It is perhaps fitting that both of Major League Baseball’s Ohio teams train together in Goodyear. That Arizona city’s relationship with the Buckeye State goes back to 1917. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, with headquarters in Akron, Ohio, purchased 16,000 acres in Arizona on which to grow cotton which was in short supply because of WW I. Cotton was used to make rubber tires for airplanes. Goodyear executive Paul Litchfield made the purchase. Before long, a small community made up of mostly Goodyear employees formed. During WW II, the Litchfield Naval Air Facility and the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation located there and brought as many as 7,500 employees to build Dirigibles, or “blimps.” The town of Goodyear was incorporated in 1946. In the 1980’s, the 10,000 remaining acres from the original Goodyear purchase was sold and turned into the Palm Valley Master-Planned Community, located north of the I-10. Now, each spring, Goodyear becomes Ohio West for six weeks when the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds settle in for spring training.
The Indians, of course, were a charter member of the Cactus League when they set up camp in Tucson in 1947. That same year the New York Giants trained in Phoenix. After the 1992 spring season, the Indians bolted for Florida. After 16 years in Winter Haven, FL, the Tribe rejoined the Cactus League last year relocating to Goodyear. In 2010 the Reds join the Indians in Goodyear after training in Sarasota, FL for the past 12 years.
Goodyear Ballpark FAQs:
The Indians 15 game home schedule starts on Saturday March 6 against the Reds.
The Reds 16 game home schedule starts on Friday, March 5 against the Indians.
Goodyear Ballpark
1933 S. Ballpark Way
Goodyear, AZ 85338
Capacity: 10,311
Dimensions: LF 345’; CF 410’; RF 345’
Tips: The battle of Ohio plays out all spring long in Goodyear with the Reds and Indians meeting six times. They play each other the first two games of the spring and the last two….. On Friday March 5 the Reds play their first-ever Cactus League contest with the Tribe providing the opposition. They also meet for a night game (7:05) on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17—it’s a split squad doubleheader for the Reds who also play Milwaukee at 1:05 in Goodyear that day….. On March 29 Cleveland takes on the Dodgers under the lights (7:05)…The Reds play one other home night game on Friday, March 19 against the Mariners.
Indians in 2009:
Regular Season: 65-97, 5th place, AL Central; ERA 5.06; BA .264; HR 161.
Spring Training: 12-20; ERA 6.00; BA .279; HR 41
Reds in 2009:
Regular Season: 78-84, 4th place, NL Central; ERA 4.18; BA .247; HR 158
Spring Training: 13-20; ERA 4.35; BA .241; HR 28
Historically speaking……
On March 8, 1947 the Cleveland Indians and New York Giants squared off in the first ever spring training game between two Arizona-based teams. Bob Lemon pitched three scoreless innings as the Indians beat the Giants in Tucson in front of 4,934 baseball fans and the Cactus League was born.
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