Spring Training: Origin, History, and Everything You Need to Know About Baseball’s Preseason

The gentle warm breeze of upcoming summer and the sight of the sun ready to shine again – the Spring is finally here. And that brings with it the return of America’s favorite pastime. After months of winter drained looking at backstage activities, Spring Training allows the fans to see their teams again. Spread across Arizona and Florida, the MLB franchises are preparing to start their journey toward glory again. But it wasn’t always like this. Spring Training once looked a lot different. 

Almost as old as baseball itself, Spring Training has gone through various iterations. Each iteration gave it an extra dimension, a story that became folklore. So it’s only fitting that with Spring Training beginning soon, one dives deep into the rich history of every baseball fan’s favorite time of the year. 

When was the first Spring Training held? 

That question has many answers. There was a time when baseball wasn’t structured like it is today. There were many leagues, many teams, and not a robust structure holding it together. Instead, things were held together by the shared love for the sport. So it is no surprise that there is no logical answer about who or what started the Spring Training, but folklore helps us to get an understanding.

Normally, it is believed that the Chicago White Stockings and Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first ones to start a training camp in 1870. While this was the first time two teams had simultaneously started training away from their homes, something like this had already appeared in 1869. That year, the New York Mutuals became perhaps the first team to hold a spring training outside hits home when they visited New Orleans. 

Eventually, more teams followed suit, and New Orleans became the hotbed for Spring Training. However, teams visited places like Washington DC, New Jersey, and Georgia as well. Eventually, it was Hot Springs, Arkansas, which became the “Birthplace” of traditional Spring Training Baseball. Perhaps the famous story of this time was St. Patrick’s Day of 1918 when Boston Red Sox’s Pitcher Babe Ruth was forced to play as a first baseman. Ruth hit two home runs, with the second traveling to 573 feet. Needless to say, that was the beginning of Ruth’s ascendency as a legendary two-way player.

With Spring Training increasingly becoming a tremendous marketing tool for the teams, it became imperative to create a structure around it. And so formed the Grapefruit League and, later, the Cactus League.

The different states: How Spring training has changed over the years

The Philadelphia Phillies became the first team to train in Florida after spending two weeks in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1889. However, it took till 1913 for Spring Training to be established in Florida. That year, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians spent time training there. Eventually, more teams started flocking to Florida due to its vicinity to teams on the east of Mississippi, as well as the warm weather that better assisted in the acclimatization of the players. 

On seeing that Florida was becoming a hub for Spring Training, it became obvious to create a league around it. So was born the Grapefruit League, named after the incident in 1915 when aviator Ruth Law threw a grapefruit instead of a baseball from her airplane. The Brooklyn Dodgers Casey Stengel expected a baseball to fall and tried to catch it, but only the grapefruit exploded in his face, and he panicked about getting injured.

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Apart from the World War 2 years, Grapefruit League was the go-to location for teams until 1947. Bill Veeck’s Cleveland Indians, along with the New York Giants, visited Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona respectively. It changed the trajectory of Spring Training as the West Coast teams had a place much nearer to their home and eventually led to the formation of the Cactus League. 

What is the current setup? Understand its role in the MLB season.

So, as of now, two leagues are operating within Spring Training – the Grapefruit League and the Cactus League. However, their systems of operation are quite different from one another. For instance, teams in the Grapefruit League are spread across Florida. As a result, teams rarely cross over to the other side of Florida to have games. The Cactus League is different in this regard. 

Instead of spreading things around Arizona, every team is centered on the Phoenix area. Significantly, it has created an infrastructure that generates upwards of $300 million of economic activity around the Greater Phoenix area (via the Arizona Republic). Also, unlike the Grapefruit League, teams in Arizona share their stadiums. 

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At present, the majority of East Coast teams conduct their Spring Training in Florida, while the West Coast sides visit Arizona. Now comes the real question – when is the Spring Training starting in 2024?

When does the Spring Training 2024 start? All to know about the pre-season event

After months of waiting, MLB finally announced Spring Training reporting dates for each team in January. Most teams are set to begin their Pitchers and Catchers First Workout on Feb 14 and 15. Eventually, by Feb 19 and 20, they will commence their first full-squad workout. However, two teams have already initiated their training routines. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will travel to Seoul, South Korea, to start their season-opening series. As a result, they reported earlier than usual – the Dodgers started their Pitchers and Catchers Meet on Feb 9 and conducted their first full-squad workout on Feb 14. On the other hand, the Padres began on Feb 11 and will organize a full squad workout on Feb 16.

Now with Spring Training officially beginning, the last stretch of the offseason has emerged. With teams looking for a perfect balance and rookies getting their moment to shine, baseball is officially back.

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