Spring training for Major League Baseball is a ritual that lasts for about two months. All teams play an average of 35 games either with full squads or partial squads. Spring training currently takes place in two states: Arizona with the Cactus league and Florida with the Grapefruit league. Although spring training has ended and the season has now begun, a number of eventful things occurred this year during Spring training.
The Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees all had the best records for this year's Spring training season. Each of these teams had over twenty wins. The spring training season was broken up a bit by the World Baseball Championships, as many MLB players left their respective teams to participate in the event. This lessened the level of competition within the MLB games while the championship was ongoing. Many players changed teams over spring training, and probably the most notable was Gary Sheffield, who was released by the Detroit Tigers and then signed by the New York Mets. Manny Ramirez, who was holding out for a better contract with the Dodgers, was finally resigned by them and showed up for the tail end of Spring training. Additionally, many players were injured and did not start with their teams when the regular season began. Some injuries of note are Alex Rodriguez of the NY Yankees, who will be out until May, and Ichiro Suzuki, who is on the 15 day disabled list and will be playing again by mid April.
Spring training games were well attended this year, but not at the levels of previous years. Gate sales were down around 5% for the spring training season overall.
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