Minnesota Twins to start Spring Training Feb. 19
FILE - Rich Hill #44 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch to Tommy Edman #19 of the St. Louis Cardinals during the game at Target Field on July 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - We don’t yet know when the Major League Baseball season will start, or how many games the 2021 season will be, but dates for teams to start Spring Training have been finalized.
MLB officials say all teams will begin with pitchers and catchers holding their first workouts Feb. 17-18, with full team workouts to follow. The Minnesota Twins will hold their first workout for pitchers and catchers on Friday, Feb. 19. Their first full team workout will be four days later, on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
All indications are that the Twins will hold Spring Training workouts and games, with COVID-19 protocols in place, at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. Twins officials announced last week they reached an has come to an agreement with MLB and Lee County, Fla., to bring in 2,400 fans per game at Hammond Stadium. The fans will sit in "pods" of two or four contiguous seats. The total capacity is 8,730, meaning about 28 percent of the stadium can be full for the games.
The home opener is scheduled for Feb. 28 as the Twins embark on their Grapefruit League schedule.
The Twins, winners of two straight American League Central Division titles, are scheduled to open the 2021 regular season at Milwaukee on April 1. The home opener at Target Field is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. on April 8, and details on fan attendance are not known. There were no fans in the stands during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the Twins had about two weeks of Spring Training left when MLB canceled all workouts and games due to COVID-19. The Twins, once cleared to return, held a modified Spring Training at Target Field before playing a 60-game regular season.