By Jay Lucas
THE SUNSHINE REPORT
People flocking South for the winter to avoid the snow is a phenomenon that has been around for a while. For baseball players, the ritual of going to a warmer climate for spring training started in the 1870’s. Players would head down to Florida, Arizona, or Arkansas, to gather up as teams, practice and iron out the kinks, while also weeding out the roster and potentially testing and bringing on new talent. In 1888, the first major league team to start a camp in Florida for practice was the Washington Capitals of the National League. There was no shortage of critics in the late 19th and 20th centuries when it came to spring training, with a common argument that training in a warmer climate and then coming north and playing in a colder one would lead to more injuries.
Not surprisingly, the criticism has died down over the last hundred years, and it is these early games of the year that bring excitement to see what the new talent has in store along with the return of favorites. And some memorable events actually do occur at these games. One such time was on St. Patrick’s Day, 1918, when Red Sox’ pitcher Babe Ruth first played in the field — first base. During this game, Ruth hit a home run so far that the ball almost landed in the pond of the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo. With the great hitting skills that he demonstrated that day, combined with some deft fielding while playing first base, it was decided to transition the ‘Babe’ from his role exclusively as a pitcher to become more of a regular day-to-day player. And, of course, none of this would have happened if not for spring training!
Today, because of the convenient location of Florida for the east coast teams, many of them have training camps within several miles of each other. As a result the teams formed ‘Grapefruit League,’ which has stadiums on the Gulf Coast as well as the Atlantic Coast of the state. Arizona has more Midwest and West Coast teams, and for that reason they call their network the ‘Cactus League.’
While you cannot necessarily root, root, root, for the home team while they are away at spring training, this timeless tradition creates a fun factor that we don’t otherwise see during the regular season. And sets the stage for the season opener – and getting excited for the moment when the teams arrive north and the umpire announces, “Play ball!”
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