Spring Training Handbook

Spring training is a time of renewal for baseball, when teams and fans descend on Florida and Arizona to begin the ever hopeful new season. The pace is a little slower, the fans are closer to the action, and the players are more accessible: the sport returns to its idyllic roots. When the first edition of this book was released, 18 of the MLB teams trained in Florida and 12 in Arizona. As 2013 arrives each league consists of 15 teams; together they utilize 14 parks in Florida and 10 in Arizona.
This heavily illustrated work dedicates a chapter to each park, including modern Cactus League marvels like Camelback Ranch and Salt River Fields, and Grapefruit League bastions like Joker Marchant Stadium and McKechnie Field. Florida’s Fenway Park replica, which opened in 2012, is included. In addition to profiling the five parks that have opened since the first edition, the author has updated the other chapters. Each provides a description of the park, and a recounting of its history, followed by a summary of the home team or teams’ spring history. Next is a review of the park’s seating, concessions and fan traditions. Each chapter concludes with information about nearby baseball landmarks and attractions.

Josh Pahigian is the author of several baseball books, including The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out, and of the novel Strangers on the Beach. He has also contributed articles to a variety of magazines, including ESPN.com. He teaches undergraduate writing at the University of New England, and graduate writing at Western Connecticut State University.

Josh Pahigian
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 99 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7195-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0198-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

I. Florida’s Grapefruit League

George M. Steinbrenner Field (Tampa) New York Yankees 7

Bright House Field (Clearwater) Philadelphia Phillies 16

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium (Dunedin) Toronto Blue Jays 25

McKechnie Field (Bradenton) Pittsburgh Pirates 33

Ed Smith Stadium (Sarasota) Baltimore Orioles 42

Charlotte Sports Park (Port Charlotte) Tampa Bay Rays 51

Jet Blue Park (Fort Myers) Boston Red Sox 60

Hammond Stadium (Fort Myers) Minnesota Twins 71

Roger Dean Stadium (Jupiter) St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins 80

Tradition Field (Port St. Lucie) New York Mets 89

Space Coast Stadium (Viera/Melbourne) Washington Nationals 98

Osceola County Stadium (Kissimmee) Houston Astros 108

Champion Stadium (Lake Buena Vista/Kissimmee) Atlanta Braves 115

Joker Marchant Stadium (Lakeland) Detroit Tigers 124

II. Arizona’s Cactus League

Scottsdale Stadium (Scottsdale) San Francisco Giants 137

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick (Scottsdale) Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies 148

Tempe Diablo Stadium (Tempe) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 159

HoHoKam Stadium (Mesa) Chicago Cubs 169

Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Phoenix) Oakland A’s 179

Maryvale Baseball Park (Maryvale/Phoenix) Milwaukee Brewers 190

Peoria Stadium (Peoria) Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres 200

Surprise Stadium (Surprise) Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers 209

Camelback Ranch–Glendale (Glendale/Phoenix) Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox 219

Goodyear Ballpark (Goodyear) Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians 228

Spring Training Sites Since 1914, Team by Team 239

Bibliography 245

Index 247

“delightful…essential…useful”—ARBA.