MLB Spring training beats the same drum year after year
As the calendar hits mid-January baseball fans always hear about the countdown. 30 days until Pitchers and Catchers ‘report’ to spring training’. Pitchers and catchers always go first. It’s always been a harbinger and rite of spring — or late winter at least. The other major sports don’t have the anticipation history of training camps that baseball does and the fact that the end of winter is in sight adds to the romance.
With all the new training methods in baseball and the monetary stakes for players and teams going higher and higher, doesn’t it seem a bit strange that spring training in 2023 will look much like it did in 1923 and even before? Do players really need 6 weeks of practice to get ready to play an MLB season? What might be done differently?
To look forward let’s look back at the history of spring training. From a Frank Vargo 2019 article https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/the-origins-of-spring-training
“Some say spring training began in 1888 when the Washington Capitals held a four-day camp in Jacksonville, Florida. Most baseball people believe that by the early 1900s spring training was in wide use. Many of the teams came to Hot Springs, Arkansas, which has been called the “original birthplace of baseball spring training.” Three fields were built there from 1894 to 1912 and spring training games were being played there on a regular basis.
Before the days of multi-million-dollar contracts, most baseball players had to work extra jobs during the off season to feed their families. Not all players stayed in shape over the winter, so spring training gave them a chance to return to a more athletic physique. Spring training also built team unity and afforded managers and coaches a chance to evaluate their team’s talent for the season. For the owners it also meant money. Not only did fans pay to watch the spring games but the teams barnstormed their way back to their home cities, playing exhibition games along the way to bring in more income.
The Grapefruit League in Florida started in 1910 while the Cactus League began in Arizona in 1947 when Bill Veeck brought his Cleveland Indians to Tucson (where he owned property) and convinced the New York Giants to move to Phoenix so they could practice together. Other teams eventually followed.”
My friend Gary Livacari has a great baseball blog and wrote a great piece on how the Cubs took boats to spend their Spring Training on Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles from 1921 to 1951. https://www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com/cub-spring-training-on-catalina-island/
Can you imagine being isolated on an island for more than a month with no way off other than by boat. And there were sharks in those waters!
Baseball fans know that today’s MLB player does not ‘go soft’ in the winter or non-season. Players don’t work another job to ‘put food on their family’s table’. So, after more than 112 years why does spring training seem to be conducted so much like it was way back when? We all understand that pitcher arms have a shelf-life and working them into peak condition for the season is a process that’s scientifically managed. Does that take 6 weeks? It would appear so since that’s the amount of time from reporting date for P’s and C’s until the start of the regular season. But how about the non-pitchers or catchers? If the players are ‘in shape’ as we know them to be how much real practice/preparation time do they really need? How many practice games do they really need to be ready for opening day? Surely it isn’t 30!
Managers know that Spring Training is a time to work on plays. Mets manager Buck Showalter worked on various situational plays upon joining the team in 2022 and players like J.D. Davis and Brandon Nimmo related that they were impressed and amazed when the exact situation they had worked on arose during the regular season and they were ready for it to take advantage. There’s real value in practice — and practicing what you preach!
Pitchers used to do a lot of running during Spring Training. The thought being that increased wind capacity would help their endurance. While pitchers still do some running, they are expected to manage their own roadwork and fitness levels, and all have individual training plans adapted to their bodies and needs. Pitchers also do something called PFPs — Pitcher Fielding Practice. They all need to do it and for the most part despise it. PFP’s are boring and mundane and yet can make the difference in a game during the season. Outfield relays and infield cut-offs are important plays to practice and make reaction to situation second nature. Or so managers hope. This is definitely a big part of Spring Training.
What about team culture as it relates to Spring Training? How about getting the team together for 6 weeks to help drive the team vibe and spirit? This is probably undervalued by most fans including me. There are always new players to integrate during spring training and the clubhouse vibe is more important to a team’s success than you might think. There are not many teams any more that ‘don’t like each other’ a la the late 1970’ Yankees who still found a way to achieve success. Bad team culture is not a harbinger of good teams any longer.
Keep in mind that early Spring Training reporting dates are voluntary — until they are not when it becomes mandatory. However, many players are at the training complex long before reporting dates as they are welcome to use the facilities to work out and prepare for the season. Players are almost always eager and excited for the new season and increasingly report to their Spring Training sites as early as — now — mid-January!
Obviously evaluating unproven young talent is an important part of Spring Training. The proven veterans are in general not proving themselves but preparing themselves for the long season ahead. Young players are given a long ‘look’ with the idea that they might be able to contribute to the big-league club as a starter, reserve, or injury call up.
Creating team culture is made more difficult in a year such as the upcoming 2023 season due to the playing of the World Baseball Classic in early March. Many veteran players will play in that event and that will give them the work they need to get ready for the regular season. Although in the process for those players it does also make the ‘season’ longer. There are risks in that as well. Risks of injury as well as the expending of high-stakes effort in games that do not count toward winning a playoff spot or more. MLB team owners can and do occasionally forbid a player from participating in the preseason tournament mainly due to the player recovering from an injury as is the case with NY Met Starling Marte this year.
How many games do players really need to be ready for Opening Day? Players probably would be fine with 15 games and 50 plate appearances. But since they are there for the entirety of Spring Training, they get those plate appearances over 25–30 games in which they have 3 or fewer PAs.
Another aspect that’s significant and yet ancillary to the player’s preparation for the season is the very existence of Spring Training as a ‘thing’. The communities in Florida and Arizona that host MLB teams consider Spring Training to be an important part of their appeal and community. The Dodgers spent years in Vero Beach, FL in an area that became known as ‘Dodgertown’. When the Dodgers left for Arizona in 2008, they left behind a town that truly missed what had been an annual rite of passage for more than 55 years. Minor League Baseball (MiLB) can relate as the recent changes in MiLB baseball support from MLB has impacted small towns that have hosted MiLB for years.
One thing that always strikes me about Spring Training games is that there are wagering lines on the games themselves. I cannot understand why someone would want to bet on a game in which the outcome for either team is unimportant. The teams often are more interested in viewing players and situations than winning a game. How is that a smart bet?
Spring Training remains an important part of the local economy for all those towns and cities. Changing the way Spring Training is handled would impact a wide range of people both on and off the playing field. For that reason, it’s unlikely even if it makes sense to consider what might be changed after more than 100 years.
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and now Substack.com
