That’s when single game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. for the Marlins two exhibition games against the New York Yankees on Sunday April 1 and Monday April 2. The only way you can buy tickets for the game is through Marlins.com.

A total of 25,000 tickets will be made available for the Sunday game and 30,000 tickets will be up for sale for the Monday night game.

But if you’re hoping to get a ticket to opening night against the St. Louis Cardinals, time is running out. According to the Marlins, over 50,000 fans have registered for a lottery to buy two tickets for opening night.

The winners of the Opening Night lottery will be announced on February 23.

Single-game tickets for the rest of the regular season will go on sale March 3 at 10 a.m.

For baseball fans needing an early fix after a long winter, spring training is hard to beat. The weather is almost always sunny and warm (temperatures in the 70s and 80s), the ballparks are cozier than regular stadiums, beer and hot dogs are cheap(er) and everything — parking, tailgating, finding your seats, standing in line for food — is just more laid-back. Many of the seats are so close that fans can hear the on-field chatter. Players haven’t become mired in slumps or losing streaks yet, so most of them don’t mind stopping for autographs.

“It’s very intimate compared to going to a big stadium,” says Julie Baldwin, who lives in suburban Washington D.C. and has come down with her family to root for the Boston Red Sox in some spring games. “Your parking is right there. It’s just easy, everything is so much on a smaller scale and not so daunting.”

In 2012, 15 teams will train beneath the palm trees in central and south Florida, playing a slate of 236 Grapefruit League games throughout March. (The other 15 teams play their preseason games in the Cactus League in Arizona.) For veteran players, it’s a chance to shake out the cobwebs, while rookies and journeymen compete to be one of the 25 guys left standing when the teams break camp.

Nine of the Grapefruit League parks are clustered on or near the state’s west coast, from Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays), in the Tampa Bay area, south 150 miles or so to Fort Myers. The Minnesota Twins play there at Hammond Stadium, and the Boston Red Sox are this spring debuting a $78 million, 10,000-seat park whose confines are supposed to resemble Fenway Park, complete with a Green Monster left field wall.

The rest of the venues are scattered in central Florida and on the east coast, from the Atlanta Braves’ beautiful park at the Walt Disney World Resort down to Jupiter, just north of West Palm Beach, where the St. Louis Cardinals and rebranded Miami Marlins share training facilities and the 7,000-seat Roger Dean Stadium.

“You’re so close to the field,” said Brian Hurowitz, who has taken an annual trip down with his father from Long Island for the past 20 years or so to see their beloved New York Yankees. “You literally feel like you’re in the fourth or fifth row of the major league stadium, even if you’re in the last row at a minor league ballpark. It’s such a different event.”

Much to the delight of Tampa Bay Rays fans, the team plays its spring games in a terrific refurbished ball park about 75 miles south of the dreary domed stadium in St. Petersburg where they play their regular season home games. The 6,923-seat Charlotte Sports Park has become a fan favorite on the Grapefruit League circuit since the Rays moved in three years ago.

Spring training and some of the stadiums are as much a part of the fabric of their Florida communities as the teams are back in their permanent cities. The Detroit Tigers have trained in Lakeland — between Tampa and Orlando — since 1930 and have played in the current park, Joker Marchant Stadium, since 1966. The Philadelphia Phillies have played in Clearwater since 1947, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have called Bradenton’s McKechnie Field home for the past 43 years, although the place got a complete and much-needed facelift in the 1990s.

The 5,500-seat Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in a residential neighborhood in Dunedin has hosted every player in the history of the Blue Jays organization — it’s been the only spring home for Toronto since the expansion team started up in 1977.

And the New York Yankees have maintained a Florida presence since 1919, moving from Fort Lauderdale in 1996 to an 11,076-capacity park in Tampa that now bears the name of late owner (and beloved local resident) George M. Steinbrenner. It’s the largest park in the Grapefruit League.

Proximity of the parks to each other — especially the ones clustered in the Tampa Bay area — makes a multi-day, multi-park tour relatively easy to plan. Nearby beaches and the central Florida theme parks mean non-baseball fans will find plenty of ways to enjoy the trip, too. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

A word about game tickets: It’s best to buy them online well in advance. Many spring games sell out early, especially the weekend contests. Tickets for Yankees games in Tampa and Red Sox games in Fort Myers are always difficult to find, even for weekday contests. Tickets start at $8 or $9 at some parks, but figure on paying $25 to $30 for really good seats. It’s still a bargain compared to the cost of seats at the big parks.

Spring training makes Florida tourism officials smile, too. The Grapefruit League stadiums host about 1.5 million people every spring, and a 2009 study showed that its annual economic impact is in the neighborhood of $753 million.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Cespedes has signed a 4-year, $36 million contract with the Oakland Athletics.

Clark Spencer from CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald reported the Marlins offered Cespedes a  6-year, $36 million contract, or roughly $3 million less than what Yoenis got from the A’s.

It’s the second time the A’s have gone after a Cuban player, but first time the team has signed one.

Oakland was also among the top bidders for Aroldis Chapman before he eventually signed with the Cincinnati Reds.

Cespedes was linked to the Marlins due to the marketing potential of having a Cuban-defector in Miami. He also was expected to play in the outfield if the Marlins had signed him. Scouts project Cespedes to hit around .260 -.270 for a season.

Cespedes played for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and is projected to be ready for the majors. Cespedes says six teams are interested in signing him, including the Marlins, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.

WEB EXTRA: Yoenis Cespedes Tours Miami Marlins Stadium

Cespedes donned a hard hat for his walkthrough at the almost-completed park in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. In Spanish, he said he believes the Marlins “can compete for a World Series” as early as this season.

Major League Baseball says Cespedes cannot finalize a contract until he obtains an unblocking license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

(© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer, Bonifacio will get the full salary he requested of the Marlins in arbitration, $2.2 million for one year.

It was the first time Bonifacio had ever been arbitration-eligible. The Marlins had offered him $1.95 million for one season.

Bonifacio, 27, hit .296 last year with five home runs, 36 RBI’s and 40 stolen bases. He was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise miserable year for the Marlins. He put together a .753 OPS and started at third base, shortstop, second base, and all three outfield positions.

He’s likely batting second in the lineup behind newly-acquired shortstop Jose Reyes. If Reyes can stay healthy, it will give the Marlins two very quick baserunners at the top of a developing lineup.

The Marlins lost a separate arbitration hearing earlier this week to pitcher Anibal Sanchez. The Marlins are now 3-6 in salary arbitration hearings since 2003, and have lost their last five straight, according to Spencer.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

Not only did the designers put together the stadium’s look, but the game designers also give gamers a first look at what Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell will look like in their brand new uniforms.

According to the game designers, they used blueprints, architectural concept models, and other data culled from Major League Baseball and the Marlins front office to put together the shell of the stadium.

After that, designers used photos and live video streams to put together many of the details on the inside of the ballpark.

Once they combined all of the source material, they were able to design what they felt was the best representation of the new Marlins Park. The park even features the new home run celebration sculpture in the outfield.

“Our goal is always to give our fans the most realistic sports experience possible and I’m thrilled we were able to continue that proud tradition here,” said Jody Kelsey, senior producer of MLB The Show.

Cespedes was declared an unrestricted free agent last month and could be pursued by multiple teams before spring training starts.

But, he can’t officially sign with a team until he’s cleared by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to MLB.com.

The Marlins interest in Cespedes is two-fold. First, his highlight videos have generated quite a buzz and he could fill a void in the outfield.

But second and just as important, he would be a marketing coup for the Marlins in the heavily Cuban community in Miami.

But, there’s still a question of just how much Cespedes can offer at the Major League level. He went 5-35 with a home run and 10 strikeouts in winter baseball in the Dominican Republic.

In Cuban ball last season, he hit .333 with 33 home runs and 99 RBI’s in 90 games. He was also Cuba’s starting center fielder during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Still, the Marlins have said they would aggressively pursue signing Cespedes. Early contract rumors centered around $60 million but those numbers have come down dramatically in recent weeks.

He will still command a big contract, even though he may not start the year in the big leagues.

The highly anticipated Miami Marlins season will officially kick off when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Jupiter, Florida on Wednesday February, 22.

After that, the position players will report on February 26, which will also be the day of the first full workout.

Expectations are running high for the Marlins this season after ownership finally decided to loosen the purse strings and make some big signings in free agency.

At the top of the free agent crop for the Marlins was shortstop Jose Reyes.

While the Marlins already had a shortstop in Hanley Ramirez, the team rolled the dice and signed Reyes for more than $100 million and moved Ramirez to third base.

After initially protesting the move, Ramirez has come around in recent weeks and now seems to be on board with the switch to the hot corner. Part of what has helped the switch is new manager Ozzie Guillen.

The often outspoken Guillen has made it a point to make sure Ramirez buys into the plan the Marlins have for him and the team in general.

So far, the combustible personalities have been on the same page, which the Fish hope will last through any bumps in the season.

The Marlins also spent big on pitching this offseason. The Fish acquired starting pitcher Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell to fortify the rotation.

Buehrle has been with Guillen in the past and has averaged 13 wins a season over the past three years.

Bell came into his own as a closer over the past few years, averaging more than 40 saves a season during that span.

The Marlins season though will be determined by how starting pitcher Josh Johnson returns from a season-ending injury.

Johnson missed most of the 2011 season with a shoulder injury, and is only recently starting to throw from the mound.

If the Marlins can get Johnson back at full-strength, it will help a rotation that could be quite good in 2012.

The Marlins will have Johnson, Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco, and Carlos Zambrano as the team’s starting five pitchers.

Zambrano could make the rotation really good if he’s gotten over all of his issues that led him to quit on the Chicago Cubs last season.

Meanwhile, the Marlins will send up a lineup that will feature Jose Reyes leading off, followed by Emilio Bonifacio, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton, and Logan Morrison.

Still, the Marlins are in arguably the toughest division in Major League Baseball and will have to overcome the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves to get into the playoffs.

But, for the first time in years, there’s hope with the Marlins powered by newfound spending and a new stadium. Marlins fans, and owner Jeffrey Loria, want that hope to turn into victories and sold-out crowds.

Otherwise, it may be a long time before Marlins fans see free agent spending like they did last year.

That’s not going to be the case after Sanchez earned his first victory of the season by winning his salary arbitration case against the Marlins.

According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, Sanchez was awarded an $8 million salary that both he and his agent felt he deserved. The Marlins had offered $6.9 million for one season.

Sanchez pitched well last season when ace Josh Johnson went down with a season-ending injury in the second month of the season. But so far, the Marlins haven’t been inclined to sign Sanchez long-term.

Last week, according to the Herald, Marlins president David Samson said the team has no plans to extend Sanchez’s contract during the season. Sanchez is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Sanchez finished last season with an 8-9 record with a 3.67 ERA in 196.1 innings pitched. He had a strikeout to walk ratio of 202-64 for the year.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

With Marlins Park at 94-percent completion, workers began laying the first few thousand square feet of grass by rolling out huge, 50-foot rolls of sod that are four feet wide.

“We said day one, it’s Little Havana’s turn and that’s what happened, it’s been built,” said Miami Marlins President David Samson.

With just 62 days left until doors officially open, each day the ballpark looks more and more like home base for the Miami Marlins.

“We will now install grass,” declared Samson as the first squares of bright green grass were laid onto the ground.

Once complete, the field will consist of 110,000 square feet of Bermuda grass, and installation will take about three days.

“The fact that their laying the sod means that they’re ready to play,” said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado.

The Marlins chose a Bermuda grass that’s shade-resistant for their ballpark, which has a retractable roof.

“We need the sun and the rain to get this Bermuda grass, which is called Celebration, to reach three quarters inch thick,” said Samson. “Today is the day this ball park comes to life.”

Officials say the retractable roof will remain open until opening day in order to get plenty of sun which will help the grass to grow.

Opening night is April 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals, however, the team has a few exhibition games scheduled.

The first is March 6th against the University of Miami. Those tickets have sold out.

Tickets still remain for the exhibition game against FIU on March 7th.

The Marlins will also play a pair of exhibition contests against the New York Yankees on April 1 and 2. Single game tickets for the Yankees games will go on sale to the public on February 18th at 10 am and can only be bought online at www.marlins.com.