Major League Baseball spring training facilities on Florida’s west coast seem to have mostly avoided serious damage during Hurricane Milton.
This is different from two years ago when Hurricane Ian caused significant destruction that forced the Tampa Bay Rays to shut down their spring home in Port Charlotte. So far, no teams have reported major issues from Milton that would affect their operations this winter.
The Rays are still checking the conditions at their training complex and stadium in Port Charlotte, as well as at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Milton damaged the roof of the domed stadium, which has been their regular-season home since the franchise started in 1998.
Fixing the damage from Hurricane Ian cost over $17 million and forced the Rays to split their workouts and spring training games between Disney World near Orlando and St. Petersburg in 2023.
The Port Charlotte complex, which includes Charlotte Sports Park, reopened just in time for last winter’s spring training.
The Atlanta Braves, who train in the Venice, Florida area, were still evaluating the situation there on Friday.
The Boston Red Sox reported that JetBlue Park in Fort Myers experienced only minor wind and water damage and did not lose power during the storm.
The team mentioned that Lee County will have 2,000 rescue workers at the ballpark over the next two weeks to help with cleanup efforts in and around Fort Myers.
The Pittsburgh Pirates train in Bradenton, just south of St. Petersburg. At LECOM Park, some padding on the outfield wall was knocked down, and a batter’s eye was damaged at Pirates City, where workouts take place.
“While we appreciate the curiosity, this pales in comparison to what others are facing in the wake of both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” said Pirates senior vice president of communications and broadcasting Brian Warecki. “We continue to work alongside Bradenton area first responders … willing to help in any way we can.”
