Couple plans to hit 13 Spring Training Florida ballparks in 13 days

Author: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:

It’s safe to say Maralin and Joe Fritz from Tucson, Arizona are passionate baseball fans.

“If you cut us, you’ll see baseballs coming out,” Joe said. “Runs through our blood. We love baseball.”

So much so, they traveled the country last year to visit all 30 Major League ballparks. They captured each visit with a selfie. With one challenge complete, they set off on the new one this year.

“We decided that we wanted to do the Grapefruit League,” Maralin said. “So we’re spending the next two weeks going to all the stadiums.”

“I love doing logistics,” Joe explained. “I pulled down the entire schedule and I tried to figure out how we can do it in the most compressed time. So we have 13 stadiums in 13 days.”

Maralin said the reason for this trip was, “I’m an ovarian cancer survivor and I just got my three year cancer free. So this is our celebration.”

As Maralin received treatment, the game served a greater purpose.

“She got cancer right smack in the middle of the pandemic, which made it twice as difficult,” Joe explained. “But to see her have something to really look forward to, each of the sixty games they played helped me a lot because I knew that she had something that meant a lot to her.”

The husband and wife of almost 17 years want to see as much as they can. After starting at Hammond Stadium with the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, their second stop was JetBlue Park on Sunday, as the Boston Red Sox hosted the Twins.

“I could not believe the size of this place,” Maralin answered.

I joined them pregame as they visited all the sights such as the Ted Williams statue. They stopped by the team store to grab a souvenir magnet. And once in the ballpark, they got their first Spring Training game certificate.

After some more selfies, they saw the field for the first time. Maralin told Joe, “all that’s missing is the city view.”

Joe responded, “And the cold weather.”

“We went to Fenway in April of last year and froze to death,” Maralin recalled. “It was so cold.”

The two quickly made some friends, who even helped them secure a ball, to add to their growing collection.

For Joe, this trip is more than just crossing ballparks off the list.

“I enjoy spending time with my wife,” Joe explained. “I think that’s probably the most important thing to me.”

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