Earlier this year COVID-19 forced the abrupt cancellation of Major League Baseball’s beloved Spring Training and subsequently reduced the regular season to a paltry 60 games, starting next week. In preparation teams have been practicing in their home ballparks and have resorted to playing intrasquad games against themselves. On the surface you might think this is kind of lame and I’m sure there are players out there who are clamoring for real competition. But I actually kind of like watching these intrasquad games.
So much so, that I think they should stick around going forward. That’s right. I think we should end Spring Training. End the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues, end all the pomp and circumstance, all the fanfare and everything else. It pains me to say it as much as it pains you to read it but I think the idea has merit and not just because of the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Consider the following points:
- Logistically it makes sense. If teams train in their home ballparks that’s an extra month or two out of the year that they now get to spend at home with their families in their home cities instead of having to travel to Arizona or Florida.
- It’s more convenient for fans in that home city to watch their favorite teams practice for the season. (Assuming it’s eventually safe for fans to do so)
- It cuts down on travel once Spring Training gets under way by eliminating the need to go to other teams’ stadiums to play meaningless games.
- And eliminating these meaningless games eliminates the need to avoid throwing your best pitchers against lineups they’re scheduled to face early in the season. A common occurrence in Spring Training based on the belief that the more times a pitcher faces a hitter the inherent advantage in the match-up would start to favor the hitter.
- Players get used to playing on their regular season fields (the way the ball bounces off outfield walls, the way the batter’s eye is situated, the way the mound feels to the pitcher, etc.) , improving a team’s defensive and offensive capabilities and vastly improving the product on the field. This is especially important for teams that play in stadiums with unique dimensions like the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.
- Teams can pump in crowd noise to simulate hostile crowd conditions during real game situations something you couldn’t do during laid back Spring Training games.
- Players can watch the game from the stands, not the dugout to gain additional perspectives that they wouldn’t otherwise ever be able to get when playing in front of full crowds.
- Managers can dictate all scenarios such as ensuring that certain players get at bats against left handed or right handed pitching, something that you can’t always control against another opponent. In fact, teams can do all sorts of wacky things during game play such as playing a half inning with four outs, or calling runners safe who are really out, just to continue simulating game situations with runners on base, etc. In short, when you only play yourself the rules don’t matter and you actually wind up with more useful training situations than might arise during an actual game against a random opponent.
- Spring Training is great but most teams don’t travel with a full complement of players to road games either out of deference to veteran players or because of split-squad assignments. As a fan of a particular team I’d much rather watch my entire team play itself than watch half of my team play half of some other team. And if I’m really a die-hard fan of a particular team I’d much rather watch my team’s minor league prospects play than watch another team’s non-roster invitees play.
- Spring Training statistics are generally worthless. How do you compare performances when your hitters might be facing lower level pitching prospects, guys who are years away from the majors and have no shot of making the team? And how do you judge the performance of your pitchers when they may be working on things and not actually trying to get guys out like they would during the regular season? And yet these performances actually help determine who makes the team? It doesn’t really make any sense. Playing intrasquad games would eliminate all that. You can now evaluate your best hitters versus your best pitchers and determine who is actually performing the best.
- One of the complaints of NFL training camp is that you get tired of hitting your own guys, especially since you’re not actually trying to hurt them. In football you really do need an opponent to practice against. But baseball isn’t a contact sport. You can scrimmage against yourself all day, everyday just like you’re kids back on the sandlot.
- And it lends itself to unique situations such as a Dodgers clubhouse attendant recently becoming a legend out in left field. Go Chico! As well as other funny moments when a team’s star hitter and star pitcher square off against one another with bragging rights on the line. Moments that help a team bond and build chemistry.
Obviously getting rid of Spring Training as we’ve come to know it would be a big blow. It’s big business. Fans enjoy traveling to warmer weather locales and treating a Spring Training trip as part of a larger vacation. It’s a laid back atmosphere that’s perfect for autograph seekers. Tickets are cheaper than regular season tickets. It’s a great way to introduce kids to the sport. For some, it’s a family tradition. All in all, it’s a unique month long immersive experience that is part of what makes baseball America’s national pastime.
But at the same time there are a lot of other reasons why having teams train exclusively among themselves in their own home ballparks makes a lot of sense. Significantly more sense than Spring Training does in today’s day and age. Perhaps the unique circumstances of the 2020 season should become the new normal going forward.
What do you think? Does this idea have merit? Or did I just strike out?
The Yankees should only play the Yankees every Spring Training from now on.
Leave a comment