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2024 Spring Training Schedule Available
The entire spring training schedule for 2024 was released on July 25. Games begin on February 22, while the final day for them in Arizona and Florida is March 26. Master schedules for all 30 teams are posted on the Schedules page. You can also browse the whole schedule on MLB's site.
Spring Training Connection at Facebook
Stay in the know with all the news that's happening right now by following Spring Training Connection at Facebook, where the latest spring training news, schedules and more can be found.
Spring Training Features
2024 Reporting Dates
Before the games begin, players have to report to camp. To see when pitchers and catchers are due to report and first practices are held for all teams, visit the 2024 Spring Training Reporting Dates page.
A Guide to Attending Spring Training Practice...and Getting Autographs at Them
Proximity to the pros at a price that can't be beat. That sums up the free to attend practice only portion of spring training, during which time autographs are easy to come by and barriers between players and fans are often remarkably minimal. Spring training in February has an ambiance of fan-friendliness that's unmatched in professional sports. To help you bask in it, Graham Knight has compiled a guide with team-by-team listings of where practices are actually held, when you should be there, and the guidelines for getting autographs at them.
Let's Watch Two
Ernie Banks famously said "Let's play two!" and while there are no doubleheaders during spring training there are plenty of opportunities for fans to watch two games in one day. With 71 games scheduled to be played at night in 2023 fans can enjoy a day/night DH at different ballparks. Check out the list of 2023 Spring Training Night Games to plan your creative double dip.
Ticket Guide
The Spring Training Ticket Information Guide covers all the aspects a fan needs to know about for obtaining tickets to attend a game anywhere in Arizona or Florida. From listing on-sale dates to primary and secondary ticket providers, posting box office phone numbers and alerting you to ticketing trends that can drive up, and in some cases down, prices, the ticket guide compiled by Spring Training Connection is full of details and information about the ticket buying process.
Essential Ballpark Information Guide
If you're going to a game at any spring training ballpark in 2018, our Brief Ballpark Info Guide will give you an idea of what to expect concerning parking and ticket prices, gate opening times and other nice to know stuff, like ages kids get in free and whether chairs are allowed in lawn seating. All the info and explanations are a quick read and detail the most typical ballpark FAQs for the 2018 spring training season.
Split Squads Explained
How is it possible for a team to play games in two locations on the same day and generally at the same time? The usage of split squads is the answer. Every team has split squad dates during spring training. Why, what that means, and which players are likely to play where is explained in our page detailing Split Squads During Spring Training.
Tips For Getting Autographs
How do you get autographs in spring training? Joe Connor answers that question. Read his article, How to Get Autographs During Spring Training, to learn about the three important factors autograph seekers must be aware of in their quest.
Things To Do In Arizona and Florida During Spring Training
Fans of all ages have plenty to experience and see in the Grand Canyon and Sunshine States besides watching their favorite team train in their winter home. Joe Connor details a “starting nine” of sports and recreation things to do when you're not at your favorite team’s ballpark.
Spring Training Jobs Guide
For those in search of seasonal employment at a spring training site, our page dedicated to Spring Training Jobs has the lowdown on what to expect and who to contact about positions and possibilities in Arizona and Florida for 2019.
Spring Training Leases
Following the Braves' departure from the Orlando area to North Port in 2019, every team will possess a lease agreement to keep them training in their present place for a while, as recent extensions signed by the Blue Jays and Brewers mean that only one team now has a lease that expires before 2025 -- the Phillies' pact in Clearwater is up in 2023. The year in which leases expire for each team is listed on our Spring Training Leases page.
Planning For Spring Training
What do you need to know before you go? Joe Connor helps you answer that question in his article, 5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Planning Your Spring Training Trip.
Extended Spring Training Guide
Extended spring training games don't draw a lot of fans but are a very fan-friendly experience: admission is free and so is parking at the team complexes where the games are always played in daylight hours from early April through early June. If interested in attending the games so few people even know about, read our Extended Spring Training Guide, which is really the only one of its kind.
Spring Training History
2019 Spring Training Results
Spring training games began on February 21 and finished this year on March 26 in Arizona and Florida. You can visit the master schedule for the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues to view the score and attendance of all games played in 2019.
Spring Training Sites of World Series Teams
Shockingly, more teams have advanced to the World Series after training in Cuba than in Sarasota, from which no team has ever embarked on a championship run despite 86 years of trying. To see where the World Series winners have wintered (and the runner-ups too), we've listed the city/states where all 114 Fall Classic participants held their Spring Training camps, breaking the list down into two eras: 1947 to present, and 1903-1946. That split was chosen because 1947 was the first year that teams permanently set up camp in Arizona. Since that groundbreaking spring training, the only states to send their trainees to the World Series are Arizona and Florida; prior to '47 the finalists came from 10 states.
2020 Spring Training Recap
All spring training of 2020 will ever be remembered for was its sudden cessation on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic wiped out 177 games that were to be played from March 12-24, as 89 games were cancelled in Arizona and 88 games were cancelled in Florida.
Originally, 479 games were scheduled to be played in the two states over the duration of spring training, so the worldwide health emergency was responsible for cancelling 37% of the combined Cactus and Grapefruit league schedules.
Among the 302 games that were not lost to the pandemic, ten more were cancelled due to bad weather. Just two games were rained out in Florida. Nine games were washed out in Arizona, although one of them was rescheduled and played.
So, overall, 292 games were played in spring training ballparks in 2020 over a 21-day span that began on February 21 and stopped suddenly on March 12. On that fateful date, six afternoon games in Florida were played to completion before eight later games (one in Florida, seven in Arizona) became the first coronavirus-caused cancellations.
The 292 games were hosted in 23 ballparks in Arizona and Florida that combined to sell 1,813,711 tickets, which means the average attendance for a spring training game in 2020 was 6,211.
In the Cactus League, 139 games were played by 15 teams in 10 ballparks. Total attendance was 911,891, an average of 6,560 per game.
In the Grapefruit League, 153 games were played by 15 teams in 13 ballparks. Total attendance was 901,820, an average of 5,894 per game.
The final tally in Florida included the 18,592 tickets that were sold to watch four Major League squads take on collegiate/non-MLB teams. If strictly including only games played between MLB teams at regular spring training ballparks, then the Grapefruit League drew 883,228 fans to 149 games for a 5,928 average.
As usual, the Cubs were the top ranked team at the gate, both in total (125,363) and average (12,536) attendance, and drew the single largest spring training game crowd (16,095 on March 6). The Reds were responsible for the smallest crowd, which was the 2,041 they drew to Goodyear Ballpark on February 24.
Had it not been for the pandemic, the $299 million spent to benefit the Blue Jays, Braves and Mets would've been the biggest storyline of 2020, as that was the combined cost of the three teams' new and upgraded Florida-based facilities.
North Port officially became the Braves' new spring training home in 2020 after $140 million was used to build CoolToday Park and its associated training facilities. Meanwhile, both the Blue Jays ($102 million) and Mets ($57 million) were the recipients of major renovations to their longtime spring training homes, which also resulted in their ballparks being rebranded with new corporate monikers. Thus, the Blue Jays unveiled TD Ballpark in Dunedin while the Mets' place in Port St. Lucie became Clover Park.
2020 Attendance Rankings
(home games only, ranked by per game average)
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2020 Grapefruit League Standings
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2020 Cactus League Standings
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"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."
- Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby
"It's the fans that need spring training. You gotta get 'em interested. Wake 'em up and let 'em know that their season is coming, the good times are gonna roll.”
- Harry Caray