JUPITER, Fla. _ When last Dexter Fowler reported to spring training he was part of an elaborate scheme that had Cubs manager Joe Maddon vamping for time on the mound.
Surrounded by the entire roster and trying to divert the players' attention from Fowler's entrance, Maddon, at one point, started musing when they would all shave their head that spring. A few days earlier, news leaked that Fowler had signed with Baltimore, leaving many of his Cubs teammates to believe their Dex was gone, flocked to the Orioles. In truth, he was about to sign a one-year deal to return to the Cubs, and so an elaborate surprise was hatched.
There was no such stagecraft Sunday.
Fowler arrived without ceremony during the last sleepy Sunday at the Cardinals' spring training facility. He carried a bag, sported a white shirt with red details, and wore Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses. His purpose for reporting early _ five days before position players must lace up _ was pretty much the opposite of what he experienced last spring. Normality.
"Get a chance to get my feet under me, instead of jumping right out there," Fowler said. "I'm excited. I'm excited to meet the guys, and excited to be down here. I'm excited to get this going. I like to get down here, see the fields, know exactly where I'm at. And I'm on West Coast time, so I'm trying to shave back the hours _ slowly."
Cardinals pitchers and catchers must report that they are in the Jupiter, Fla., area by sometime Monday evening, and their first official workout will be Tuesday on the back fields of Roger Dean Stadium. The team will fan out to all of the fields Friday for the first official workout of spring training. One of the first things Fowler did Sunday after dropping his bag at his locker in the clubhouse was to take a tour of the facility.
One of the team's batting practice pitchers drove Fowler around in a golf cart to give him a sense of the campus' layout. He got to see some of the additions to the fields _ new bullpens built closer to the practice fields, new structures that will actually keep fans further back from the fields than they have been in the past. Fowler got an orientation on the facility, though it wasn't an introduction.
He had played on the Jupiter fields before.
He'd won there before.
"I was like 16," Fowler said. "High school showcase. We ended up winning. That was the last time I was down here."
A member of the East Cobb (Ga.) juggernaut, Fowler was an all-tournament player for the East Cobb Astros when they won the 2003 Perfect Game/Baseball America World Championship. The championship game in the wood-bat tournament was played at Roger Dean Stadium, the ballpark the Cardinals share with the Miami Marlins. Fowler was one of the top 15 prospects in his class, and he was almost a year away from forgoing a commitment to the University of Miami to sign with Colorado as a 14th-round pick.
Later Sunday, Fowler wrote on Twitter that he "got goosebumps" at the facility.
The nine-year veteran will have two more weeks of spring training than he had a year ago, and that, he said, will allow him to ease in and accelerate out. Early on he wants to find his eyes _ getting a feel for fly balls off the bat and fastballs out of the fingers. When he hits on the field this week it will be the first time he's hit outside, after swinging away in a batting cage in Las Vegas all offseason.
"I'm big on working my way in and toward the end ramp it up a little bit," Fowler said. "Right now, it's all to get my eyes trained and my body trained. Fly balls and that whole nine. It's hard to replicate balls off the bat in the offseason to get out here and do that is awesome."
After his tour of the fields and facility, Fowler spent time talking with general manager John Mozeliak and several of the coaches who were present Sunday. Mike Shildt, the team's new quality control coach, and pitching coach Derek Lilliquist were around campus, and Fowler got a chance to talk with John Mabry, whom he knew when they were together in Colorado. The coaches were not surprised to see him.
The setup a year ago for Fowler's return to the Cubs was all part of the bet he made on himself and that team. Fowler had turned down a qualifying offer to try free agency, and then saw the draft-pick penalty attached him chill his market. Recognizing he'd start for the Cubs and that the Cubs could win, Fowler returned to them on a one-year, $8 million deal that included an option. He was banking on having a standout year for a standout team that would slingshot him into free agency again, this time with a tailwind.
He declined the $9 million mutual option on his deal and found exactly what he hoped. A robust market included a Cardinals team that saw him as their chief free-agent target. They upped their offer and added a fifth year to land him for $82.5 million.
There was no keeping that deal quiet.
So Fowler arrived Sunday without fanfare, without subterfuge, but with a bounce.
"I'm going to be myself," he said, waving to fans and promising to swing by to sign autographs. "I'm going to be myself here and see where it takes me. It should be fun."
