CINCINNATI -- Tuesday morning's temperature was still in the 20s at 10 o'clock. It was a good day to back up a trailer into the dock area at Great American Ball Park, close up the big garage doors and fill the trailer with warm thoughts. And baseballs, bats and all kinds of other equipment needed for spring training.
When it's sub-freezing outside, it's good to think baseball.
Reds' pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., in eight days. Position players have to report the following week. They begin playing Cactus League games on March 3, with Opening Day on April 6 against Pittsburgh at GABP. Tuesday morning the Reds' crew of clubhouse and equipment personnel loaded up the essentials to be transported more than 1,800 miles so the players can get down to business when they arrive.
"We try to skid everything up, wrap it up well in advance just to get it ready to go so we have an idea and plenty of time to figure out how much space, how tight to pack it," said assistant equipment manager and occasional National Anthem singer Josh Stewart. "Even though all offseason we're planning and doing stuff like that, this is the symbolic start of getting everything ready to go."
The truck is scheduled to depart Wednesday morning and it is expected to arrive at the team's training complex on Saturday. According to distanceonline.com, the road trip is 1,824 miles.
