As usual, Spring Training means a trip to Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ for a Rangers vs Mariners spring training game.  Surprise is on the west side of Phoenix, so it is about 50 miles away - but we went on a Sunday afternoon so traffic was moving right along.  Why the Mariners - because Dave likes to tease his brother Bob, who lives south of Seattle, when the Rangers win and Bob loves to get back at Dave when the Mariners win, as they unfortunately did this day.

One of the things we like to do is look at who’s returning and who’s new.   Here is a picture of the Rangers warming up before the game.

And here are the Mariners warming up.  As you can see, we are right behind the screen protecting us from foul balls.   We were 4 rows up right behind home plate.     

And here is one of our favorite players - Elvis Andrus.  We have followed Elvis since he joined the Rangers and watched him grow from a young, cocky, player to a team leader - but still with a sense of fun about him.

Another young player that we watch is Nomar Mazzara.  

And Joey Gallo is now at first base, replacing Mitch Moreland.   I still miss Mitch, but Gallo is showing improvement.

And we can’t forget Roughned Odor, always trying for that extra base.

And finally, just a couple of pictures that kind of reflect us:

And then there is just me: