MLB Spring Training
Phoenix and the surrounding area is home to the Cactus League – a league of 15 major league baseball (MLB) teams that come to Arizona every March to play for about a month before the regular season begins. This year, there are a few exciting changes of which baseball fans should be aware.
World Series Rematch
Perhaps the most exciting series of Spring Training 2015 will be a rematch of the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants teams that played for the World Series title in 2014. Star players from both teams are sure to take the field, considering the two-game series takes place in the final week of Spring Training before they head back to their hometowns to open the regular season.
• March 22 – Giants at Royals, Surprise Stadium
• March 23 – Royals at Giants, Scottsdale Stadium
Stadium Shuffle
In a move reminiscent of the legendary Abbott & Costello skit “Who’s on First?”, the league has shuffled teams around a bit. In 2015, the Oakland As are relocating their Spring Training base camp from Phoenix Municipal Stadium to the newly renovated Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, which was formerly occupied by the Cubs. The Cubs moved to its brand new Sloan Park training facility in Mesa in 2014. No need to worry about the fate of Phoenix Muni; the Arizona State University baseball team has taken up residence there after making a couple million dollars in improvements of their own.
More Late Games
As dreamy as it is to bask in the Arizona sun while watching a Spring Training game, afternoon game times don’t always work with everyone’s schedule. Thankfully, the league added more late afternoon and night games for 2015, especially in the last week of March when the sun hangs around longer, and the temperatures are warmer. A total of ten late games are scheduled in March 2015, up from eight in 2014.
2015 Cactus League Spring Training late games:
• March 14, 7:10 pm – Giants at Diamondbacks (Salt River Fields, Scottsdale)
• March 15, 3:05 pm – Diamondbacks at Giants (Scottsdale Stadium)
• March 18, 7:10 pm – Diamondbacks at Rockies (Salt River Fields, Scottsdale)
• March 19, 6:40 pm – Cubs at Diamondbacks (Salt River Fields, Scottsdale)
• March 20, 6:05 pm – Reds at Giants (Scottsdale Stadium)
• March 23, 7:10 pm – Reds at Rangers (Surprise Stadium)
• March 24, 6:40 pm – Brewers at Diamondbacks (Salt River Fields, Scottsdale)
• March 25, 6:05 pm – White Sox at Royals (Surprise Stadium)
• March 26, 6:05 pm – Rockies at Rangers (Surprise Stadium)
• March 27, 7:10 pm – Mariners at Royals (Surprise Stadium)
• April 3, 7:10 pm – Cubs at Diamondbacks (Chase Field, Phoenix)
Download the complete 2015 Spring Training schedule or find tickets at cactusleague.com.
Phoenix and surrounding communities in Arizona’s Valley of the Sun have become a popular destination for professional baseball fans each spring. These new twists for the 2015 Spring Training season give fans a few more reasons to get excited.
