Spring training is an energizing time for players, beat writers and fans. It offers hope once again, as is always the case with the change of season, scenery, and even teammates. Dreams grow and search for the sun to kindle the possibilities that channel paths for accomplishment, much like the roots of the outfield grass pushing blades upward in an attempt to reach the heavens above. Be it a singular dream of reaching the big leagues, or a collective dream of winning it all, each dream has a chance to grow, fueled by hope, desire and hard work.
For the front offices, it’s a dream of not just contending, but of winning. The hope offered may be unfettered upon arrival, with focus on the positives and the possibilities. General managers, managers and coaches channel the fuel of hope to drown out the realities that may appear later in the form of injury, lack of depth of talent, or cohesiveness. After all, each team starts out all even in the standings upon arrival to spring training, and after adjustment, starts again all even in the spring start of the regular season.
For the beat writers and broadcasters, it is also a necessary time for honing the reporting and recording skills silent for the cold months of the annual game hiatus. Spring offers spring training games, and spring training games offer practice for the historians, note takers and talking heads.
For the players, spring offers the most hope, the most energy, the most desire; and along with it, the most work. It’s the one time that preparation is exciting, laid back and pressure packed all at once, laden with dreams of individual and team success. It’s the time one can go out and show what can be done, demonstrate what you’ve learned and worked on, and display your talent for all to see. It’s an opportunity to be discovered and chosen, promoted, and even lauded by the rest of the world. It’s an opportunity for the regulars to show the improvements made since last year. Spring training provides the hope, and hope fuels the drive and hard work of each player.
For the fans, however, spring training means a lot more.
Many fans have played the game since childhood all the way up to the last cut missed. The game was makeshift at times, played in front yards, back yards, school yards and streets without yards. We learned a sense of fair play taking turns as umpires during sandlot games. To play the game is to know the joy of making that pitch, that play or that game winning run. Fans who have never played it dream of it, because it is really a simple game, a game with a lot going on from the first pitch to the final out. The fans know how difficult this beautiful game really is. The game is much like life that way, and in that vein, the game’s synergy appeals to so many. Baseball truly is the sum of all its parts, with that sum condensed and totaled under the most important yet simple rule of any game: score more runs than the other guys if you want to win.
The game of baseball doesn’t need fans to be played; however, the game of baseball needs fans to sustain it, grow it and maintain it. The lifeblood of success for the game of baseball is truly the fans, and baseball as a profession and professional sport would not be what it is today without baseball fans. The fans buy tickets and merchandise, read the articles of beat writers and watch or listen to game broadcasts.
Spring training for the fans offers something much different than it does for the front office, the writers and broadcasters, and the players. Spring training offers the fan hope, excitement and a way out of an off-season of cold and dark stadiums and ball fields. It’s an excuse to vacation in warmer climates, and an opportunity to introduce children to the fun of the game and the bigger-than-life players. Spring training offers the fan of any age a chance to dream, to see their favorite teams and players up close, and maybe even live a little vicariously through them.
Spring training brings the baseball fan a glimpse of what’s coming now and in future years to come, all laced with the hope that “we” win. Spring training gives the fan the practice to forecast and discuss baseball passionately with other fans. Without that discussion, without the debate, the cheering and the booing, there would be no interest or public adulation or even acknowledgement. Without the fans, baseball as we know it would be lost. Spring training, yes, is different for the fans, but no less important. Spring training kickstarts the fanbase, grows the fanbase organically, and develops the optimism and excitement that fans bring to each game. It is in this sense that spring training for the fans is so important to the game of baseball.
When you ask a reporter, beat writer or broadcaster who won today, they’ll tell you which team won. If you ask a fan, they will tell you “We did.” For the fan, and the next fan up, it all starts with spring training.
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