The York Revolution, Lancaster Barnstormers and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs will train at home rather than spending the money to train at the Detroit Tigers complex in Lakeland, Fla.The York Revolution, Lancaster Barnstormers and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs will train at home rather than spending the money to train at the Detroit Tigers complex in Lakeland, Fla.
They’ll join the Somerset Patriots and Newark Bears, who shifted spring training to New Jersey last season.
“The past two league championship teams [Newark and Somerset] trained at home in the northeast the year they won it all,” said Keith Lupton, Barnstormers vice president of baseball operations. “While you can’t solely attribute that success to where the teams trained, there is no doubt that the travel to Florida and then to Lancaster with only a day to get comfortable before the season begins is rigorous. We’re eliminating that, and we’ll see how it goes."
Besides the cost savings, training at home will give all three teams a chance to promote the season earlier and play some exhibition games at home and at neutral sites.
“We want this to be an opportunity to make our team and coaching staff feel like part of the community from the moment they arrive,” Revolution general manager Matt O’Brien said. “Holding spring training in York County will give our fans access like they’ve never had before, when it comes to how we put our team together, and how they prepare for a long season.”
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