2018 brings a bit of hope and plenty of sunshine as the Toronto Blue Jays begin spring training play in the Grapefruit League from Dunedin, Florida.
The Rogers Sportsnet TV schedule for 2018 spring training is limited to home games: the first game and selected weekend games as well as the Montréal package.
All the games in Dunedin are 1:07 pm starts. All the games are on Rogers Sportsnet except for those marked with a + that will air on Rogers Sportsnet One. The Montréal games will get a 30-minute pregame show.
February 23 Philadelphia
February 25 Detroit
March 10 Detroit
March 11 Pittsburgh
March 17 Team Canada (SS)+
March 18 Pittsburgh
March 26 St. Louis in Montréal 7:05p
March 27 St. Louis in Montréal 7:05p+
Sportsnet.ca will stream weekday games, running February 26-March 2; March 12-16; and March 19-23.
Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman will share the play-by-play duties with analysts Pat Tabler and Joe Siddall. Gregg Zaun is no longer on the Blue Jays telecasts after allegations of improper conduct in the workplace.
One major component missing on the radio side is the sudden retirement of Jerry Howarth after a 36-year career calling Toronto Blue Jays on the radio. Recent health issues have been affecting his voice. Howarth has been the Jays lead announcer since 2005 with the retirement of Tom Cheek.
Howarth was also the one who, inspired by a fan letter after the 1992 World Series championship win, decided not to use the nickname of any team (Cleveland, Atlanta) that uses the indigenous population as a mascot.
For now, Mike Wilner will work the radio play-by-play call with analyst Joe Siddall across the Sportsnet Radio Network, which consists of Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto); Sportsnet 960 The FAN (Calgary); and Sportsnet 650 (Vancouver).
One possible replacement for Howarth is Elliott Price, current Sportsnet 590 The FAN morning host and former Montréal Expos play-by-play person.
- Games in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver: February 25; March 3-4; March 10-11; March 17 (Canada Juniors); and March 25.
- Games in Toronto and Vancouver: February 24; March 18; and March 24.
- Games in Toronto: March 6-9 and March 26.
CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage
As for the MLB Network, the Montréal games are not listed yet, but here is the rest of the Blue Jays schedule on the U.S. network. The March 11 and March 20 games will be live telecasts; the rest are tape-delayed. All times Eastern.
- February 24 Philadelphia, 6a
- March 5 @ Philadelphia, 2a
- March 11 Detroit, 9a
- March 11 Pittsburgh, 1p (Live)
- March 15 @ Boston, 8p
- March 17 @ Philadelphia, 2a
- March 19 Pittsburgh, 6a
- March 20 @ Philadelphia, 1p (Live) 11p, 6a (next day) (tape-delayed)
- March 23 @ Pittsburgh, 2a
Here is the overall 2018 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule:
February 23 Philadelphia
February 24 @ Detroit
February 25 Detroit
February 26 @ Tampa Bay
February 27 NY Yankees
February 28 Philadelphia
March 1 @ Pittsburgh
March 2 @ Minnesota
March 3 Minnesota
March 4 @ Philadelphia
March 6 Atlanta
March 7 Pittsburgh (SS) /@ Detroit (SS)
March 8 @ Baltimore
March 9 Baltimore
March 10 Detroit
March 11 Pittsburgh
March 12 Boston
March 13 @ Atlanta
March 15 @ Boston
March 16 @ Philadelphia
March 17 Team Canada (SS) /@ Baltimore (SS)
March 18 Pittsburgh
March 19 @ Atlanta
March 20 @ Philadelphia
March 21 Philadelphia
March 22 Tampa Bay (SS) /@ Pittsburgh (SS) 6:05p
March 23 @ Tampa Bay
March 24 @ NY Yankees
March 25 Pittsburgh
March 26 St. Louis Cardinals in Montréal 7:05p
March 27 St. Louis Cardinals in Montréal 7:05p
All starting times at 1:07 (home) and 1:05 (road) unless noted.
photos credit: Global News; MLB; MLB
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