Pictured: Ed Smith Stadium. Photo courtesy of Ballparksofbaseball.com.

Although it has been nearly a month since Major League teams packed their bags and headed north for the start of MLB’s regular season, baseball has yet to leave the Gulf Coast. Not only is the Florida State League, a 10-team Single-A Minor League already in full swing, but Extended Spring Training has begun as well.

On Monday, the Baltimore Orioles kicked off their 13-game schedule with a matchup against the Atlanta Braves, who they’ll play again on Friday at 12:00 p.m. For those curious as to what Extended Spring Training is, well, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: an extension to the Grapefruit League games that ended nearly a month ago at the start of MLB’s regular season. The extension of Spring Training is designed to create a competitive environment for players in the Orioles’ system not yet assigned to one of their four full-season Minor League teams at the conclusion of normal Spring Training. Here in Extended Spring Training, prospects will have a chance to duke it out with players from other organizations in an effort to scratch and claw their way onto one of their franchise’s main Minor League affiliates.

While to some this may seem like a baseball purgatory of sorts, for the audience it’s a chance to see high end baseball at their home stadium free of charge. Not only is Baltimore’s farm system rated as the top player development system in baseball, but all but two of the 13 games in Orioles Extended Spring Training will be held at Ed Smith Stadium, with no cost for parking and entry.

Pictured: Ed Smith Stadium. Photo courtesy of Ballparksofbaseball.com.

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