Marlins gear up for spring camp, Play Ball Week
JUPITER, Fla. -- There's new carpeting in the Marlins' Spring Training clubhouse and new tile flooring in the dining room. Pretty much everything is getting a fresh start as the organization prepares for pitchers and catchers workouts, which begin Feb. 19 at the Roger Dean Stadium complex in Jupiter, Fla.
For the past few weeks, the team's equipment crew has been putting the essentials in place in anticipation of the players' arrivals. All the behind-the-scenes work is well underway, ranging from sticking numbers on helmets to hanging jerseys, pants and hats in lockers.
The Marlins are under the leadership of new manager Don Mattingly.
• Spring Training information
To promote the start of Spring Training, a flurry of activities is scheduled over the next seven days.
It's starting Saturday as part of "Play Ball Week," which will lead into FanFest presented by Papa John's Pizza on Feb. 20 at Marlins Park.
FanFest, a free event running from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, is the first day individual game tickets go on sale. Ticket windows open that day at 10 a.m. ET, and they also will be available on marlins.com.
• Marlins FanFest information
Play Ball Week is part of an MLB initiative promoting youth participation in all forms of the sport -- baseball, softball, Wiffle ball, sandlot or any type of pickup game.
During the week, Marlins players, coaches and executives will take part in a variety of events in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Some of the appearances include the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, a Marlins Fish Family BBQ in Boca Raton, the West Boca Little League and Scout Masters Camporee in Sunrise. Additionally, Marlins players and personnel will engage the community during the week with visits to schools, youth leagues, military partners, the Los Viejos seniors baseball league, corporate partners in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, a Florida Panthers game and the Miami-Dade County Fire Training Facility.
On Monday at Marlins Park, there will be two RBI games -- for baseball and softball.
Two other highlights are the Jack McKeon Celebrity Golf Classic, on Wednesday, and the Taste of Miami, on Thursday.
Full-squad workouts start up Feb. 23.