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Welcome back: Optimism abounds as MLB's spring includes fans

The sun and the baseball have returned to Arizona and Florida for spring training games, which began on Sunday. So have the fans.
Credit: AP
Fans sit in social distance squares during a spring training baseball game with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The sun and the baseball have returned to Arizona and Florida for spring training games, which began on Sunday. So have the fans.

All 30 teams in Major League Baseball are allowing fans to return to spring training in a limited capacity amid declining COVID-19 case numbers. 

The safety protocols in Scottsdale for a Rockies-Diamondbacks game were similar to other sports like basketball and hockey. 

Fans are spread out in pods around the park and masks are worn. 

The Cactus League hopes that allowing some fans back in the parks will help boost the local economy, which usually does big business during spring training season.

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