Cubs, White Sox spring training 2019: Equipment trucks leave for Arizona

Though it might be hard to believe after Chicago spent 52 hours battling below-zero temperatures this week, baseball season is almost here, and the proof came Friday morning.

The Cubs and White Sox loaded their equipment trucks in preparation to leave for their nearly 1,800-mile trips — which usually takes three to four days — to Arizona.

“It’s hard to imagine that three weeks from today we’ll be playing baseball down in Arizona,” Cubs senior vice president of sales and marketing Colin Faulkner said. “The light at the end of the polar vortex is baseball, so fans can look forward to that.”

Cubs and Sox pitchers and catchers are set to report Feb. 12 and will have their first workout the next day — that’s just shy of two weeks away. The Cubs will convene at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, for their first full-squad workout on Feb. 18. The Sox will host their first team workout that day at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Glendale, Arizona.

The Cubs and Sox begin the 2019 Cactus League season on Feb. 23. The Cubs will host the Brewers, and the Sox will play the Dodgers at their shared stadium in Glendale.