Introduction
Originially envisioned as a single post, this will be a series of posts about Cactus League baseball in the Phoenix, AZ area. Unfortunately, there is just too much information that I would like to cover about this subject. Plus, I took a TON of photos at all of the Cactus League games that I have attended. As a result, I would not be surprised if I end up writing four or five posts about the Cactus League.
Jack Edwards and the Cactus League
Whenever someone talks about Cactus League baseball, I always think of the following quote that sportscaster Jack Edwards once said while co-hosting
ESPN's
SportsCenter TV program sometime during the 1990s.
"Some are grapefruit, some are cactus. These games don't count. They're just for practice."
- TV sportscaster Jack Edwards on ESPN
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| Former ESPN TV Sportscaster Jack Edwards |
I'm not sure if Jack Edwards actually sat down and wrote those lines before going before the cameras or if he improvised them on-air. Either way, I just remember laughing out loud when he said those words. The short nursery rhyme has stayed with me ever since. Jack Edwards' short nursery rhyme perfectly encapsulates what the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League are all about.
The Beginnings of Spring Training
According to an informative
article by
Matt Monagan over at
Cut4, Spring Training for Major League Baseball started in 1886. At the time most of the professional baseball teams were located in either the Midwest or in the Northeast. In February and March, cities like Chicago and New York were still struggling with snow and cold temperatures, forcing teams to practice for the upcoming season inside gymnasiums.
Albert Spalding, the president of the old
Chicago White Stockings, wanted a location warm enough for his players to practice outdoors. After a preliminary search, Albert Spalding decided to move the Chicago White Stockings to Hot Springs, Arkansas for Spring Training. Hot Springs, AR had a favorable climate for practicing outdoors and, more importantly, it had a local hot spring for players to relax in after practice. The idea of professional baseball teams relocating to warmer climates for Spring Training quickly caught on. Professional baseball teams established training camps in California and Florida. In the case of Florida, the mayor of Tampa had a vision of professional baseball teams using Florida as a base for Spring Training and offered to pay the travel expenses of the Chicago Cubs. The concept worked and the Grapefruit League in Florida was born.
What is the Cactus League?
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| Cactus League Annual Supplement from Sun City Independent newspaper. |
What is the Cactus League? That is a good question. The Cactus League refers to the pre-season practice games that are played in the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area by professional baseball teams from
Major League Baseball. The pre-season practice games typically start in late February and last for about one month. For 2025, Cactus League games started play on Friday, February 21st. Teams from both the
American League and the
National League both participate in Cactus League play. While Cactus League games are for practice, the games allow teams to get their star players back into playing shape prior to the official start of the new baseball season after a layoff of a couple of months. Likewise, Cactus League games are also a chance for young players to make an impression on team management before being sent down to the minor leagues. Lastly, Cactus League games also allow recently traded players and newly acquired free agents to get better acquainted with their new teams. As a result, team management can experiment with starting lineups and starting pitchers. For fans, Cactus League games allow fans to get closer to their favorite team and favorite players in a more intimate setting than you would be allowed to during a regular season game.
Origins of the Cactus League
According to a second
article by Matt Monagan over at
MLB.com, the Cactus League got its start in 1946. At the time, a businessman named
Bill Veeck had just bought the
Cleveland Indians (now known as the Cleveland Guardians). Since he owned a ranch near
Tucson, AZ, he felt that the Cleveland Indians should hold their Spring Training in Arizona. Bill Veeck had also just signed the American League's first black player,
Larry Doby, for the Cleveland Indians and did not want to subject the player to the realities of the American South at that time. The was a problem with moving the Cleveland Indians to Arizona for Spring Training, however. There weren't any other teams for the Indians to play against. Bill Veeck then convinced the owner of the
New York Giants,
Horace Stoneham, who also had a home in the Tucson area, to move the New York Giants to Arizona for Spring Training. It worked. When the New York Giants relocated to San Francisco, the Giants kept coming to Arizona for Spring Training. Another key figure in the history of the Cactus League was
Dwight Patterson, who is credited with luring the
Chicago Cubs to the
Mesa, AZ area for Spring Training in 1949. For more information about Dwight Patterson, see this
article.
Current State of the Cactus League
As of 2025, there are 15 professional baseball teams that play in the Cactus League. Eight teams are from the National League, while seven teams are from the American League. The teams from the National League are the following:
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Chicago Cubs
- Cincinnati Reds
- Colorado Rockies
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Milwaukee Brewers
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
The teams from the American League include:
- Chicago White Sox
- Cleveland Guardians
- Las Vegas Athletics
- Los Angeles Angels
- Kansas City Royals
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
Those 15 teams play at 10 stadiums located across
Maricopa County, AZ. Most of the stadiums are shared by two teams. That is, the teams alternate use of the stadium for home games. One team will use the stadium for a home game, while the other team will play at another stadium in the Phoenix area for their Spring Training game. Only five teams are the exclusive occupants of their stadium. Those teams are the Milwaukee Brewers, the Las Vegas Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Angels. Interestingly, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are the hometown team, share their Spring Training stadium with the Colorado Rockies. Based on the information that I could find, the stadium with the highest capacity for spectators is Sloan Park in
Mesa, AZ, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. Sloan Park has a seating capacity of 15,000. The oldest Cactus League stadium currently in use is the Tempe Diablo Stadium located in
Tempe, AZ. The newest Cactus League stadium is Salt River Fields at
Talking Stick Resort in
Scottsdale, AZ, which was built in 2011.
Here is a map that I created displaying all of the locations of Cactus League stadiums throughout the Phoenix, AZ area.
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| Location of Cactus League Stadiums around Maricopa County, AZ. |
As you can see, the Cactus League stadiums are scattered across Maricopa County. Five of the stadiums are located in what is locally referred to as the
East Valley, which consists of southeast
Phoenix,
Scottsdale,
Tempe, and
Mesa. The other five Cactus League stadiums are located in what is known locally as the West Valley, which consists of
Glendale,
Goodyear,
Surprise, and
Peoria.
Based on data that I took from the A Spring Tradition: A Look at Baseball in the Valley produced by the Sun City Independent newspaper, here is a table I constructed in HTML containing information about each Cactus League stadium.
Stadiums in the Cactus League
| Stadium |
Address |
Seating Capacity |
Year Opened |
Team(s) |
| American Family Fields of Phoenix |
3805 N. 53rd Ave, Phoenix |
7,000 |
1998 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
| Camelback Ranch |
10710 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix |
13,000 |
2009 |
Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox |
| Goodyear Ballpark |
1933 S. Ballpark Way, Goodyear |
8,000 |
2009 |
Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds |
Hohokam Stadium |
1235 N. Center St, Mesa |
10,000 |
1997 |
Las Vegas Athletics |
| Peoria Sports Complex |
16101 N. 83rd Ave, Peoria |
12,518 |
1994 |
San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners |
| Sloan Park |
2330 W. Rio Salado Pkwy, Mesa |
15,000 |
2014 |
Chicago Cubs |
| Salt River Fields |
7555 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale |
11,000 |
2011 |
Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies |
| Scottsdale Stadium |
7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale |
12,000 |
1992 |
San Francisco Giants |
| Surprise Stadium |
15850 N. Bullard Ave, Surprise |
10,000 |
2003 |
Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers |
| Tempe Diablo Stadium |
2200 W. Alameda Drive, Tempe |
9,558 |
1968 |
Los Angeles Angels |
Cactus League Stadiums Near Me
The Cactus League stadium that I am most familiar with is the Peoria Sports Complex, which is located in Peoria, AZ. It is the Cactus League stadium that is closest to where I currently live. I will go into greater detail about the Peoria Sports Complex in a future post. The other Cactus League stadiums that are a short drive away, in Maricopa County terms, are Camelback Ranch, where the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox play, in Glendale, AZ and Surprise Stadium, where the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals play, in Surprise, AZ.
