By A Treasure Coast essay by Paul Janensch
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wqcs/local-wqcs-953596.mp3
Fort Pierce, FL – Batter up! Major League Baseball spring training is under way once again on and near the Treasure Coast. The Dodgers are gone from Dodgertown. In fact, there is no Dodgertown any more in Vero Beach. The complex is now the Vero Beach Sports Village. It's operated by Minor League Baseball as a sports training and meeting facility. But four major league teams still have spring training in our area. They are the last four teams on Florida's east coast. The New York Mets are in Port St. Lucie at Digital Domain Park, re-named last year for the visual effects and animation company that is developing studios here. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins are both at Roger Dean Stadium, the only facility in Florida to host two spring training teams. It's in Jupiter, just south of the Treasure Coast. The Washington Nationals are at SpaceCoast Stadium in Viera, just north of the Treasure Coast. At least they are for a while. Last year, the Nationals said they were considering a move to a spring training site in Florida or Arizona that is closer to other teams. All three stadiums are easily accessed off I-95. When I'm up at our home in Connecticut, I root for New England, not New York, teams. But down here I'm a Mets fan through and through. I'll see you at Digital Domain Park. Play ball!
Treasure Coast essayist Paul Janensch was a newspaper editor and taught journalism at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.