Game #6 GameThread: Rockies @ Jays
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Addison Barger #47 of the Toronto Blue Jays runs the bases during the third inning of a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park on February 27, 2026 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by Mark Taylor/Getty Images) | Getty Images We are at the end of the first home stand. After the game the Jays will be on their way to Chicago for three games with the White Sox.
This is a weekday afternoon game. And it is school day at the ballpark. I was there for a school day and they were handing out decks of playing cards with little child safety messages on them.
Of course, I’m a jerk and I said, ‘Look at this, they are giving out packages of cigarettes for the children. You gotta start them young. ’ Of course the young person handing them out very quickly and loudly corrected me, but I continued on (because no one can run a bad joke into the ground like me).
‘If you want to get kids hooked on smoking, you gotta start them when they are young’. I’m always surprised when they let me into places. Of course, getting the kids into gambling is likely as bad as getting them into smoking.
If they are giving out those cards this year, make sure to teach the kids how to play black jack. Tell them to ask their parents for some money first. And I should be in Sakata, Japan today, which looks like a lovely area.