![]() "I guess at some point he realized that might kill the guy," Kite-Powell told WTSP in Tampa. According to Rodney Kite-Powell, curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center, a pilot named Ruth Law took a Brooklyn Dodgers player in a plane to throw a baseball to his manager on the field below. Who came up with the term "Grapefruit League" isn't known for sure, but one theory comes from a stunt involving an aviation stunt in Daytona Beach in 1915. ![]() By 1914, enough teams had migrated their preseason camps to Florida that an informal circuit started forming. Major-league teams began spring training in Florida in 1888, when the Washington Senators came south to Jacksonville. The term "Grapefruit League" is an homage to Florida's citrus industry. View Gallery: Minnesota Twins host first full-squad workout at Hammond Stadium Which teams are in the Grapefruit League? The biggest winners of Grapefruit League games are the fans, who go on vacation from as far as Boston, New York and Minnesota to enjoy the Florida weather and get a closer and more relaxed look at their favorite players. Players on new teams will use the time to get comfortable with their new teammates, and veterans recovering from injuries the previous season test their arms to make sure they can hit and pitch as usual. Others will try to prove they're ready to be promoted higher up the minor-league system, or even make the big leagues. Some players will use spring training to compete for a place in the starting lineup. The games that are played serve more as a formality the real intrigue comes not from the teams facing each other, but from the intrasquad competitions. At the end of March, most of the players and staff will spread out across the nation to begin the regular season either at the MLB parks or their designated minor-league teams. The teams gather in the middle of February to get ready for the upcoming baseball season about a month and a half later. ![]() The Grapefruit League refers to the Major League Baseball teams who go to Florida for spring training. View Gallery: Yankees spring training 2023 at George M. Here's what you need to know about Florida spring training and the Grapefruit League: What does Grapefruit League mean? Lucie completes $2.6 million project to replace Mets field for first time in 34 years Spring training in Jupiter: Stadium makeover payments must have 'public benefit,' town says Red Sox and Twins: Lee County needs a tourism spending boost after Hurricane Ian. Lucie.Ĭhanges to baseball rules: Pitch clocks, enlarged bases, ban on shifts? Get ready for wacky spring training | Opinion ![]() It's closer to basketball's Summer League, but if LeBron James and the biggest NBA stars took the court alongside players fighting for G-League positions and toured multiple arenas in Nevada or Utah for a month.Įvery year, veterans, rookies and everyone in between play exhibition games across Florida for about five weeks, giving baseball fans a taste of the long season to come and bringing extra attention to cities like Fort Myers, Jupiter and Port St. Nor is it a collection of Minor League Baseball affiliates with ties to the big leagues, like the International League or the Florida State League. The Grapefruit League is not a spinoff baseball league like the XFL and USFL is to the NFL in football. It's just what they call the games played in Florida during spring training. So what do grapefruits have to do with anything? The Major League Baseball season is officially underway as teams have descended to Florida to prepare for Opening Day at the end of March. View Gallery: New York Mets spring training Clover Park Port St. ![]()
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