Yankees release 2011 spring schedule

The New York Yankees released a 2011 spring-training schedule, which features home-and-aways with the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, among others. The biggest change: Start times are now 1:05 p.m., instead of the traditional 1:15 start time.

You can view the full schedule here.

The Yankees will play a 32-game Grapefruit League schedule that will include 16 home games, including four Saturday contests — all slated to start at 1:05 p.m. The Yankees will wrap up their spring schedule playing five of their final six games at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Included in the Yankees’ home exhibition games are seven home night contests (7:05 p.m. start time) on Friday, March 4 vs. Boston; Wednesday, March 9 vs. Pittsburgh; Wednesday, March 16 vs. Baltimore; Thursday, March 17 vs. Tampa Bay; Wednesday, March 23 vs. Toronto; Friday, March 25 vs. Houston; and Monday, March 28 vs. Tampa Bay.

In addition, George M. Steinbrenner Field will once again host the “Florida Four,” featuring matchups of four Florida universities on Tuesday, March 1. The University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Miami (UM) will go head-to-head in the first game scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m., followed by the University of Florida (UF) against Florida State University (FSU) in the second contest to begin one half-hour after the conclusion of the first game.

Season tickets for the Yankees’ 2011 Spring Training are on sale now at www.steinbrennerfield.com or www.yankees.com. Individual-game spring tickets will go on sale on December 3 at 10:00 a.m. at the Steinbrenner Field box office, online at www.yankees.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Monday, February 14, with the first workout scheduled for Tuesday, February 15. The Yankees’ first full-squad workout is scheduled for Sunday, February 20.

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