Mariners to begin spring games March 3

Spring is hardly in the air on this dark chilled-to-the-bone day in the Northwest. But my email in-box was certainly a toasty place to be within the past hour. The Mariners have announced their 2010 exhibition schedule.

The Mariners will play their first spring training game on Wednesday, March 3, at their home stadium in Peoria, Ariz., against the San Francisco Giants. The Mariners will play 17 games at Peoria Stadium, including two as the “visiting” team against the San Diego Padres, who also share the spring training complex there.

The growth of the Cactus League on the west side of Phoenix will continue in 2010 with the addition of the Cincinnati Reds, who will share the newly opened complex in Goodyear, Ariz., with the Cleveland Indians. That makes nine teams on the same side of the Phoenix metro area — the Mariners and Padres in Peoria, Royals and Rangers in Surprise, White Sox and Dodgers in Glendale, Indians and Reds in Goodyear and Brewers in Maryvale. All of those are within a 15-30 minute drive of Peoria.

As a result, the Mariners will make only a few longer trips in March. They’ll play only once against the Giants in Scottsdale (March 11), once against the Angels in Tempe (March 21) and once against the A’s in Phoenix (March 29). They’ll take their Tucson trip March 14-15 to face the Rockies and Diamondbacks.

After their final Arizona game on April 1 against the White Sox in Peoria, the Mariners will play April 2-3 against the Rockies in Albuquerque, then April 4 against the Giants at San Francisco. They’ll begin the regular season April 5 at Oakland to start a seven-game trip before opening the home schedule April 12 against the A’s.

The Mariners haven’t announced their spring training reporting dates, although Major League Baseball rules stipulate that the reporting date is no earlier than 45 days before the first regular-season game for pitchers and catchers or 40 days for position players. With the major league opener on April 4, that would mean physical exams Feb. 17 and the first pitcher-catcher workout on Feb. 18, with dates for position players on Feb. 23 (physicals) and Feb. 22 (first workout). Again, those are possible dates because the Mariners haven’t finalized that part of their schedule.

Here, from the Mariners, are ticket details for exhibitions:

Single-game tickets: Tickets for all Mariners games at the Peoria Sports Complex will go on sale Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 9:00 am. Tickets may be purchased via phone at 800-677-1227, online at www.mariners.com, or in person at the Peoria Sports Complex box office located at 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria, AZ 85382. Individual game tickets are priced from $6 to $23.

Group ticketing: Group ticket discounts include $1.00 off tickets for groups of 20 or more and $2.00 off tickets for groups of 100 or more on seats in the Upper Box, Outfield Box, Bleachers or Lawn. Some games are subject to blackout. For more information, contact the Box Office Group Sales Coordinator at (623) 773-8719.

Spring season tickets: Three season ticket packages are available. To become a Season Ticket holder, contact the Box Office at (623) 773-8719.

Spring Training Tours packages: Official travel packages to Spring Training in Peoria include spring game tickets, lodging and ground transportation. For further information on such packages, call 1-800-8WARMUP or visit www.mariners.com.

Here’s the Mariners’ exhibition schedule:

Date Opponent Location Time (Mountain Std unless noted)

Wednesday, March 3 San Francisco Giants Peoria 1:05

Thursday, March 4 San Diego Padres Peoria 1:05

Friday, March 5 San Diego Padres Peoria 1:05

Saturday, March 6 San Diego Padres Peoria 1:05

Sunday, March 7 San Diego Padres Peoria 1:05

Monday, March 8 Chicago White Sox (ss) Glendale 1:05

Milwaukee Brewers (ss) Maryvale 1:05

Tuesday, March 9 Cleveland Indians Peoria 1:05

Wednesday, March 10 Texas Rangers Surprise 1:05

Thursday, March 11 San Francisco Giants Scottsdale 1:05