LOS ANGELES, CA — Only 39 days to “Pitchers and Catchers.” Ahh, the most anticipated words every year. This spring, it all begins in February 2025, with teams reporting for their first workouts on different dates.
The World Champion Dodgers will play the first game of the 2025 MLB spring training season on Thursday, February 20, when they host the Chicago Cubs in Glendale, Arizona. The first Grapefruit League game will be on Friday, February 21, when The New York Yankees host the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. The Rays will call this stadium home until they can build or find an actual major league stadium down the road because Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in 2024.
Image Credit: AP
So what kind of adventure will this be for these Tampa Bay Rays fans? The ballpark has a capacity of 11,026 and only 9,628 fixed seats; the Rays averaged 16,515 fans last season, so every game should be a sellout. Then again, will fans show up? The humidity on 90-degree days and rain often in the late afternoon in Florida will undoubtedly be challenging for them.
New York Yankees Spring Training Home: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
There have been other times when teams were displaced or played in another team’s ballpark. The Yankees played in the Polo Grounds from 1913 until 1922. In 1920, Giants owner Charles Stoneham forced them to leave. But they were able to move into Yankee Stadium, just about 1.9 miles away across the Harlem River, on April 18, 1923, three years after being kicked out of the Polo Grounds.
When both iconic stadiums of the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium stood, you could walk to each within 30 minutes
On the West Coast, the former Oakland A’s will be playing at Sutter Health Park, where they will share the ballpark with the Sacramento River Cats. That ballpark has permanent seating of 10,624 with grass berms in the outfield for a total capacity of 14,014. But unlike the Rays, this was a planned temporary move until their stadium is completed in Las Vegas in 2028. Oakland’s 2024 attendance average of 11,528 was last in all of baseball, and they were the only club that did not have at least one million total attendance. Their abandoning of a city they played in since 1968 has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the fans in that area. They may not get a sellout even with only 14,014 capacity.
No more baseball at Oakland Coliseum – Image Credit: NBC/MLB
There you have it: a look into the past and the present of some oddball things that have nothing to do with stats, analytical predictions, wild free-agent paydays, or trades. So take a deep breath and begin the slow process of waiting for that incredible call from the home plate umpire to: “PLAY BALL!”
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