
Re Release: History of Spring Training
From Sports Deep Dive by therogersharrison
February 25, 2026 · 21 min
About this episode
This episode explores the intriguing history of Spring Training in baseball, highlighting its origins and evolution.
Ever wonder why we send 30 baseball teams to the desert and the beach every February? ⚾️☀️ I recently took a deep dive into the fascinating (and often weird) history of Spring Training. It wasn’t always multi-million dollar complexes and Gatorade. In this episode, I look back at: The "Birthplace": Why Hot Springs, Arkansas, was the original mecca before Florida and Arizona took over. The Legends: From Cap Anson’s "health camps" to the Dodgers moving west The Shift: How a desire to escape Jim Crow laws in the South actually helped birth the Cactus League in Arizona. Spring Training is about more than just getting in shape—it’s about the hope of a new season.
People in this episode
Host: therogersharrison
Topics covered
- Spring Training
- Baseball History
- Cactus League
- Jim Crow Laws
- Sports Culture
Keywords
- Spring Training
- baseball
- Hot Springs
- Cactus League
- sports history
- Cap Anson
- Dodgers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Dodgers
Places: Hot Springs, Arkansas, Florida, Arizona
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