The New York Yankees Spring Training Survival Guide (Tampa, Fla.)

The New York Yankees have held spring training all up and down the East coast and a few places you would have never thought.

Here is a list of places they have played, according to SpringTrainingOnline.com:

Baltimore (1901); Savannah, Ga. (1902); Atlanta (1903-1904); Montgomery, Ala. (1905); Birmingham, Ala. (1906); Atlanta (1907-1908); Macon, Ga. (1909); Athens, Ga. (1910-1911); Atlanta (1912); Hamilton, Bermuda (1913); Houston (1914); Savannah, Ga. (1915); Macon, Ga. (1916-1918); Jacksonville (1919-1920); Shreveport (1921); New Orleans (1922-1923); St. Petersburg (1924-1942); Asbury Park, N.J. (1943); Atlantic City (1944-1945); St. Petersburg (1946-1950); Phoenix (1951); St. Petersburg (1952-1961); Ft. Lauderdale (1962-1995); Tampa (1996-present).

Being a Yankees fan from Atlanta, it always "steams my clams" when I see that they played in my backyard for a few years before I was even thought of.  But don't get me wrong, the drive down to Tampa is well worth it every year.

For the past three years, I have taken the trip down to, George M. Steinbrenner Field, formally known as Legends Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

Built in 1996, Legends Field was renamed in honer of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner on March 27, 2008.

If you are making your first trip down to Tampa, Florida this year to see the Yankees and can't find your way to the stadium, the easiest way is to look for Raymond James Stadium, the home of NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as Steinbrenner Field is just across the street.

Outside, you will immediately notice numbers, just like those of old Yankee Stadium of all of the retired greats.  I find myself at times forgetting there is a current Yankees team and a game going on when I walk around and look at these numbers and read their stories.

For someone who hasn't had the luxury of walking through Monument Park, its nice to look at all of this, and not be rushed by anyone.  Just stand there, feel the cool breeze, and take it all in.

My most fond memory of going down there was watching Reggie Jackson teach one of the Yankees youngsters how to hit on one of the secondary fields to the main field.

I didn't get Mr. October's autograph, but just standing there and watching him talk baseball is like listening to Albert Einstein talk about science.

The best place to interact with a player is by getting to the park as early as possible and hanging around one of these secondary fields and just hope the right person walks by at the right time.

Always have a pen and a baseball ready, you never know who you might get. Regular ball point pens work the best, and I always like to bring a brand new Official Major League Baseball with me in my back pocket.

Sometimes you will leave empty handed, other times you will wonder how you got the autographs that you did.  Just like a box of chocolates, or a box of baseball cards for that matter, you never know what you are going to get.

Last season, I had a nice moment with Edwar Ramirez, one of the young relievers of the Yankees and I was sitting next to the bullpen in right.  He signed my ball without any hesitation and was very polite and humble.

When you go down to Tampa to watch the Yankees play, I would have to highly recommend to try the fresh lemonade around the ball park, especially on a hot day. The lemonade is squeezed fresh and really cools you down and hits the spot.

As far as the food goes, its pretty generic, get your simple hot dog with a beer and you are set.  Nothing special here, just the usual.

I am not too familiar with the Tampa area besides around the field.  I always choose to stay in Clearwater, which is just 25 minutes South West of Tampa.

Clearwater is the Spring Training home of the 2008 World Series Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.

It is really beautiful in Clearwater and it is a great place to stay, I am always welcome at Bright House Networks field when there isn't a game going on at George Steinbrenner Field.

Actually, the best part about watching the Yankees in Tampa is how close you are to other teams around the league.

The Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers are about an little over an hour away just North East of Tampa.

While as mentioned before the Phillies are just 30 minutes West in Clearwater.  Another team that is close is an AL East foe, the Toronto Blue Jays, who play in Dunedin, which is only about 25 minutes from Tampa.

My favorite part about spring training, other then it signaling the start of the season, is to plan my week out and map it out.

If you play your cards right, you can watch the Yankees play a few games in Tampa and then a few games on the road just an hour or so down the road, its that simple.  Follow the team as if you were one of them.  After all, a fan is part of the team just as much as a player.

Lets take a look at this year for instance, the very first game of the spring is in Dunedin against the Blue Jays on February 25.  Then, Tampa Bay comes into Tampa to play the Yankees on February 26.  That is two AL East opponents in two days, you can't beat that.

After that, the Yankees travel down to Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers to play the Minnesota Twins on February 27, which is quite a travel, so if you take a day off there and stay in Tampa to site see, the Twins travel up to Tampa the next day on February 28 to play the Yankees.

On March 1, the Yankees travel an hour South to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota to play the Cincinatti Reds.  This is the Reds last year in Sarasota, as they are moving to Goodyear, Arizona in 2010.

Then, after playing the Houston Astros on March 2 at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, there is a must see game to follow.

On March 3, history will made at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Derek Jeter will put on a USA uniform and play Shortstop against the Yankees in an exhibition game.

Now, that would be something to remember.  I wonder if he will do his fist pump if USA wins.

So there you have it, New York Yankees spring training in a nut shell, a peanut shell if you will.  If you enjoy baseball as much as me, there is nothing else in the world like it.

Photo by Audrey C. Tiernan