A Girl's Guide to Packing for Spring Training

Now that I have my game tickets, flights, hotel, and rental car, it's time for the next annual Spring Training prep event: Deciding what to pack. This really distills down to two hard questions: (1) Which of my many Astros caps to take to Kissimmee this year? (2) What Astros-themed shirts to pack?

Caps: I'm not sure how many Houston baseball caps I own. I don't collect them exactly; they just seem to have multiplied over the years, hiding in closets and drawers all over the house. I have the usual authentic regulation game caps, as well as retro ones (Houston Buffs, Colt 45s, hideous orange, etc.) and special commemoratives (World Series). But for some reason, for Spring Training I usually end up wearing my Hebrew Astros cap, a gift from a friend who found it at Cooperstown. I think part of the attraction is the likelihood that no one else at Osceola County Stadium will be wearing the same cap. (It's a girl thing.) What I never wear in Kissimmee: Astros Spring Training hats. I only buy two items in the stadium gift shop every year: A new Spring Training hat (about $25) and a Media Guide ($10). I never ever wear these hats - they are all still in their plastic bags. But I devour the Media Guide.

Shirts: Before Spring Training 2006, I created three home-made Spring Training T-shirts, using pictures I'd taken the previous year - two featuring Jeff Bagwell and one with Craig Biggio. I'm thinking of making a new one for this year - maybe something with pictures of the few Astros who remain from last year, and on the back a plug for my website - www.AstrosFanInExile.com. I also have two new shirts, both gifts: One is a custom Astros pinstripe jersey, imprinted with my name and the family good-luck number: LILLY 18. (The number "18," written in Hebrew, spells "life" - as in, Still Alive in October.) That shirt was a birthday gift from my brother Joel, a Mariners fan. The other is a Craig Biggio T-shirt that was a give-away at a game on of his Goodbye Games last year, sent to me by a friend of my Aunt Mimi's. The friend is neither size XL nor a baseball fan, and had heard of my affection for the team from my aunt. With a week-long stay in Kissimmee to pack for, these all go in the suitcase.

I have learned over the years that you can buy nearly anything you want or need in the Orlando area, so you might as well pack light. Aside from the hats and shirts, I really only need to pack the essentials: game tickets, camera and spare battery, laptop, and my Astros Spring Training Notebook, full of notes and stats. But I'm thinking about taking the Jeff Bagwell bobblehead this year - he's never been to Spring Training.