If your plans for spring break are still up in the air, one great option can be summed up in two words – spring training.
One of the benefits of going to a university in Florida is the proximity to countless number of baseball stadiums, minor league teams and, for about two prized months, the major league squads.
There are a total of 15 MLB teams in Florida’s spring training Grapefruit League.
The New Englanders that attend the University of Tampa should be excited to know that the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies and more will all be reporting to their respective spring training facilities in the third week of February.
Just 15 minutes away from UT is the closest facility, and is that of the New York Yankees. Playing where the Tampa Yankees usually do, Derek Jeter, Joba Chamberlain, A-Rod and CC Sabathia will be on the field instead.
Further towards the beach, about 30 minutes away, the Phillies will be taking over the Clearwater Threshers’ stadium, Bright House Networks Field, to begin their training.
The Phillies will be opening their spring training in a unique exhibition game versus Florida State University on Feb. 24, followed by a trip to Tampa to face the Yankees two days later.
Forty minutes northwest of Tampa, you will find the Toronto Blue Jays playing on the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, home of Dunedin Blue Jays. They will be playing their first home spring training game versus the Detroit Tigers on Feb. 26.
The Detroit Tigers complex can be found 45 minutes east of UT in Lakeland.
Traveling south, the Pittsburgh Pirates play at McKechnie Field in Bradenton. Their first game will be played versus the State College of Florida baseball team on Feb. 25.
For those from Maryland, the Baltimore Orioles house their complex south of Tampa in Sarasota. After an hour drive, you can find Ed Smith Stadium and watch Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy and Derrek Lee compete in America’s favorite pastime.
Moving towards the east coast of Florida, Lake Buena Vista is the home to the Atlanta Braves spring training facility at Champion Stadium.
Down the road from the Braves complex, in Kissimmee, at Osceola County Stadium is the place of the Houston Astros, who open their spring training up with a game against their neighbors from Lake Buena Vista.
The Washington Nationals’ facility is a little further away. A two hour drive can lead you to Viera to see the Nationals play at Space Coast Stadium.
If the Tampa Bay locals, or bandwagoners, would like to watch their Rays spring training, they would have to travel about two hours south to Port Charlotte. At Charlotte Sports Park you can watch and see how the Johnny Damon-Manny Ramirez combination pans out.
The Bostonians and Minnesotans can see their respective teams playing at the same field, Hammond Stadium at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
The Red Sox and the Twins will be alternating the use of the park and opening their spring training seasons at home against each other.
Three hours away, in Port St. Lucie, the other New Yorkers can go see their beloved Mets’ train for the season. The Braves will travel to the Mets at Digital Domain Park on Feb. 26 to play the them in the first game at their facility of 2011.
Lastly, and the furthest away from campus, is both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins facility in Jupiter. The two share Roger Dean Stadium and interchange the use of it.
For some of fans, spring training may be the only chance UT students will get to see their favorite squads play during the semester.
If you would like to see Jeter and Sabathia, or Longoria and Upton somewhere other than on the strip of South Howard, take a trip to the Grapefruit League games and experience the season before the season – the
much treasured weeks of spring training.
Maya Todd can be reached at mtodd@spartans.ut.edu.
Just wanted to let you know that Lakeland is east of UT, not west.