 'solutions,'" including length of the spring season, pitchers and player evaluation (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/29).
