It’s the dead of winter, but at Fenway Park, spring is already rounding third and headed for home. The first sign of spring on Van Ness—not a bouncing red robin, but a gaggle of excited Red Sox fans.

It wasn’t much of a challenge to find Ed Smith Stadium today. Just hang a left at the huge sign, complete with the cartoon Oriole bird, which welcomes you to the team’s new spring training home. I’m ...