News
Indians announce Cactus schedule
Slate begins with two games against new co-tenant Reds
Individual tickets for 2010 Spring Training game sat Goodyear Ballpark go on sale Dec. 12. (Reds)
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
11/09/09 2:44 PM EST
CLEVELAND -- The Indians broke in their new Spring Training digs in Arizona in 2009. In '10, they'll greet their new co-tenants at Goodyear Ballpark. A home-and-home pairing with the Cincinnati Reds in which neither team actually leaves home will open the 2010 Cactus League slate, which was announced by the Tribe on Monday. Indians pitchers and catchers -- not to mention newly hired manager Manny Acta and his staff -- will officially report to camp on Feb. 21 and hold their first workout on Feb. 23. The Tribe's position players are all due to report to the Goodyear complex by Feb. 24, with the first full-squad workout taking place Feb. 26. Cactus League play will begin against the Reds on Friday, March 5, with the Indians designated as the away team and the Reds, who are making the move from Sarasota, Fla., to Goodyear, set to be the home team. The two squads will switch roles the following day. The rest of the Indians' schedule of 32 spring exhibition games includes home games against the Rangers, Padres, Angels, Giants, A's, Brewers, Mariners, Rockies, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Dodgers. Season-ticket deposits are currently being accepted for the exhibition season at indians.com. The Tribe will offer two mini plans for 2010, which will go on sale Monday, Nov. 30. Mini Plan A will feature tickets for March 26 against the Rockies, March 27 against the D-backs and March 29 against the Dodgers, while Mini Plan Z will allow fans to pick any three or more games of their choice. Individual tickets for the home slate will go on sale Saturday, Dec. 12 at noon ET. Responding to some fan concerns from the first year in Goodyear, the Indians will open a new fan access area in '10 that will allow fans a chance to get autographs and see the Tribe players up close and personal at the player-development complex. Of course, those who travel to Arizona to check out the Spring Training action won't have to travel far to see the Indians' road games. The only drives in excess of about 40 miles will be the two-hour treks to Tucson to face the D-backs on March 8 and the Rockies in a split-squad on March 17. There is, however, one atypical road date on the Cactus calendar, as the Indians will play a split-squad against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 1. Other than that, it's a spring schedule that is par for the course. Unlike some previous years, the Indians won't play any exhibition games at a Major League site in the weekend directly before Opening Day. Rather, they'll play their last Cactus League game on April 3 against the Reds, then head off to Chicago for the regular-season opener on April 5 at U.S. Cellular Field.Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
