Spring Training Ballparks: The Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues
A guide to spring training in Arizona and Florida: how the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues work, what the small ballparks are like, how spring games differ from the regular season and how to plan a trip.
Every February, the thirty major league clubs leave their home cities and report to training complexes in two warm-weather states. Half train in the Phoenix area of Arizona and play in the Cactus League. The other half train in Florida and play in the Grapefruit League. The names come from the landscape: desert on one side, citrus groves on the other.
For a fan, spring training is baseball in its most approachable form. The ballparks are smaller than the ones the clubs use in summer, the seats are close to the field, the practice fields are often open for anyone to watch and the games carry no standings pressure. A starting pitcher who throws two innings and a hitter who takes an at-bat and leaves are both normal. The result is a different kind of afternoon: relaxed, social and sunny, with the players closer than they will be for the next seven months.
This guide explains how the two leagues are organized, what a spring ballpark is like, how the games differ from the regular season, how to read the statistics and how to plan a first visit. Because schedules, ticket prices, parking and stadium names change often, it describes the general shape of the experience and points you to the clubs and the leagues for current details.
Two leagues, thirty clubs, one purpose
Each major league club has a spring training home, called its camp, and the clubs divide almost evenly between the two states. In recent seasons the split has been fifteen clubs in Arizona and fifteen in Florida, though a club can change its home when a lease ends or a new facility is built, so the lineup of teams is worth checking for the year you plan to go. The Cactus League and the Grapefruit League are not leagues in the usual sense. There is no pennant and no standings that matter. They are scheduling groups: the clubs in each state play one another and travel to rivals' parks, often by bus, to give each team a full slate of exhibition games.
The purpose of the exhibition schedule is practical. A camp starts with the pitchers and catchers, who report first, followed a few days later by the rest of the roster. The first weeks cover fundamentals, bullpen sessions and live batting practice, and the games begin late in February. By the time the schedule ends in late March, the club has chosen its opening-day roster, tested its pitchers' arm strength and given its prospects a look. Check the club's official calendar for the exact dates in any year.
For the big picture of how a season is organized, see the topic page for MLB news and the schedule page, where regular-season games begin after the exhibition season ends.
How spring training grew up
Spring training is older than either league's name. Baseball clubs have traveled south to prepare for the season since the nineteenth century, when northern winters made outdoor practice impossible for months. Florida's connection with the practice goes back to the late 1800s, and for much of the twentieth century it was the main destination. The early camps were informal, using whatever small stadium and hotel a town offered, and many clubs moved from place to place.
Arizona's story is more specific. The Cactus League is generally dated to 1947, when the Cleveland Indians trained in Tucson and the New York Giants in Phoenix. Over the following decades more clubs joined, and the league grew into a cluster of facilities around the Phoenix metropolitan area. Florida's league grew in parallel, with towns competing to attract clubs by building ballparks, a pattern that continues. The details of who trained where and when vary by source, so treat dates as approximate and consult the leagues' own histories for precise ones.
The business side is described in the article on how a ballpark is built and financed, because many spring training complexes are paid for in part by cities and counties that expect visitors to spend money during the six weeks the clubs are in town. Naming works the same way, and naming rights and the business of ballpark names explains why a spring ballpark can change its name even when the building does not move.
What a spring training complex looks like
A spring training site is more than a stadium. The typical complex has a main ballpark where exhibition games are played, plus several practice fields, batting cages, bullpens, a weight room and clubhouses for both the major league players and the minor leaguers who train alongside them. After the major league club leaves in spring, the same complex often serves the club's minor league affiliates for the rest of the year, which ties spring training to the minor league system that feeds the big club.
The main ballpark is built to a smaller scale than the regular-season park. It generally seats a fraction of what the club's home park holds, and it usually adds lawn seating, a sloped grass area behind the outfield wall where fans spread blankets and chairs. Some spring parks are modeled on the clubs' regular-season homes. JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, where the Boston Red Sox train, has a left-field wall that echoes the Green Monster of Fenway Park, though the actual dimensions and details are the club's to describe.
Because the parks are small, the sightlines are good and the distance from the seats to the field is short. A seat in the first few rows puts you far closer to the action than most regular-season seats. That is much of the appeal. It is also why popular clubs sell out their spring home games, and why buying through the club's official channels well in advance is the sensible approach.
The Cactus League in Arizona
The Cactus League is concentrated in the Phoenix metropolitan area, so a fan can stay in one hotel and see games at several parks. The clubs' complexes sit in suburbs across the valley, and the drives between them are typically measured in minutes to an hour, though traffic matters. A few clubs share a complex: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, in the Scottsdale area, is home to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, and Camelback Ranch in Glendale has been the spring home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox. Sharing a facility reduces cost, though the arrangement can change.
For a club whose regular-season home is in the same area, such as Arizona, the spring park is a smaller sibling of the park profiled in the Chase Field guide, which includes a retractable roof for summer heat. Spring parks are generally open to the sky, since the weather is mild, and the big weather question is sun, not rain.
Arizona in March is usually dry and sunny. Sunscreen, a hat and water matter more than a rain jacket. Evenings can be cool once the sun drops, so a light layer helps at night games. Rainouts are uncommon, which makes the schedule more predictable than in Florida.
The Grapefruit League in Florida
The Grapefruit League spreads across the state, with parks on both the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic side and some in between, so a Florida trip takes more driving. A fan who wants to see several clubs should plan a route, or choose a region and see the clubs nearby. The Yankees train in Tampa, in a ballpark named for their former owner George Steinbrenner, and the Tigers have trained in Lakeland for many years. The Twins and the Red Sox both use complexes in the Fort Myers area, so a visitor there can see two clubs without much travel.
The weather is the main difference. Florida in March is warm, often humid, and can bring afternoon thunderstorms, so a spring game can be delayed or canceled. Bring a poncho or a small umbrella if the club allows them, check the forecast on game day and read the club's weather policy. Games that are rained out are not always made up, since the exhibition schedule is flexible.
Florida's spring parks, like Arizona's, usually have berms or general-admission areas, so fans can sit on grass. The experience is similar in spirit, though the local flavor, the food and the crowd differ from city to city.
How spring games differ from the regular season
A spring game is real baseball played under different incentives, and those incentives shape what you see.
- Starters pitch briefly. Early in camp, a starter may throw one or two innings and leave. Late in camp, a starter builds toward the pitch count of a regular-season outing.
- Regulars leave early. A club's everyday players may have a set number of at-bats and then be replaced, sometimes by minor leaguers in the late innings.
- Split squads happen. On some days a club plays two games at once in different places, each with half the roster.
- Prospects and non-roster invitees get a look. Players who are not on the major league roster are invited to camp, and they often wear high uniform numbers.
- Games can end in a tie. Because the point is preparation, exhibition games can be stopped after a fixed number of innings, and the rules on extra innings are set by the league and can differ from the regular season's.
- Rules experiments appear. Spring is a common time to test rule changes before the regular season, so some games feature procedures that fans will not see in April.
None of this is a flaw. It is the purpose of the exercise. A fan who understands it can enjoy the details: a pitcher working on a new pitch, a young catcher framing in front of a crowd and a veteran coming back from injury taking his first at-bats.
How to read spring training statistics
Spring statistics are tempting and mostly unreliable. A hitter may get 40 or 60 plate appearances over a few weeks, against pitchers of widely varying quality, often including minor leaguers who will never reach the majors. A batting average over that few at-bats can swing by a hundred points on luck alone, as the explanation in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging shows with the arithmetic of small samples.
Spring numbers also do not count toward regular-season totals or career records. They are kept by the clubs and the press, but they are not part of the official statistics that databases such as the historical carry. What matters in camp is usually invisible in the box score: whether a pitcher's fastball has its usual velocity, whether a hitter's swing has changed, whether an injured player moves normally. Reporters at the park learn these things, which is why the news from camp can be more informative than the statistics.
A reasonable rule is to treat a strong spring as mild good news and a weak spring as mild bad news, except when the numbers come with a change in approach, role or health. Roster competitions are the clearest exception, since a player fighting for the last spot on the roster may be judged on what he does in a few weeks.
Planning a first trip
Choose the state first. If you want to see several clubs in a short trip, the Phoenix area is easier because most parks are within the same metropolitan region. If you have a particular club in mind, go where it trains. Look at the clubs' official sites for spring schedules, since they are published ahead of the season, and use the teams pages on this site to find each club.
Next, think about timing. Early games in late February usually draw smaller crowds than games in March, and weekends tend to be busiest. Day games are the norm, though some clubs play evening games, and a doubleheader of practice-field viewing in the morning and a game in the afternoon is a good rhythm.
Then handle the practical points:
- Buy tickets from the club or its authorized seller. Prices vary by club and game, and resale prices can be higher than face value.
- Arrive early. Parking lots fill, and the batting practice and the warmup are part of the show.
- Carry sun protection, water and a way to pay, and check the park's bag and outside-food policy before you go.
- Learn the practice-field schedule. Many complexes let fans watch drills for free in the mornings, though the policy is the club's to set.
Etiquette and autographs
The small-park setting makes the players unusually reachable, and it comes with a code. Players who sign do so on their way in or out, along fences or at the end of a practice session, and they are under no obligation. Ask politely, keep to the line, do not push children aside and accept a no. If you collect, bring a pen and a ball or a card you are ready to have signed, and read about the hobby in how to start collecting baseball cards before you buy anything in a hurry from a seller outside the park.
Respect the practice-field rules too. Fans are asked to stay behind the ropes, to avoid shouting during drills and to let the players work. A spring ballpark is a workplace first and an attraction second, and the clubs that keep it open to the public do so on good behavior.
Common questions
How many clubs train in each state? In recent seasons, fifteen in Arizona and fifteen in Florida, though a club can move, so check the current year.
When do spring training games start? Late in February, with the schedule running into late March. The exact dates are set each year by the clubs and the league.
Do spring training statistics count? No. They do not count toward regular-season totals or career records.
Which is better for a first trip, Arizona or Florida? Arizona is more compact and more reliably dry. Florida offers more variety and a stronger historical connection, with longer drives and more weather risk.
Can I watch practice for free? Many complexes allow it, but policies vary, so confirm with the club.
Where to go next
To see how the minor leaguers who share these complexes spend their summers, read Minor League Ballparks and the Fan Experience. For the first-hand view of a major league home near spring training in Arizona, see the Chase Field guide, and for the new home of a club that has moved, see the Sutter Health Park guide. The ballparks and fans topic page collects more reading.