"In these baseball-hungry regions, Lakeland, Fla., means spring training. Tigers spring training.

The Tigers and Lakeland have been a partnership since 1934, the longest-running relationship between a big-league club and its spring training site of any team in baseball.

The man who oversees the vast Tigertown complex — Marchant Stadium, five practice fields, minor-league dormitory, etc. — is Ron Myers, the team's director of Lakeland operations.

Myers talked about Lakeland's preparations for a seven-week Tigers spring camp, which begins on Feb. 19, as well as demand for Grapefruit League tickets at Marchant Stadium."