In his next life Keith Washenfelder could be an MLB scout.
Washenfelder has been to so many MLB stadiums, he's travelled almost as much as some of the players themselves.
Not too many people have spent as much time around both the professionals themselves or the young prospects looking to become professionals as he has.
The Yorkton car salesman spends a couple of months each year taking in all the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball's various spring training camps throughout the state of Arizona.
Spring training gives both coaches and fans a glimpse of some of the youngest and most talented baseball players in North America while most of them are still in school.
He said that the weather in Arizona is what makes it perfect for baseball, and the population of nearly 6.6 million shows that there is plenty of interest all over the state in baseball.
Arizona cities that host spring training camps include Mesa, Phoenix, Chandler, Goodyear, Glendale, Tempe and Scottsdale.
He said the level of talent in baseball in the USA is second to none from what he's seen.
"This is about three classes higher that I saw in Arizona. One of the top colleges is Arizona State."
In what half of professional baseball's teams use as their 'spring' home, Arizona becomes quite the hot spot for baseball fans, namely Yorkton's Washenfelder.
It's also a pretty good time to make some use of his new home which he uses while he takes in spring training.
Fifteen pro ball clubs head to the state of Arizona each year to scout their various prospects and work on the task of forming their clubs for each forthcoming season.
He has been making a habit of heading to the Grand Canyon state in order to see some of the USA's best young baseball players compete for spots on any one of MLB's 26 clubs.
"That's how you develop ball players," he says. "You can develop some very good players (down there)."
It probably seems like the whole world makes a two-month stop in there each and every spring.Maybe not the whole world but there's at least one local guy who seems to enjoy packing up the bags and heading to his spring home down in Arizona to partake in spring training.
Those teams are the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cincinnati Reds.
Washenfelder said he had the opportunity to meet several former pros who were currently in their college careers before making the move to the MLB.
His various signature collection and photograph collection is proof he may be one of the biggest collectors of pro baseball memorabilia.
Washenfelder said it's interesting to be in the middle of baseball's hotbed while coming from Yorkton, a city whose top club has made a name for itself based partly on its habit of recruiting some of these players to come up north to Canada for their summer vacation.
Washenfelder's also used the time to collect his numerous player signatures, none more recognizable than a Willie Mays autographed baseball.
With so many pro baseball teams conducting their spring training in Arizona, it should come as no surprise that the Arizona State Sun Devils have one of the most successful college baseball programs in the country.
The Sun Devils, the nickname given to the University's many sports clubs, have won five national championships at the Division I level, the highest level available within the nation. Their title wins are the fourth most by any American school and they have won the third most College World Series titles with 61.
Notable baseball alumni from Arizona State University include former San Francisco Giants home run champion Barry Bonds, Paul Lo Duca, Rick Monday, Fernando Vina, current Boston Red Sox slugger Dustin Pedroia, Mike Leake, Andre Ethier, Willie Bloomquist, Ian Kinsler, Bob Horner, Sal Bondo, Ike Davis, Hubie Brooks and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.
Among the rest of Washenfelder's meeting, including Jackson, are Fergie Jenkins (Texas Rangers), Reggie Jackson (New York Yankees), Mike Scioscia, Don Zimmer, David Ortiz, Lou Piniella, Sammy Sosa and Willie Randolph, Ron Gidrey, Jim Persol, Minnie Medosa, Bill Buckner, Joe Black, Cal Griffiths, Ralph Folk, Brady Little, Gene Mack, and George FosterMajor League Baseball parks he's been to include: Safeco Field in Seattle, Los Angeles/Anaheim, Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Fenway Park in Boston, Shea Stadium (New York Mets), The old Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees), Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays), Oakland Coliseum, Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox), Tiger Stadium (Detroit).
