The trucks have been packed, shipped east or west and unloaded. Players have assembled from all over the globe.
And the gates are now open for fans to engage in a timeless ritual: Spring training baseball begins Feb. 20.
With workouts for all 30 teams underway and games soon to begin in Florida’s Grapefruit League and Arizona’s Cactus League, Major League Baseball’s preseason is in full swing. All 15 Arizona teams are squeezed into the Phoenix area, but the other half are fanned out in four distinct nooks of Florida.
They’ll be posted there from now until the third week of March, when games wrap up and teams head north (most of them, anyway) for final exhibition games before the regular season begins March 25-27.
Where do MLB teams play for spring training?
As mentioned, it’s split right down the middle − half in Arizona, half in Florida. All teams in the American League and National League West train in Arizona, save for the Houston Astros, who are headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. All the American League and National League East and Central teams train in Florida except the Ohio-based Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds, who share a facility in Goodyear, Arizona.
When do players report?
Teams require pitchers and catchers to arrive a few days early; the rest of the team (position players) have to report by Tuesday, Feb. 17.
How far do MLB teams travel to spring training?
The annual arrival of