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There go the spring-training equipment trucks!

Big times in the spring-training world: the equipment trucks are heading to Florida and Arizona, with the fleet from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox heading today to Clearwater and Fort Myers, respectively.

For the Phillies, the equipment truck and its trailers contain 10,000 paper cups; 2,400 baseballs; 2,000 short-and-long sleeved shirts; 1,200 bats; 900 pairs of socks; 600 pairs of pants; 600 batting practice hats; 350 pairs of shorts; 300 batting gloves; 250 batting practice tops; 200 fleeces; 200 light jackets; 140 batting helmets; 125 leather and elastic belts; 75 pairs of assorted spike, plastic and turf shoes; 40 heavy jackets; 20 coolers; and several bikes. The truck will then travel 1,058 miles, passing through eight states, before being unloaded at its final destination of BayCare Ballpark and the Carpenter Complex on Friday, February 7.

For the Red Sox, the equipment truck–heading at noon to Worcester’s Polar Park before the 1,480-mile trip to JetBlue Park–will be led by a flat-bed truck carrying Wally the Green Monster, his sister Tessie, and Fenway Ambassadors. This will be the 28th straight year that Milford native Al Hartz will drive the 53-foot truck, which will carry an assortment of baseball equipment and supplies, including: 20,400 baseballs; 1,100 bats; 200 batting gloves; 200 batting helmets; 320 batting practice tops; 160 white game jerseys; 300 pairs of pants; 400 t-shirts; 400 pairs of socks; 20 cases of bubble gum; and 60 cases of sunflower seeds.

Yes, we know the Red Sox and Phillies aren’t the only teams celebrating Truck Day with the launch of the equipment trucks. But the Red Sox literally invented Truck Day–and sold naming rights, to boot!–and it’s the surest sign of spring aside from Punxsutawney Phil. So ignore Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter and celebrate your team’s Truck Day–remember, pitchers and catchers begin reporting next week.

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