Arizona is the place to sit back, relax, and enjoy some professional baseball games. No, we’re not talking about just the Arizona Diamondbacks – though the D-backs are an amazing team to root for from March to September, and hopefully into October for playoffs and The World Series! Arizona is the number one place in America to watch major league baseball (MLB) spring training, with the Cactus League.
Every other state in America (OK, besides maybe Florida) has to watch spring training on their TV screens, but folks in Arizona have front row seats in February and March with Cactus League Baseball.
The Cactus League it started back in 1947, when the Cleveland Indians and the then New York Giants moved their spring training camps from Florida to Arizona (take that FL!). Now there are 15 MLB teams playing in 10 different ballparks around Arizona. It is the greatest concentration of professional baseball facilities found anywhere in the United States. That’s right. Half the MLB teams play spring training right here in AZ.
Here’s why you’ll love Arizona Spring Training:
- Slower, more relaxed pace than regular MLB games
- Games are typically played in the afternoon
- Stadiums are smaller and more intimate
- Players generally sign autographs before and after the games
- You can even stretch out on the grass to watch the game.
(Not a bad way to spend 70 degree weather!)
Teams and Fields
You can root for the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Glendale’s Camelback Ranch Park, the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark, the Chicago Cubs at Mesa’s Hohokam Park, the Milwaukee Brewers at Phoenix’s Maryvale Baseball Park, the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex, the Oakland A’s at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium, the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tempe Diablo Stadium, and finally the Colorado Rockies and your very own Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
Lifelong Learning – About Baseball
If you want a spring training experience perfect for the Boomer generation, check out the Road Scholar Spring Training Baseball Program. For less than $1,000, you can enjoy four spring training games and a batting practice session, meet retired players and a sportswriter, and even go behind the scenes at Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks play! Oh yeah, not to mention 5 nights of accommodations, 10 meals, 7 expert-led lectures, 7 field trips, and hundreds of new male and female friends. Sounds pretty good to me! For more information call 1-800-454-5768.
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