Major League Baseball

Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins will have to find another way to watch their favorite baseball teams.Comcast/Xfinity shut down Bally Sports Sun (channel 402) and Bally Sports Florida (channel 401) Wednesday. The cable company posted a disclaimer on the channels saying it couldn’t reach a programming agreement with Bally’s parent company Diamond Sports.

Baseball spring training is back, and drivers in Lee and Charlotte counties are reminded to be prepared for increased traffic near ballparks in both counties at game times.

For more than a quarter-century, Phillies fans considered dollar hot dog night among the best ballpark promotions — but the team has now decided it was the wurst.Those dog days of April — when Philly weather is cold and the wieners are a steal — are going, going, gone.

The Philadelphia A’s were the first Major League Baseball team to spring train in Fort Myers, beginning in 1925. Over the decades were followed by teams from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. The Minnesota Twins arrived in 1991, and the Boston Red Sox moved their spring training operations here two years later in 1993. We dig into the City of Palm’s rich baseball history with two men who just love digging into rich baseball history. They’ll be two of the presenters at the upcoming fundraiser for the Southwest Florida Historical Society called “What it was, was baseball. An evening of Fort Myers history as told through the prism of diamonds…baseball diamonds.”

Following a joint assessment of the damage to Charlotte Sports Park caused by Hurricane Ian, Charlotte County and the Tampa Bay Rays have determined there is not adequate time before the 2023 spring training is scheduled to begin to get the park in suitable condition to host games.

The spring training home of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles is housing emergency response providers following Hurricane Ian.

Minnesota Twins’ Spring Training schedule features 17 games at Hammond Stadium; Grapefruit League home opener set February 25 vs. Tampa Bay; Twins to host exhibition against a World Baseball Classic opponent on March 9.

The new collective bargaining agreement must be approved by both sides before it becomes official. Baseball would return on April 7 if it's accepted.

State health officials reported 8,892 new cases of COVID-19, Monday, increasing the statewide total to 432,747 cases. Monday marked the 34th consecutive day Florida has experienced a single day increase of at least 5,000 new cases, although it's also the lowest daily total reported since July 9.The Florida Department of Health also reported 77 new coronavirus-related deaths, yesterday, bringing the statewide death toll to 5,931 fatalities.

For defending champions the San Francisco Giants, the excitement of spring training is tempered by concern for manager Bruce Bochy, who underwent heart surgery Thursday.