A few tourists line up for tickets as the mid-morning temperature climbs toward 25 Celsius. Another spring training has begun. And there's not a Blue Jay in sight. To find the Jays and their February camp followers, you have to follow streets named Patricia, Virginia and Keene, then turn right onto Solon and slow down when you see the cars lined up between the no-parking signs on the grassy shoulder. This is the Cecil P. Englebert Recreational Complex, where there are three diamonds, two of which are in use by the major-league team.
Some fans find shade from the searing sun in the third-base dugout.
Next week, when the exhibition games start, the big club will pack up and move to Dunedin Stadium, leaving Englebert for the imminent influx of the minor-league players. The Blue Jays pay for the upkeep of Englebert year around, even though it's used by the community on summer evenings. Ideally, the prospects should soak up the ambience and work ethic of major-league camp. Instead, the big-league atmosphere is like a glow on the horizon rather than a dream they can almost touch. That's not a big factor for GM Gord Ash, however.