Tinker Field, the historic Orlando ballpark where the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins trained for decades, will be torn down to make way for the Citrus Bowl expansion. The above photo shows the 91-year-old Tinker Field in the 1920s, when the orginal grandstand was built to house Cincinnati Reds spring training. (The Reds trained there […]
Tag Archives | spring training
Cubs Park unveiled to the public
Big opening day for Cubs Park Saturday, as an open house attracted 30,000 fans interested in learning more about the new spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. Naturally, we have a full story on our sister site, Spring Training Online. Reaction from those visiting the facility was generally good, though it appears fans are […]
New scoreboard going up at Steinbrenner Field
Another sign of spring: teams are prepping ballparks for the start of February games, and that means the installation of a new videoboard at Steinbrenner Field, spring home of the New York Yankees. The new videoboard replaces a smaller unit. This week has been spent in Florida, scouting out the spring-training sites and checking on […]
That first whiff of spring: batting practice
Was doing some advance scouting for spring training today in the greater Orlando area, and stumbled upon a magical sight: batting practice at Alfond Stadium, home of the Rollins College Tars, in downtown Winter Park. There’s nothing like a crack of the bat and a temperature in the 70s to make you yearn for baseball. […]
Pasco County makes pitch for spring training
With a proposed Palm Beach County spring-training complex in flux, Pasco County is jumping into the spring-training fray and working with a developer on a 19-field facility in Wesley Chapel. Wesley Chapel is about 25 miles north of Tampa, in the southernmost part of Pasco County. Wiregrass Ranch, where the facility would be located, is […]
Astros: We’ll look at other spring-training sites in Palm Beach
After Palm Beach Gardens politicos made it abundantly clear a preferred spring-training site there would not work, Houston Astros officials say they’ll look for other sites in Palm Beach County. The Astros had settled on Palm Beach Gardens parkland as a preferred site for a spring-training complex to be shared with the Toronto Blue Jays, […]
Astros invoke Arizona move in spring-training discussions
With a preferred Palm Beach Gardens location off the table, Houston Astros team lawyer Giles Kibbe says he plans on visiting Arizona in the next few weeks and will probably meet with folks pitching a Phoenix-area home for the team. We have more about Kibbe’s comments on our sister site, Spring Training Online. If you […]
Boca Raton site pitched for ‘Stros/Jays spring complex
With Palm Beach Gardens passing on a new Houston Astros/Toronto Blue Jays spring-training complex, Boca Raton may end up being considered for the development. A local developer is pitching Boca Raton as the perfect area for the spring-training complex, which already has $50 million in state money dedicated for its construction. While the Astros may […]
Search on for new Palm Beach County site for ‘Stros/Jays spring complex
With a Palm Beach Gardens location for a new Houston Astros/Toronto Blue Jays spring-training complex off the table, the search is on for a new site within Palm Beach County. The issues: questions about the appropriateness of a regional park as the future home of the complex (which would be near two schools and require […]
Brewers explore spring-training move to Tampa Bay area
The Milwaukee Brewers are thinking about opting out of the team’s Maryvale Baseball Park lease in Phoenix and moving spring-training operations to the Tampa Bay area. The team has the ability to opt out of its Maryvale baseball lease after the 2015 season and beyond. With the Toronto Blue Jays on the way out around […]
MLB returning to San Antonio Alamodome next March
You can expect the Houston Astros to be part of this action, as Ryan-Sanders Baseball works to bring MLB exhibition games back to the San Antonio Alamodome next March. This past spring the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres attracted some 75,000 fans to the Alamodome for two games. That worked so well Ryan-Sanders Baseball […]
Now available: The Complete Guide to Spring Training 2014 / Arizona
We have another book release: The Complete Guide to Spring Training 2014 / Arizona eBook is now available for purchase and download. You can view the book’s page at Amazon.com here. We’ve overhauled the title and completely updated it for Spring Training 2014. Spring training is America’s annual transformation from darkness to light, from cold […]
Thanks a million — again
Two months in a row: Ballpark Digest notched a million page views in October. Thanks! Yeah, we’re a little proud of the accomplishment. Of course, we couldn’t do it without you; your patronage and support is greatly appreciated. This is an exciting time for us. Our Florida spring-training guide hit the top ten among baseball […]