With the last of the pitchers and catchers reporting this week, spring training is the big news in the baseball world. One cool part of spring training won't happen until the beginning of April, but requires some planning now: watching the big leaguers play an exhibition game at a minor-league ballpark. Here's a look at the scheduled games and how to score tickets.
With the last of the pitchers and catchers reporting this week, spring training is the big news in the baseball world. One cool part of spring training won't happen until the beginning of April, but requires some planning now: watching the big leaguers play an exhibition game at a minor-league ballpark. Here's a look at the scheduled games and how to score tickets.
The Florida Marlins are playing two exhibition games at minor-league parks, taking on the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Low Class A; Sally League) and the Jacksonville Suns (Class AA; Southern League) on the weekend of April 2-3. Tickets for the April 2 exhibition at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville are on sale now; it's not sold out, but you can expect ticket sales to accelerate in March. (Go here to order tickets.) In Greensboro, tickets for the April 3 exhibition will go on sale to the public this Saturday, Feb. 27 at 9:00 a.m. The Grasshoppers will also launch individual tickets sales for their 2010 season.
“We are excited to kick off our season with the Marlins exhibition game; I expect this game to be a sellout and encourage our fans to buy their tickets this Saturday,” said Donald Moore, President and General Manager of the Greensboro Grasshoppers. It will be a busy season for NewBridge Bank Park: besides hosting the exhibition and regular-season Grasshoppers games, the ballpark will also host the ACC baseball tourney.
The Chicago White Sox will be visiting their top affiliate, the Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League), on April 1. Tickets are still available; you can buy them here. Another top affiliate, the Durham Bulls, will be hosting their parent — the Tampa Bay Rays — on April 3. Tickets are on sale now.
The Colorado Rockies are taking on the Seattle Mariners during a weekend series at Albuquerque's Isotopes Park on April 2-3. Tickets are on sale now; again, the games are not sold out, but we expect the games to be close to sellouts come late March.
The San Diego Padres are visiting their Cal League affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm, on April 2. Tickets are $40, but they include vouchers to Storm games during the regular season. Call 951/245-4487 for information.
Finally, the Kansas City Royals will be taking on the Texas Rangers at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, the home of the Frisco Roughriders (Class AA; Texas League) on April 3. Tickets aren't on sale yet, but we suggest watching the Riders' website for more information: we'd be very surprised if the game didn't sell out.
Las Vegas is hosting two separate spring-training events. The Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs are playing a weekend series on March 12-13, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the Cincinnati Reds at Cashman Field on April 1. You can get tickets for all three games at the Las Vegas 51s website.
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