Ponce De Leon Park

Punta Gorda, Florida: On the edge of Punta Gorda lies this ten acre park on the shores of Charlotte Harbor. Ponce De Leon Park is also thought to be the site where Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon came ashore on the west cost of Florida.

Ponce De Leon initially came ashore in this area in 1513 while exploring the west coast of Florida. After skirmishes with the native Indian tribes, Ponce De Leon set sail to continue his explorations.

In 1521, Ponce De Leon set sail again for Florida, this time in an attempt to establish a colony. The expedition consisted over 200 men, animals and farming tools. The ships reached Charlotte Harbor and work began to colonize the region. However, they were once again attacked by Calusa Indians and Ponce De Leon was struck by a poisoned arrow. The colonist left the area enroute to Cuba was De Leon later died.

Today the site of the landings is a city park. There are several statues and monuments commemorating De Leon. There is also a 1/4 mile raised boardwalk nature trail through the wetlands and mangroves, fishing piers, a beach and more amenities. The park is also home to the Peace River Wildlife Center, a non-profit animal rescue facility.

For more photos, click on the photo above or visit my Ponce De Leon Park photo page.

Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates played eleven innings at Charlotte Sports Park before declaring Sunday’s spring training a tie 7-7.

The Rays scored first in the bottom of the third inning. Shawn Riggans, Adam Kennedy and Justin Ruggiano all singled to load the bases. Carl Crawford drove home the first run of the inning with a ground ball to first. Gabe Kapler then drove home Kennedy with an RBI single to left, giving Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh cut the lead in half in the sixth inning. Andrew McCutchen tripled to center lead of the inning. McCutchen then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Tabata to pull the Pirates within a run of the lead.

The Pirates took the lead in the seventh inning. Andy LaRoche tied the game with a solo home run to left field. Brian Bixler followed with a triple to center. Bixler later scored on a ground ball by Jason Jaramillo to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.

Tampa Bay tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning on a solo home run by Reid Brignac.

The Rays posted a big inning in the eighth to take the lead, striking for three runs in the inning. Ray Sadler led off the inning with a double to right field. Sadler then moved closer to home by stealing third. Eliot Johnson followed with an RBI single to score Sadler. Johnson then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Willy Aybar drove Johnson home with a single to third. Aybar later scored on an RBI double by Tim Beckham to give the Rays a 7-3 lead.

The Pirates tied the game in the eighth inning courtesy of two long balls. Pedro Alvarez delivered a three run homer to bring the Bucs within a run of the lead. The very next batter Garrett Jones belted a solo home run to tie the game.

The clubs dueled through the tenth and eleventh innings without a run crossing the plate and the game was declared a tie.

For more photos from the game, visit by Rays/Pirates game gallery.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Pirates are a major league baseball team from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League. The Pirates are five time world series champions.

Although the region has sported a professional baseball teams since 1876, it wasn’t until 1882 for an organized a sanctioned team. The Allegheny, was formed and played games in the American Association.

In 1887, the team transferred into the National League and changed their name to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. The team saw a major abandonment in 1890 as the majority of the players left the team for the American Association. This led the team to the worst season n franchise history, 23-113.

The team reorganized under new ownership and they worked to resign the players that left earlier. They also picked up Lou Bierbauer from the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association. Bierbauer was left off the reserve list of the Athletics and Pittsburgh signed him. This led to an complaint filed by the official of the American Associations, calling the act “piratical”. The claim was unfounded but it led to the club being renamed the Pirates.

The Pirates began to rebuild and put a very competitive team on the field in the early 1900’s. They won National League Pennant three years in a row from 1901-1903. They played in the first ever sanctioned World Series in 1903, losing to Boston. They later won their first World Series title in 1909, defeating the Detroit Tigers. The Pirated won the World Series again in 1925.

The following few years saw the opposite end of the spectrum with the Pirates struggling and in 1952 had the worst records in league history (42-112). The club continued to struggle.

The team was sold to John Galbreath and the road to the top began. The first order of business was to hire Branch Rickey to be the club’s general manager. Rickey had a track record of building dynasties in his past assignments by building from the ground up. He released the high salary players and replaced them with young rookies. By the later 1950’s the team was made up of mostly young players including Roberto Clemente. By 1960, the plan worked and the Pirates brought home another World Series title.

In 1971, the Pirates made history once again. On September 1, 1971 the Pirates fielded an entire black starting lineup. This was the first time in major league history that a white player was not in the starting lineup.

Then came the darkest day in Pittsburgh Pirates history. On December 31, 1972 an airplane carrying relief supplies to Nicaragua crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico. Roberto Clemente was killed in the crash. Clemente just reached his 3,000 hit milestone a few month before the crash which ended up being his final hit of his career. Clemente was honored by an immediate induction into the Hall of Fame.

Pittsburgh continued to field a successful club to close out the 70’s, finishing near the top of the division and winning the pennant again in 1979. They then faced the Orioles in the World series, defeating them and bringing home their fifth World Series title.

However, like before, the good years were followed by bad years. The 80’s saw the Pirates plummet in the standings despite having quality players on the roster. The Pirates failed to but up successful win/loss records despite having the Killer B’s on the team, Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds.

The Pirates pulled themselves out of the basement to begin the 1990’s. The club one the division title during the first three seasons of the decades (90-93). Following the season, they rebuilt the team, releasing the veterans and promoting the rookies. The Pirates have not seen a winning season since the rebuilt, leading to the longest losing streak in professional sports.

Over the history of the franchise, the club has played in six different stadiums. Exposition Park I (1882-1883), Recreation Park (1884-1890), Exposition Park II (1891-1909), Forbes Field (1909-1970), Three Rivers Stadium (1970-2000) and currently PNC Park (2001-present). The Pirates currently conduct spring training in Bradenton, Florida with practices held at Pirate City and games played at McKechnie Field.

The Pirates currently have 8 minor league teams in their farm system:

• Indianapolis Indians (AAA, International League)
• Altoona Curve (AA, Eastern League)
• Bradenton (A+, Florida State League)
• West Virginia Power (A, South Atlantic League)
• State College Spikes (A-, New York-Penn League)
• Gulf Coast Pirates (R, Gulf Coast League)
• VSL Pirates (R, Venezuelan Summer League)
• DSL Pirates (R, Dominican Summer League)

The Pirates have 41 players inducted in the Hall of Fame. They have also retired ten jersey numbers;

• 1- Billy Meyer
• 4- Ralph Kiner
• 8- Willie Stargell
• 9- Bill Mazeroski
• 11- Paul Waner
• 20- Pie Traynor
• 21- Roberto Clemente
• 33- Honus Wagner
• 40- Danny Murtaugh
• 42- Jackie Robinson

For more photos of the Pirates from Spring Training in Florida, click the photo above or visit my Pittsburgh Pirates photo page.

Tampa Bay Rays at Cincinnati Reds

Sarasota, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 in spring training action at Ed Smith Stadium on Saturday.

The Rays took the lead in the first inning. Jason Bartlett was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Carl Crawford then singled to right moving Bartlett to second. But Bartlett was lost from the bases after he was doubled off second on a line drive by Evan Longoria. Crawford then moved into scoring position after stealing second. Carlos Pena drove home Crawford with an RBI double to right. Pena later scored on a double by Pat Burrell, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead.

Cincinnati reached the scoreboard in the second inning. Craig Tatum got things going with a single to left. Paul Janish later drove him home with an RBI triple to right, cutting the lead in half 2-1.

Tampa Bay added an insurance run in the fourth inning. Willy Aybar went deep with a solo home run to give the Rays the 3-1 margin of victory.

Scott Kazmir earned his first win of the spring and Wade Davis collected the save. Bronson Arroyo was the losing pitcher for Cincinnati.

For more pictures from the game, visit my Rays/Reds game gallery.

Kidstar Park

Port Charlotte, Florida: Kidstar Park is a children’s amusement attraction located at the Sun Flea Market in Port Charlotte. The park has several children’s rides, go-kart tracks and an indoor amusement area.

The park has several indoor and outdoor attraction. Inside guests can ride a 3-D Motion Simulator, play black light mini golf or play laser tag. Outside there are several rides and attractions including;

• Sun Slide; large slide.
• Airplane; rotary airplane ride.
• Jumping Star; leap frog style ride.
• Carousel
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Balloons; rotary balloon ride.
• Dragon Wagon; family roller coaster.
• Ferris Wheel
• Space Sled; rotary ride.
• Trampoline
• Mine; pan for gold.

Kidstar also has two go-kart tracks, one for children and one for adults. There is also a full service restaurant and video game arcade on site.