Gallery : On The Road Again

It’s five weeks to opening day. That means I’ll soon be on the road for my fifth and final season with the Cal. The road is Highway 395. It’s also Highway 99--the league’s main artery--unfolding for miles past small towns like Gorman, Weed Patch and Pumpkin Center.

At the end of each dusty ride is one of 10 Cal stadiums. The action on the field sometimes is overshadowed by the magical atmosphere that surrounds the game: 25-cent-beer nights, souvenir giveaways, crazy mascots and huge barbecue pits.

Part of that magic comes from fortunes made and lost. Salinas was bought for $1 in ’76 and sold for $1 million in ’87. One in 12 players makes it to the majors. One, Fernando Valenzuela, started in now-defunct Lodi, gained fame in L.A. and ended up in Palm Springs.

While players--and fortunes--come and go, the fans stay on. They take solace in the fact that the Cal has been in their back yards for 50 years--and they expect it to stay that way forever.

INSIDE: “The Cal” offers a down-home brand of baseball. E2