Training Days

Check out your favorite Major League Baseball teams this month as they gear up
for the season ahead


	CACTUS LEAGUE	GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
	Arizona plays host to the Cactus League, and Scottsdale, home of the (high) dry heat, is right in the middle of the action.	Tampa, Fla., is Grapefruit League central. Most of the teams’ facilities are an easy day trip from here.
	The A’s, Cubs, Royals, Rangers, and White Sox are among the 12 teams warming up in the Grand Canyon State.	The Astros, Indians, Red Sox, and Tampa’s own — at least in the early spring — Yankees are just a few of the teams that travel to Florida to prep for the Big Show.
	Games take place every day of the week, and every stadium is an easy drive from Scottsdale.	The Yankees’ spring training facility, Legends Field, is a miniature version of Yankee Stadium, throngs of devoted fans included.
	Stadium capacities can’t always accommodate everyone who wants a ticket. But, hey, that’s what bar seats are for.	Tickets for high-profile games sell out quickly. But if you can’t make it into the stadium, there’s a good chance you can find your favorite players soaking in the surf afterward.
	If you just can’t argue baseball without listing statistics on a bar napkin, head to the Upper Deck Sports Grill, on Craftsman Court in Scottsdale. With more than 30 televisions and a $1.75 hot dog that comes smothered in chili and onions, you’ll never miss a game — or a meal.	After a day of great games, or for a day out of the sun, go for extra innings at Tampa’s Rock-N-Sports Bar and Grille on E. 8th Avenue. They have the games on TV, the bottles on ice, and the hot dogs on the grill.

— Andrew Eitelbach

Photographs: Clive Stewart/Getty Images (cactus); istockphoto (grapfruit)