Baseball fans from the frozen north pine for some ML Baseball in the winter. That’s not possible at home when every ballpark is knee deep in snow. ML baseball in the winter is possible if you are staying around Orlando during the winter months… in this case relatively near Orlando in Lakeland Florida.
Just down I-4 from downtown Orlando (52 miles from the center of Orlando) is Lakeland Florida and this is another place for some ML baseball in the winter. Lakeland Florida is the location of Joker Marchant (Publix) Stadium, and this stadium is the grapefruit league home base for the Detroit Tigers major league baseball club, and has been for decades.
Joker Marchant Stadium is easy to get drive to, but… you do not want to be driving to or around the park right at game time. The stadium seats around 8,500 folks which is pretty intimate from ML baseball stadium standards, but if almost everyone is driving, that’s a lot of cars to navigate to and around Joker Marchant Park.
There is lots of paid parking in the nearby lots, and some of the local homeowners offer their front lawns and driveways for paid parking during baseball games too.
To try and avoid the end-of-game rush, consider parking a few blocks away and walking to the park.
It was a super summer-like day when we watched the Jays and Tigers square off on the baseball diamond. The Florida sun is hot. Wear a hat! There is covered, premium priced seating, yet there’s just something about sitting in the stands in the open air, cold beer in hand, and hearing the umpire’s cry of “play ball”.
More information about ML Baseball in the winter
If you want detailed information about Joker Marchant Stadium and the Detroit Tigers playing schedule here, please visit this site:
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/spring_training/
