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Grapefruit League

About Grapefruit League

The Grapefruit League is an organization of representatives from most of the 17 venues that host Spring Training for MLB teams in Florida.

Teams training in Florida and their training locations:
Atlanta Braves - Lake Buena Vista
Baltimore Orioles - Sarasota
Boston Red Sox - Fort Myers
Detroit Tigers - Lakeland
Florida Marlins - Jupiter
Houston Astros - Kissimmee
Minnesota Twins - Fort Myers
New York Mets - Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees - Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies - Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates - Bradenton
St. Louis Cardinals - Jupiter
Tampa Bay Rays- Port Charlotte
Toronto Blue Jays - Dunedin
Washington Nationals - Viera

The tradition began in 1908 when a single game between the Cincinnati Reds and the semi-pro St. Petersburg Saints and again in 1913 when the Cubbies arrived in Tampa for the first Spring Training session. The mayor of Tampa promised to cover the team's expenses up to $100 per player which is what drew the team to Florida in the first place. They were working out in the nice Florida weather for FREE! Soon word caught on that pro ball players were practicing in Florida, an always popular vacaction spot. It became a must see for people vacationing during the Spring season. The Cubs played the Havana Athletics in the first series to be played in Florida. 6,000 fans came and paid 25 cents for bleacher seats and $1 for reserved box seats. Nearly half the crowd was comprised of Cuban cigar workers and their families, since several Ybor City and West Tampa cigar factories closed down early to let their employees attend the game.

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Grapefruit League