Spring Training schedule, workout dates released
Dodgers, D-backs report early ahead of Opening Series in Australia
It has been 71 days since Boston closer Koji Uehara threw an 81 mph splitter past Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, completing the 2013 Major League Baseball season and sending us into our long winter of hibernation as baseball fans.
Cactus League first workouts
| Club | Pitchers & catchers | Full squad |
|---|---|---|
| ARI | Feb. 7 | Feb. 12 |
| CHI | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| CWS | Feb. 15 | Feb. 20 |
| CIN | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| CLE | Feb. 13 | Feb. 17 |
| COL | Feb. 17 | Feb. 23 |
| KC | Feb. 15 | Feb. 20 |
| LA | Feb. 9 | Feb. 14 |
| LAA | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| MIL | Feb. 17 | Feb. 22 |
| OAK | Feb. 15 | Feb. 20 |
| SD | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| SF | Feb. 15 | Feb. 19 |
| SEA | Feb. 13 | Feb. 18 |
| TEX | Feb. 17 | Feb. 20 |
Well, you can move about now and get all excited again. MLB on Thursday announced the 2014 Spring Training schedule and first workout dates for all 30 clubs, paving the way for the first sounds of balls popping into mitts and those trips to Florida and Arizona.
It's almost time for that first look at Robinson Cano in a Mariners jersey, Jacoby Ellsbury as a Yankee, Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo as Rangers, Curtis Granderson with the Mets, Tim Hudson as a Giant, Josh Johnson as a Padre and many more examples. Here is a look at highlights of the exhibition schedule and much-anticipated first workouts:
Spring schedule
Exhibitions begin with a pair of games in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 25, as the Tigers host Florida Southern College in Lakeland and the Yankees play Florida State in Tampa. Cactus League action starts Feb. 26 with three games, highlighted by Dodgers at D-backs at Salt River Fields in a preview of Opening Series Sydney 2014. The first full slate of games involving all 30 clubs is scheduled for Feb. 28.
In renewals of that last Fall Classic, clinched by the Red Sox in six, Boston will play the Cardinals on March 5 in Jupiter, Fla., and then on March 17 across the state in Fort Myers.
The Dodgers and D-backs leave for Australia following their Cactus League games on Sunday, March 16. MLB will open its regular season in Australia for the first time when the two teams play March 22-23 at historic Sydney Cricket Ground. Following those two games, the D-backs will revisit their Spring Training home at Salt River Fields and the Dodgers will return to Los Angeles to complete the remainder of their exhibition schedules.
Grapefruit League first workouts
| Club | Pitchers & catchers | Full squad |
|---|---|---|
| ATL | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| BAL | Feb. 14 | Feb. 19 |
| BOS | Feb. 17 | Feb. 20 |
| DET | Feb. 14 | Feb. 18 |
| HOU | Feb. 16 | Feb. 20 |
| MIA | Feb. 16 | Feb. 20 |
| MIN | Feb. 17 | Feb. 22 |
| NYM | Feb. 17 | Feb. 22 |
| NYY | Feb. 14 | Feb. 20 |
| PHI | Feb. 13 | Feb. 18 |
| PIT | Feb. 13 | Feb. 18 |
| STL | Feb. 13 | Feb. 18 |
| TB | Feb. 15 | Feb. 20 |
| TOR | Feb. 17 | Feb. 21 |
| WSH | Feb. 15 | Feb. 20 |
Select exhibition games at Major League and Minor League ballparks will be played from March 27-30. After the Australia series, the Padres will host the next official regular-season game against the Dodgers in ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball matchup March 30 at Petco Park.
First workouts
Because of their early Sydney series, the D-backs and Dodgers will report and start workouts earlier than other clubs. D-backs pitchers and catchers begin working out Feb. 7, and their first full-squad workouts are Feb. 12. Respective Dodgers dates are Feb. 9 and 14.
The first workouts for other clubs are Feb. 13, when pitchers and catchers crank it up for the Indians and Mariners in Arizona and for the Phillies, Pirates and Cardinals in Florida. Cleveland also will be the first club other than the Dodgers or D-backs to start full-squad workouts, on Feb. 17.
Spring Training tickets for each club are already on sale now or coming up shortly. Go to MLB.com/tickets and click your team's logo, then select any home date on your team's spring schedule.