Spring Training for major league baseball means a rigorous series of workouts, practices and games. So where do the players go when they want to have some fun on their time off? SeaWorld parks, of course!
New York Yankees first baseman Nick Johnson, center fielder Curtis Granderson, left fielder Randy Winn used their day off from Spring Training to spend quality time with their family and friends at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
From the left, Yankees' Johnson, Granderson, Winn and Granderson's friend, Eldridge L. Williams, dare Montu at Busch Gardens, which is one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world.
The 27-time world champion Yankees Spring Training home games are held at Tampa's George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Philadelphia Phillies All-Star center fielder and 2009 Golden Glove winner Shane Victorino slowed down from a busy Spring Training schedule to meet Autumn, a red-ruffed lemur, at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's Jambo Junction. The Phillies work out in nearby Clearwater, Fla.
At Jambo Junction, guests have an opportunity to participate in animal feedings, lessons in husbandry and behavior training.
Carlos Peña, first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays, swims with a new fan, Jenny, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Peña spent the day at Discovery Cove in Orlando swimming with dolphins, snorkeling with rays, and hand-feeding exotic birds.
New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher and girlfriend, actress Joanna Garcia get up-close and personal with a baby wallaby at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's Jambo Junction.
Swisher made a visit to the adventure park Sunday to spend quality time with Garcia as he prepares for the Yankees' Tampa Spring Training camp.
***UPDATE, April 3***
Finally, the end of the spring season is near. Savoring the final days of spring training, World Champion Yankee ace CC Sabathia got chummy with a giraffe and black rhino at Busch Gardens Tampa's Serengeti Safari.
Sabathia will stare down less-friendly faces Sunday night when he opens the season for the Bombers against the Red Sox in Boston.
