Spring Training 2019 Questions

[EaglesBruins5]

Hello, Im going to be attending my first spring training this coming year and I don't really know what to expect. I'm going to Arizona and I plan on seeing three different facilities. White sox, Padres and Angels. I have some basic general questions if anyone with some spring training experience would be willing to help me out id appreciate any pointers I can get.

What time do players usually arrive in the morning?

What time do players normally start their workouts on the back fields?

Are most of the minor league players still at the spring training complex if they were not invited to big league camp?

If a team has a scheduled off day on the game calendar will they still have workouts on the back fields that day is that normally a complete off day?

What does a split squad day usually look like and what is the best way to prepare for one?

Have you had better luck inside the stadiums or on the practice fields?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out any and all information is appreciated!

[CardsAndPhils]

I've only been to ST once, but I'll try to help.

The players arrive early. Like, INSANELY early. The reward of getting there when they arrive is that there are fewer people trying to get autographs, so players might be more willing to sign. The drawback... Sleep.

On field workouts vary from team to team. I have no experience in AZ, so I can't help.

Minor League guys being around typically varies from club to club, too. But, they very likely have a separate entrance/exit than the big league guys.

Off day routines vary from team to team. But, there is usually SOME activity even if there are no official workouts.

Split squads usually suck for the visiting team. The visiting team is required to send no fewer than three starters (it might be four), and that's usually all they send. The rest are all minor league guys. Many never make a MLB roster. The stars almost NEVER travel split squad. However, the home team usually has all of their main players around for split squad games.

I had better luck in the stadium (Dunn, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Shannon) than the fields. But, I saw plenty of folks getting stuff signed at the fields, too. Probably just depends. My biggest successes came near the player exit, though (LaRussa, Oquendo, Brendan Ryan, lots of others). This likely all depends on how accessible the stadium is for fans.

Good luck! Please share your success!

[mazman27]

Go to springtrainingconnection.com He has a good write up for each spring training stadium and he has a little paragraph on Autographing if you scroll down far enough for each team. Its a pretty good resource. I pulled up it up last night along with Google earth for each stadium to see and picture what he was talking about in the paragraph. Should give you everything you need to know. I am doing some Arizona Fall League right now and have had some pretty good success.