Instead of releasing spring-training schedules in late August, as had been the case in the last several years, MLB decided to bring us all an early Christmas present and released tentative, basic 2024 spring training schedules this week so we all can launch our planning.
You can review the tentative 2024 Grapefruit League schedule here.
You can review the tentative 2024 Grapefruit League schedule here.
Be warned that only the most basic information was released: the date of the game, and that’s about it. No game times, very little ticket information, no reporting dates. And there’s still games to be added to the schedule, including the popular Las Vegas weekend games in the Cactus League. Still, there’s enough for you to begin your planning.
Some things that popped out in our review of the schedules:
- The Tampa Bay Rays are returning to Charlotte Sports Park. The facility was damaged by a hurricane, which caused the Rays to shift spring training 2023 to Orlando’s ESPN Wide World of Sports and Tropicana Field. While Charlotte Sports Park still needs repairs to address the hurricane damage, these repairs are expected to be finished in plenty of time for spring training.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will launch the 2024 season in the 2024 Seoul Opening Series, March 20-21. Both teams will play their last Cactus League game on March 13 before heading to Seoul. Unlike in past years, when teams participating in foreign openers returned to camp, the Dodgers and Padres will not. The Padres will return home to San Diego and play a two-game exhibition series against the Mariners at Petco Park from March 25-26, while the Dodgers will return for the annual Angels home-and-away series on March 24-26.
- Several teams announced 30-game spring slates, more than we’ve seen in previous years. The Red Sox, for instance, will play 15 home and 15 away games, plus exhibitions in the Dominican Republic and Texas.
- Some traditional rivalries will return. The Mets and the Yankees, for instance, will play a home-and-away series. The Boston Red Sox will launch Florida play with a Northeastern University exhibition, with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers visiting the Twins the same day (or, more likely, that evening). We know where we will be Feb. 23.
- What’s sure to be the hottest ticket this spring: The Yankees are traveling to JetBlue Park to take on the Red Sox on St. Patrick’s Day.
- It does not look like Toronto will play exhibition games in Montreal, based on the team’s spring schedule. Pity.
- We’re sure this must have happened before, but this is a first in recent years: The Grapefruit League scheduled 11 (!) games on Saturday, March 23 and 10 games on St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, that’s a lot of split-squad scheduling. We don’t expect any night games on the 17th, but we expect many on the 23rd–which may make it the most attractive weekend to hit Florida if you’re a baseball fanatic.
One final note: We are updating our spring-training guides for 2024. Yes, we are planning The Complete Guide to Spring Training 2024 / Florida and The Complete Guide to Spring Training 2024 / Arizona. The plan is to put them on sale for preorder on Aug. 1, with the usual bonus for early buyers: buy from August Publications and you’ll receive an immediate download of the eBook for Kindle, Nook or Apple Books, with the physical book to come when printed. Watch your inbox for details!
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