Every February and March, hundreds of baseball players at all levels of expertise head to Florida to earn or keep their places on some 20 different Major League teams and their minor league farm club affiliates. The informality and ease of access during this spring training, which is known as the Grapefruit League, attracts thousands of baseball fans as well. Though they’re not necessarily played to win, Grapefruit League games are played in modern 10,000-seat stadia that approach the major leagues in quality, and the smaller size allows an up-close feel you’d have to pay much more for during the regular season. (And your chances of snagging balls during batting practice are infinitely better, too.)
Most of the teams make their springtime homes on the Gulf Coast, but many others locate in cities and towns along Florida’s Atlantic coast, as the Los Angeles Dodgers do in Vero Beach. Three teams are in the Orlando area, including the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. Back on the coast, the New York Mets train in Port St. Lucie, the Washington Nationals in the Space Coast town of Viera, the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins play in Jupiter, and the Baltimore Orioles can be found in Fort Lauderdale.
