Halos ship Spring Training gear east to Tempe

ANAHEIM -- At 6:45 a.m. PT on Friday, five workers from Alexander's Mobility Services arrived at Angel Stadium to load their 18-wheeler with equipment. Two of them then made the 365-mile drive east to Tempe Diablo Stadium, where they would unload and get everything ready for the start of another Spring Training.

And so it begins.

It's #TruckDay at the Big A! What's your favorite part of #LAASpringTraining? pic.twitter.com/Zt3tCzYo7Y

- Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) February 7, 2014

Angels pitchers and catchers report for their physical examinations on Thursday, and position players trickle in Feb. 18. The first full workout takes place the very next morning, setting them up for a 29-game slate of Cactus League play, which bleeds into the three-game exhibition Freeway Series against the Dodgers that is followed by the 162-game marathon and, the Angels hope, leads right into the postseason.

But first they had to load the truck. The Angels' equipment staff, led by 24th-year veteran Keith Tarter, had all sorts of essentials from the players, coaches, trainers, front-office members and public-relations staff loaded up in boxes and ready to go the night before.

Earlier in the week, Tarter had all of the bats (two dozen for each member of the 40-man roster and one dozen for the rest), all of the baseballs (900 dozen that are game-ready and 700 dozen that will be used for batting and infield practice) and all of the uniforms mailed out.

They're in Tempe, Ariz., now, awaiting warm bodies.