Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow on Groundhog Day this year, thus forecasting six more weeks of winter. But how far away can spring possibly be when we read and hear about baseball and spring training in the news? As Bill Veeck once said, "that's the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on a ball".
Spring training is almost as old as baseball itself. There is some debate about spring training's origin. Some historians claim that it was in 1870 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held organized baseball camps in New Orleans; others say the Washington Capitals pioneered spring training in 1888, holding a four-day camp in Jacksonville. Whatever, spring-training was firmly established as a baseball ritual by 1900 as most American and National League teams began the season in warm weather climates so players could train and managers could evaluate. Such small Florida (Grapefruit League) and Arizona (Cactus League) communities as St. Petersburg. Fort Lauderdale. Tucson. Sarasota and Bradenton were suddenly known across the nation because of the allure provided by major-league baseball. A.M. Gilliam, a writer for the Philadelphia Record in the 1880s, offered $3 a day for briefings from teams training in the south, thus introducing Spring Training to the masses. Teams provided such information as camp activities, scores and players' attitudes. Soon writers began reporting on highly regarded rookies and prospects. There would usually be a veteran claiming he was "rejuvenated". As a MLB owner wrote: "The games you play in the South mean nothing, but the score of even a five-inning practice game will be greedily scanned by enthusiasts here, and will boom your club for the coming season."
Although spring training statistics are often viewed skeptically, teams still frequently use players' spring training performances to assign starting roles and roster spots on the club. You can see a wide variety of talent and experience, from superstars, rookies and cagey veterans to guys barely 19 years old and comeback kids. And contrary to some opinions, most players are not loafing. With the exception of the major stars, most players are either trying to make a major league roster and win a starting job. The players working especially hard are those "on the bubble" between making good major league money or minor league money in Triple-A. According to Joe Connor, this is baseball’s version of the SAT for those "on the bubble". New free agents and the stars themselves also take Spring Training seriously to make sure they are ready for Opening Day given the intense media scrutiny they attract as they are making those big bucks.
Some interesting websites about baseball's spring training are:
Baseball Pages.com's From Cooperstown: A History of Spring Training
Spring Training Online History
MLB.com's Baseball blooms on Valentine's Day
BaseballGuru's Top 10 Myths of Spring Training
Boston Red Sox spring training history: from 1901 to 2003.
The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Spring Training
And you may wish to borrow some of our library's books about baseball spring training to read, perhaps, on your trip to Florida or Ariizona:
Broadcast rites and sites : I saw it on the radio with the Boston Red Sox by Joe Castiglione with Douglas B. Lyons.
Blackout : the untold story of Jackie Robinson's first spring training by Chris Lamb.
Game time : a baseball companion by Roger Angell
Spring training by William Zinsser.
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Go Sox!!!!!