The list of Grapefruit League stadiums left for me to visit has been shrinking fast.  All that’s left are those that are far away (Hellooooooo, Mets!) and those that don’t sound very appealing.  There is actually only one on that ugly list.  And here I am.  Champion Stadium is the name of this park and it’s located in scenic Disney World.  Yep, the Atlanta Braves chose this place. I’m sure somebody in a very nice suit had at least one compelling reason to have a baseball stadium in a non-baseball corporate theme park. I can’t imagine what it was but I bet it has something to do with money vs. soul.

At first, I thought my buddy Camp was joking when he said that the park was IN Disney World.  He was not joking because I am here looking at Goofy, the Braves mascot.  I cannot abide this.  There are many things I cannot abide around here.  How about a list?

1.  Goofy as mascot.

2.  A fairly thin program that costs more than the thick Yankees program.

3.  There are no Braves fans here. Anyone else find that odd?

4.  There are not so many baseball fans here.  Many are too young to know what they are. They are still high on Mickey.  The fact the family is here at all must be a concession to dad, at best.

5.  Even though the parking is free, it’s in the next county. You are robbed of great amounts of anticipatory joy just by schlepping from your car to the stadium.

6.  The court of flags in the left field berm boasts the colorful flags of great teams like Alamo, HP, Chaquita and Jif Peanut Butter. I wish this were a joke. I guess it is, but the joke is on the fans. Unless you are that special type of fan that really like cheering for rental car companies. REMEMBER THE ALAMO WHEN YOU NEED A CAR!

7. Disney imagery and iconography is forced on top of sacred baseball imagery and iconography.

And yet, even though I am typing while the Blue Jays are batting, I have been having a good time…almost. The staff are the absolute friendliest of all the parks. The water is only double the normal price (instead of the stand up triple they usually hit you with) and the kind and alert senior citizen employees encourage you to fill up your empty bottle at the water fountain. One attendant let me know my sunscreen was not completely rubbed into my nose.  Everybody there wants you to enjoy yourself, even if you are holding grudges against Goofy.

And yes, I still hold such a grudge.

But here is where they won me over. Before the game, the Atlanta Saxophone Group came out and played actual music. Wonderful, human, non-computerized, music. They played it well and it replaced much recently lost joy in a mere flash.  I don’t know whose idea this was, but this was a wonderful pre-game experience devoid of the corporate overload from every direction. In fact, it served as a powerful antidote. I should book them a gig at the airport hotel.

Again, I don’t know who thought of adding a sax quartet for entertainment-  but I’m damned sure it wasn’t the robot that suggested making the stadium in the middle of a theme park and then throw in, for good measure, Goofy as the mascot.

Play ball.  Next time, though, somewhere else, please.