Sunday, March 23, 2008

Spring Baseball Tour Stop: Port St. Lucie And The Mets

The Tour de Spring Training also made a stop in Port St. Lucie, home of the New York Mets since 1988 after they moved from good ol' St. Pete's Al Lang Field. The Mets play at Tradition Field, which is named after the famous Fiddler on the Roof song.

Only kidding folks. Tradition is a planned-ise community in west west west Port St. Lucie, which is the state's biggest geographic city with the exception of Jacksonville. Let's just say Port St. Lucie is a helluva sprawling city.

I guess anything older than a few years in Florida can constitute a "Tradition." Which is why the New York Mets' spring training stadium goes by Tradition Field, named after a nearby planned use community by the same name in the way Celebration is. It used to be called Thomas J. White Stadium, when St. Lucie County built it for the Mets in 1988. Really, what's up with town names in Florida like Tradition and Celebration?


Orange and blue might mean Gator colors here in Florida. But back in New York, it means only one things -- Mets logo gear.


The location of this ball park is out on a new suburban sprawl like tract in west Port St. Lucie, which doesn't lend well to bicyclists. I saw only these two.




When I told this fella that Pedro Martinex's number 45 was also worn by a popular Met by the name of Tug McGraw, he was stupified.


This country has no shortage of hats to choose from. Here's just a slice at Mets spring stadium store.


Former popular Met Rusty Staub is an author, too.

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