Baseball in Florida!

Booked Your Flight and Accommodation, now book your baseball tickets!

As a British family on vacation in the States we thought that we would be cool to try out a baseball game. We’d seen “Field Of Dreams” and “The Natural” and thought it’d be good to get a slice of real American life as well as doing the obvious tourist attractions and theme parks. We booked a couple of Red Sox games in Boston in 2003 and from then on were completely hooked. Baseball isn’t just a game, it’s an event – the crowds, the drama of each pitch, the music, the 7th inning stretch, the hot dogs. There is such a love of the game from all the fans that you soon get that the game itself is the true star, not the players playing it.

When building our home in Florida(Samms Place property id 1493), we were well pleased to see that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played at Tropicana Field, St Petersburg – just over an hour’s drive from our villa in Rotonda West. Now, whenever we go between March and October, we have a look at the Devil Rays schedules too see which Major League Baseball teams are visiting. Then we found out about the Grapefruit League….

The Grapefruit League as a whole is the largest sporting event east of the Mississippi. Every year, millions of fans flock to Florida Spring training stadiums to partake in baseball nirvana. Eighteen Major League teams make the Florida their baseball home for the month of March.

To get the most out of your baseball vacation try to hit as many stadiums as possible. The stadiums of Florida's Grapefruit League are sprawled across the state from Orlando and Tampa to Ft Myer's and Fort Lauderdale.

No matter where you go, you can't go wrong. There is a certain atmosphere in the spring Florida air that is hard to describe, you just have to experience it for yourself. If you get the chance, try to catch a couple of games this season. Enjoy the warm Florida sun, giant hot dogs, draft beer and Major League baseball in tiny stadiums. Does it get any better than this?

For the Red Sox Nation the hot spot this year will be Ft Myers, FL. The home of the Boston Red Sox is one of the nicer spring training venues in Florida. Of course the Sox could play in an alley behind a shopping mall and still draw 15,000 loyal fans per game! Most of the seats on the infield are shaded, keeping Red Sox fans from turning red in the Florida sun. The City of Palms Park is the place to be if you are in Ft Myers. Games here are always are always packed and a lot of fun, so long as you a re a Red Sox fan!

Legends Field is the premier venue of the Florida Grapefruit League. It is home to the New York Yankees, who spared no expense on this ballpark. It is referred to as a mini Yankee Stadium because it has the same look and feel as Yankee Stadium. Even the dimensions of the field are the same! Games here are always packed full of Yankee fans. If you are in Tampa on a March afternoon, get to the Legends Field to catch the Bronx bombers in action!

The Cincinnati Reds call Ed Smith Stadium their spring training home. It is a great ballpark to catch a spring training game and is a favorite among the spring training faithful in Sarasota. Surprisingly the Reds have a very loyal fan base in Florida so games there are usually pretty packed.

Hammond Stadium home of the Minnesota Twins is a site to be seen. While walking up to the main gate, you may feel like you are at the Kentucky Derby. The facade was made to look like Churchill Downs. If you find yourself in Ft Myers be sure to visit the baseball history museum at nearby Terry Park Stadium. It chronicles the unique history of baseball in Southern Florida.