Major League Baseball has unveiled the spring training schedules for all 30 teams for 2023 and in a sign that things may be as close to normal as they were a few years ago, the Detroit Tigers’ Grapefruit League slate looks like it did in 2019 or almost any year before.
The Tigers will play 32 exhibition games (not including the annual opener against a local college team) and will both start and end the tune-up contests at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
The schedule begins for the Tigers on Feb. 25 when the Philadelphia Phillies visit. The final spring training game will be March 26 against the Tampa Bay Rays in Lakeland. There are also three sets of split-squad games.
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The World Baseball Classic will take place during spring training from March 8-21. Major and minor leaguers from many, if not all, 30 organizations are expected to participate.
Opening Day for the Tigers will be March 30 against those same Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida. The home opener at Comerica Park is April 6 against the Boston Red Sox.
In 2020, the spring training schedule ended early because of the pandemic. Last season, the schedule was abbreviated because of the MLB lockout that spilled into March.
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Lakeland has been the host city of the Tigers’ home away from home since 1934, the longest running relationship between an MLB team and a spring training city. Joker Marchant Stadium has been their home in Florida since 1966.
Tigers 2023 spring training schedule
(All times Eastern)
Feb. 25 vs. Philadelphia, 1:05
Feb. 26 vs. Baltimore, 1:05
Feb. 27 at NY Yankees (Tampa), TBA
Feb. 28 at Toronto (Dunedin), TBA
March 1 vs. Pittsburgh, 1:05
March 2 vs. Baltimore, 1:05
March 3 at NY Yankees (Dunedin), TBA (SS)
March 3 at Philadelphia (Clearwater), TBA (SS)
March 4 vs. Toronto, 1:05
March 5 at Minnesota (Fort Myers), TBA
March 6 at Boston (Ford Myers), TBA
March 7 vs. St. Louis, 1:05
March 8 vs. Washington, 1:05
March 9 at Pittsburgh (Bradenton), TBA
March 10 vs. NY Yankees, 1:05
March 11 at Atlanta (North Port), TBA
March 12 vs. Minnesota, 1:05
March 13 at Tampa Bay (Port Charlotte), TBA (SS)
March 13 at Baltimore (Sarasota), TBA (SS)
March 14 vs. Boston, 1:05
March 16 vs. Philadelphia, 6:05
March 17 vs. NY Yankees, 1:05
March 18 at St. Louis (Jupiter), TBA
March 19 at Washington (West Palm Beach), TBA
March 20 vs. Toronto, 1:05
March 21 at NY Yankees (Tampa), TBA
March 22 vs. Atlanta, 1:05
March 23 at Baltimore (Sarasota), TBA (SS)
March 23 at Philadelphia (Clearwater), TBA (SS)
March 24 vs. Pittsburgh, 6:05
March 25 at Toronto (Dunedin), TBA
March 26 vs. Tampa Bay, 1:05
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers 2023 spring training schedule begins, ends in Lakeland