There are only ten days left until we stop talking about who will be the left fielder and who will be the fifth starting pitcher and we start watching the players on the field try and win
said spots. Ten days until pitchers and catchers report. For a baseball junkie like me, the beginning of spring training is like the start of the year. It always seems to me that the first six to seven weeks of the year are spent just waiting for baseball to begin, and now we are only ten days away from that happening.
This week is always hard for me because football is over, I don’t really get into basketball until the playoffs start or at least we get a little closer to it, March Madness is not here yet, I am not really into hockey, although I still keep up with the Starts a little bit, so I am just waiting. Waiting to hear the crack of the bat, waiting to see the players play catch, waiting to hear the daily interviews with the players and coaches.
Last season there was a lot of buzz around the Texas Rangers going into spring training, and some even picked them to go to the World Series. Sporting News had the Rangers finishing first in the West, and several ESPN analysts had the Rangers not only winning the West, but going to the World Series. They had acquired Prince Fielder, their rotation was looking pretty solid, they had Shin-Soo Choo, who was going to be the best lead off batter in baseball, they had Alex Rios, Jurickson Profar was the future at second base, the bullpen was looking strong. Of course injury changed all of that and the Texas Rangers had a dreadful season.
This spring training season begins again with hope. The Rangers have a supposedly healthy Prince Fielder, a healthy Derek Holland, Rougned Odor is the second baseman, Robinson Chirinos is coming off of a great year behind the plate and he looks to build off of that. There is a lot to be excited about with only ten days remaining until the pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, AZ for spring training. I really can’t wait!
