City of Palms Park, home to Red Sox spring training, 1993–2011

The Boston Red Sox have been a member of the American League (AL) of Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1901, and have held spring training prior to each season.

The franchise's first spring training was held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1901, when the team was known as the Boston Americans. Since 1993, the city of Fort Myers, Florida, has hosted Boston's spring training, first at City of Palms Park, and since 2012 at JetBlue Park at Fenway South.

List of Boston Red Sox spring training venues

States where the Red Sox have held spring training
Red Sox players in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1912
Year(s) City Ballpark Ref.
1901 Charlottesville, Virginia   [1]
1902 Augusta, Georgia Warren Park [2]
1903–1906 Macon, Georgia Central City Park [3]
1907–1908 Little Rock, Arkansas West End Park [4][5]
1909–1910 Hot Springs, Arkansas Majestic Park [6][7]
1911 Redondo Beach, California   [8]
1912–1918 Hot Springs, Arkansas Majestic Park [9]
1919 Tampa, Florida Plant Field [10]
1920–1923 Hot Springs, Arkansas Whittington Park [11]
1924 San Antonio, Texas League Park [12]
1925–1927 New Orleans, Louisiana Heinemann Park [13][14][15]
1928–1929 Bradenton, Florida Ninth Street Park [16]
1930–1931 Pensacola, Florida Legion Field [17]
1932 Savannah, Georgia Municipal Stadium [18]
1933–1942 Sarasota, Florida Payne Park [19]
1943 Medford, Massachusetts Tufts University [20]
1944 Baltimore, Maryland Oriole Park [21][22]
1945 Pleasantville, New Jersey Ansley Park [23][24]
1946–1958 Sarasota, Florida Payne Park [25]
1959–1965 Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale Stadium [26]
1966–1992 Winter Haven, Florida Chain of Lakes Park [27]
1993–2011 Fort Myers, Florida City of Palms Park [28]
2012–present[a] JetBlue Park at Fenway South [31][32]

Notable events

In 1918, Babe Ruth hit a 573-foot home run during spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas.[33][34][35]

Norman Rockwell's 1957 painting The Rookie is set in the team's spring training locker room, which at the time was located at Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida.[36]

In 1987, unhappy about his contract, pitcher Roger Clemens left spring training in Winter Haven, Florida, which prompted general manager Lou Gorman to quip, "The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I'll have lunch."[37]

In 1988, presidential candidate Michael Dukakis took batting practice in Winter Haven.[38]

In March 2020, due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, all MLB spring training was halted and the start of the regular season was delayed.[39] Three months later, team president Sam Kennedy advised that the team would complete its preseason training activities at Fenway Park, upon resumption of preparations for the 2020 MLB season.[40] The Red Sox organization made multiple changes to Fenway Park to accommodate "summer camp", including the use of luxury suites as alternate dressing rooms for players, and adding an additional bullpen area underneath the centerfield bleachers.[41] In 2021, the team returned to JetBlue Park for spring training.[42]

References

  1. ^ "Collins' Men Take It Easy". The Boston Globe. April 11, 1901. p. 7. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Captain Collins Developing a Team of Heavy Hitters". The Boston Post. April 7, 1902. p. 8. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Americans at Macon". The Boston Globe. March 16, 1903. p. 5. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Practice Games Monday". The Arkansas Democrat. Little Rock, Arkansas. March 10, 1907. p. 6. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Pilgrims Come Tomorrow". Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. March 2, 1908. p. 8. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Red Sox at Hot Springs". Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. February 28, 1909. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Red Sox Have Practice". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 2, 1910. p. 10. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Red Sox Spring Trip in Detail". The Boston Globe. February 9, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Hot Springs Leading Spot". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. January 7, 1912. p. 12. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Red Sox Get Down to Work". The Tampa Daily Times. Tampa, Florida. March 24, 1919. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Red Sox To Train At Hot Springs, Ark". The Fresno Morning Republican. Fresno, California. January 1, 1920. p. 20. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Ehmke Arrives at the Sox Camp". The Boston Globe. February 27, 1924. p. 11. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Hot Competition For Wamby's Job". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 18, 1925. p. 24. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "First Workout for Sox Squad". The Boston Globe. February 22, 1926. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Carrigan Outlines Views to Players". The Boston Globe. March 22, 1927. p. 20. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Webb Jr., Melville E. (February 22, 1928). "Red Sox Due at Bradenton Today". The Boston Globe. p. 10. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Red Sox Start Their Grind at Pensacola". The Boston Globe. February 26, 1930. p. 20. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Red Sox Workout Under Warm Sun". The Boston Globe. March 2, 1932. p. 23. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Red Sox Land in Sarasota". The Boston Globe. AP. March 3, 1933. p. 4. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Red Sox Are In Top Shape". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. AP. April 1, 1943. p. 12. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Ball Clubs Change Only Three Camps". The Palm Beach Post. AP. January 23, 1944. p. 19. Retrieved November 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Red Sox Arrive Today For Oriole Park Drill". The Baltimore Sun. AP. March 26, 1944. p. 20. Retrieved November 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Atlantic City Has Plenty of Baseball". The Boston Globe. March 18, 1945. p. 18. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Leconey, Bill (March 23, 2017). "War games: When the Yankees, Red Sox trained in AC, Pleasantville". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  25. ^ Hand, Jack (February 27, 1946). "Williams Hits First Pitch Out of Park". The Tampa Tribune. p. 13. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Holbrook, Bob (March 16, 1959). "Sox to Return To Scottsdale". The Boston Globe. p. 15. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Birtwell, Roger (February 24, 1966). "Red Sox Off For Sun Land". The Boston Globe. p. 35. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "1993 Red Sox are a team in transition". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. AP. February 20, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Leyden, Tom (July 1, 2020). "Red Sox report to Fenway Park for Training Camp". boston25news.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  30. ^ Abraham, Peter (July 3, 2020). "Friendly Fenway feels different, but baseball is back in Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  31. ^ "Red Sox get new digs in Florida". Green Bay Press-Gazette. AP. January 22, 2012. p. D-8. Retrieved July 4, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  32. ^ Browne, Ian. "Sox Spring Training FAQs, important dates". MLB. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Home Run That Changed Baseball". roadsideamerica.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  34. ^ Monagan, Matt (March 16, 2018). "100 years ago, Babe Ruth became Babe Ruth with a 500-foot homer into an Alligator Farm". MLB.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  35. ^ Jenkinson, Bill (2011). "The Official Hot Springs Baseball Historic Trail". Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  36. ^ Anderson, Chris (May 21, 2014). "Who was the rookie in Norman Rockwell's painting?". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  37. ^ Finn, Chad (April 1, 2011). "Former Red Sox GM Lou Gorman dies". Boston.com.
  38. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (February 22, 2009). "Around this time of year, great stories spring to mind". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via archive.boston.com.
  39. ^ Mark Feinsand (March 12, 2020). "Opening Day delayed at least 2 weeks; Spring Training games cancelled". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  40. ^ Abraham, Peter (June 20, 2020). "Red Sox plan to hold spring training at Fenway Park". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  41. ^ Speier, Alex (July 14, 2020). "'It was just a jigsaw puzzle.' How the Red Sox reconfigured Fenway Park for summer camp". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  42. ^ Browne, Ian. "Sox Spring Training FAQs, important dates". MLB. Retrieved 22 February 2021.

Notes

  1. ^ In July 2020, the team resumed preseason training activities with a "summer camp" at Fenway Park, due to the early termination of traditional spring training that had been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[29][30]

Further reading

External links

Boston Red Sox
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