Josh Beckett couldn’t wait for Boston’s first official workout of the season Sunday, so he started a few days early.

“I’m excited about it,” the 2003 World Series MVP said Thursday after throwing a bullpen session in Fort Myers, Fla. “It’s cool coming in and meeting new people. You’ve got to find new people to eat with, you’ve got to find new people to play golf with, everything. It’s going to be a good time.”

He’ll see some familiar faces this spring: Third baseman Mike Lowell and shortstop Alex Gonzalez also left the Marlins to join the Red Sox.

“It’s kind of cool,” Beckett said. “I got my whole left side of the infield.”

Out in Mesa, Ariz., the Cubs were among the nine teams to begin official workouts Thursday. They talked about Sammy Sosa, a day after the outfielder’s agent said the former Chicago standout was likely to retire.

Sosa, who is 37, batted .253 with 35 homers and 80 RBIs for the Cubs in 2004, then dropped to .221 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs for Baltimore last season. Injuries slowed him both years, but he is just 12 homers shy of 600.

“I’ve seen some greats leave the game. You never want to see them leave, and you’d rather see them leave on their terms and leave on top,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s not over with yet. You don’t know if somebody is going to offer Sammy a job here soon or what is going to happen. But Sammy has been one of the great players of the game for a long time and a guy who meant a lot to Chicago and a lot to the game. … I just hope he gets a job somewhere.”

In Sarasota, Fla., Ken Griffey Jr. was looking forward to playing for the United States in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. The center fielder will be in camp with the Reds for about two weeks, then head to Arizona for the tournament.

“That’s going to be weird. But I’ll still be on the phone and looking at the paper in the morning,” he said, promising to keep up on Cincinnati.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, no fan of the tournament, began spring training in classic Boss style, saying he was disappointed some of his stars would be leaving camp for the WBC. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon are on the U.S. roster, and Bernie Williams is on Puerto Rico’s preliminary roster.

When baseball owners approved the classic in August 2004 at the urging of commissioner Bud Selig, the Yankees abstained.

“We don’t like it that well,” Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. “If a player gets hurt, he’s risking a lot. But it was Selig’s idea, and he wants to do it, so I suppose we’re going to do it.”

Across the state in Port St. Lucie, three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez threw on flat ground again wearing a special Nike shoe designed to alleviate the persistent discomfort in his right big toe. The Mets’ ace hasn’t thrown off a mound since September because of his ailing toe, which caused him to miss his final two scheduled starts last year with New York on the verge of playoff elimination.

“It’s all right. It’s coming along,” Martinez said.

In Vero Beach, Fla., injured Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis said he understood why the team signed Rafael Furcal during the offseason to replace him. Izturis figures to be sidelined at least until the All-Star break while recovering from elbow surgery.

“Yeah, I was surprised, a little shocked,” Izturis said. “It’s baseball, and it’s a business. They don’t know how my arm is going to be, and they bring players here to make the team better.”