MLB Spring Training 2012: The Best Words in Sports

Although I am a giant football fan, and I enjoyed the reemergence of the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, as a sports fan, I find no greater joy than in the phrase “Pitchers and catchers report.”  Well, other than “Buster Posey’s fully recovered,” but that’s another story. 

When the Giants report to their facility in Scottsdale, AZ on February 18th. It is the start of a journey that will not finish until the end of October.  That is not a guarantee the Giants will still be playing come Halloween, but a promise that I get to look forward to America’s pastime being part of my life for the next seven months.

Does baseball have its problems? Sure. Even though there has been more variety in its champions than football or basketball over the last 30 years or so, baseball is still pretty top heavy.  We all know that, even if they have some injuries, the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and Rangers will be in the mix come September. In the National League, we can pencil in the Phillies for at least 85 wins and likely more. 

The salaries are too high, and parking costs too much.  Multi-million dollar businesses have their headquarters in dumps (amenity-wise) like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. 

So what? Spring training brings all baseball fans, even the fans of teams who have no legitimate shot at contending, a big thing to look forward to every February.  When pitchers and catchers report, it is a better indicator that there is an end in sight for winter, more so than that fat rodent in Punxsutawney, PA. 

However, “pitchers and catchers report” hits home with those of us who live in the warmer weather, too.  When I lived in Phoenix, there was a buzz about the town when spring training was in season. 

As a local, I loved to go to games where it did not cost $200 for two people.  One can actually get seats within five rows of the field without taking out a second mortgage.  Granted, by the fourth inning one has to watch the guys who are going to be playing in places like Modesto and San Jose, but with the aid of cheap beer, it is hardly noticeable.  And, in Phoenix it is nice to have tourists in the winter under the age of 90. 

Football, basketball and hockey do not have the luster as the start of spring training.  To be sure, football is more popular nationwide—in 2010 the Hall of Fame game did better in the ratings than an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast of the Yankees and the Red Sox.  The Pro Bowl, which is an awful spectacle, did the same in the ratings as the baseball All-Star game that supposedly “counts.”

As much as I like the start of the football season, training camp is not all that exciting.  Sweaty guys losing weight in the summer sun, and no-names that won’t make the team doesn’t do much for me.  While I realize that there are parallels in baseball, the guys getting cut are prospects for the future rather than names that disappear. I look forward to the start of the NHL, but the NFL is in full swing by then, and it is hard to get excited about training camp.  The NBA is much the same way. 

When pitchers and catchers report, the Super Bowl has just ended the NFL season. The playoff crunch has not hit in the NHL or NBA.  If one likes cars going around in circles, I suppose there is the Daytona 500, but outside of the diehard NASCAR folks it is hard to get excited about that.

Baseball, on the other hand, has the feel of vacation—even if you are not able to attend.  The beginning of baseball signifies hope. Hope that our summer vacation will be great.  Hope that the winter will end.  Hope that the barbeque will still work when we can grill again.  Hope that our underachieving first baseman will have a career year.  Even baseball fans in Pittsburg and Kansas City perk up when they hear “pitchers and catchers report.”  If the Pirates suck, there are still sunny days at PNC Park with beer and hot dogs with friends.  In Kansas City, there is a beautifully renovated ballpark and the prayer that this is the year that all the prospects finally pan out.

More than any other sport, the beginning of baseball reminds us fans that there are good times ahead regardless of how the team is going to do.  From now until October, we have an old friend to entertain us every single day regardless of what else is going on in our lives.  That, for me, is something couldn’t get here fast enough.