Tag Archives: Spring Training

March 13, 2020

No Baseball!

These days, during the regular baseball season, pretty much every game is broadcast on TV by someone, so it doesn’t take a lot of effort to see every game your team plays (it generally just takes money). But during Spring Training it’s rare that a game your team plays is televised.

I was looking forward to watching a Twins game yesterday — one of those rare Spring Training games that was being televised. After several months of winter (and no baseball), I’m ready to start seeing games again.

But I turned on the TV to discover the MLB cancelled Spring Training!

11 Comments | tags: baseball season, coronavirus, Major League baseball, Spring Training | posted in Baseball

March 5, 2015

MLB Parks Tour

By Wyrd Smythe

My Minnesota Twins played their first spring training game last night. It was an exhibition game against the University of Minnesota. And, wouldn’t you know it, those professional experienced baseball players managed to beat the college kids. That hasn’t been the case for some other teams (the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the University of Tampa Bay last Sunday, for example).

In about three hours the Twins begin Spring Training games for real by hosting the Boston Red Sox (who beat two different college teams in a double-header Tuesday).

To celebrate, I thought I’d share my MLB Parks Tour plan.

14 Comments | tags: baseball park, baseball season, Boston Red Sox, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Ballpark Tour, MLB baseball parks, road trip, Spring Training, Twins 2015, University of Minnesota | posted in Baseball

February 20, 2015

Baseball Battery

By Wyrd Smythe

snowball It’s snowing here in Minnesota right now (exactly why we call it “Minnesnowta”). The recent temperatures rival — sometimes excel — the temperature in my freezer (which is to say: zero degrees Fahrenheit). To be clear, by “excel” I mean ‘colder than’ — we would disdain a February that didn’t chill our bones and nip our nose.

But down south, in Florida and Arizona, MLB pitchers and catchers are reporting for Spring Training after having the winter off. (Teachers get summers off, baseball players get winter.) Depending on the team, the report date varies from the 19th to the 22nd. The rest of the players, depending on team, report from February 23rd through the 27th.

So, I thought now would be a good time to talk about pitching.

4 Comments | tags: batters, breaking ball, Cactus League, catchers, curve ball, fast ball, Grapefruit League, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, pitchers, pitching, Spring Training, strike zone | posted in Baseball