Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates of Arizona and Florida to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play.
A 1994 Grapefruit League game at the LA Dodgers' former camp of Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida
Boston Red Sox players in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1912
1885 Chicago White Stockings (known today as the Chicago Cubs)
Babe Ruth hit a 573-foot home run in spring training, 1918. He led the league with 11 home runs and had a 13–7 record as the Red Sox won the 1918 World Series.
An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or the team's rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. Exhibition games often serve as "warm-up matches", particularly in many team sports where these games help coaches and managers select and condition players, before the competitive matches of a league season or tournament. If the players usually play in different teams in other leagues, exhibition games offer an opportunity for the players to learn to work with each other. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team.
Sydney FC playing a friendly match against the Los Angeles Galaxy at ANZ Stadium in November 2007
A friendly match in Vietnam
Exhibition game of veterans of FC Spartak Moscow against Team of Severodvinsk in Russia
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi taking part in ceremonies before a Portugal–Argentina friendly in Switzerland, 2011