Exhibition baseball season opens Feb. 21

Exhibition baseball starts Feb. 21 with a game between the Boston Red Sox and Northeastern University in Fort Myers, Fla., Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.

Four charity exhibitions are set for Feb. 22, followed by all 30 teams beginning spring training games on Feb. 23.

World Baseball Classic teams competing in the Puerto Rico pool and the Arizona pool will play exhibition games against big-league clubs on March 5-6.

The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela will each play two games at Grapefruit League sites. Canada, Italy, Mexico and the United States will have two games apiece at Cactus League sites.

World Baseball Classic semifinalists will play two exhibition games at Cactus League parks on March 14-15 before the championship round in San Francisco on March 17-19.

MLB's regular season opens March 31 when Houston plays host to the Texas Rangers in the Astros' American League debut.