"People who write about spring training not being necessary have never tried to throw a baseball."
~ Sandy Koufax

Four magic words have brightened my day, “Pitchers and Catchers Report.” Though I am sitting in Lockport, Illinois with a temp of -2 degrees and a high expected of only 18 degrees, those four magic words have brought an incredible amount of joy to my heart.
 
The reporting schedule looks like this.

Arizona Cactus League:
 
February 17th Pitchers and Catchers - February 22nd Full Squad First Workout. Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks - Chicago Cubs - Chicago White Sox - Kansas City Royals - Oakland Athletics - San Diego Padres - San Francisco Giants - Texas Rangers

February 18th Pitchers and Catchers - February 22nd Full Squad First Workout. Team: Cincinnati Reds

February 18th Pitchers and Catchers - February 23rd Full Squad First Workout. Teams: Cleveland Indians - Colorado Rockies - Los Angles Dodgers - Los Angles Angels - Milwaukee Brewers - Seattle Mariners


Florida Grapefruit League:
 
February 17th Pitchers and Catchers - February 22nd Full Squad First Workout. Teams: Baltimore Orioles - Detroit Tigers - New York Yankees - Philadelphia Phillies - Pittsburg Pirates - St. Louis Cardinals 

February 18th Pitchers and Catchers - February 22nd Full Squad First Workout. Teams: Boston Red Sox - Houston Astros - Toronto Blue Jays

February 18th Pitchers and Catchers - February 23rd Full Squad First Workout. Teams: Atlanta Braves - Miami Marlins - Tampa Bay Rays - Washington Nationals 

February 19th Pitchers and Catchers - February 22nd Full Squad First Workout. Team: New York Mets

February 19th Pitchers and Catchers - February 23rd Full Squad First Workout. Team: Minnesota Twins

Each team will test their players for COVID-19, give normal physicals and get started on throwing and fielding drills. As the position players arrive, general drills will increase, the position specific drills will be added as well as the conditioning routines and finally spring training games will start. This all leads up to that glorious day of the opening games. The baseball cycle has begun.

I’m still surrounded by snow, wind chills and temperatures non-conducive for playing baseball outside; but my heart is warmed, my enthusiasm is high, my anticipation is peaked, and all is right with my world. Spring in the Midwest is still a few weeks off, but hope abounds, BASEBALL SPRING TRAINING has begun.

Spring, a time when the weather gets warmer, the days get “longer” and life begins again. Baseball starts in the spring, coincidence, I think not! 
 
Enjoy!

​~ Coach Mike

Well, I‘m stepping out of my writing “comfort zone” today. No baseball, no sports, period. Hmmm, is this possible? Let’s see.
 
Recently a dear friend from back in the day reached out on Facebook for me to “Like” her blog page, “It’s All in the Expression” which of course I did. The title intrigued me, so I clicked on the blog link while perusing the Facebook page.
 
Donna has an “about this blog” page which hooked me immediately with, “When I‘m looking for ways to unwind or destress, I find I always end up doing something creative.” That was exactly one of the top reasons I re-started my blog, a need to destress and the desire to be creative in one of the few ways I feel confident, writing (I play guitar, some banjo and mandolin as well, which is “creative”, but I digress); a kindred spirit approaching from a different interest.
 
On I ventured into the most current post, “When in doubt COLOR and do it with flare!” was the title.  Now I thought I might be in trouble. My artistic talents in the drawing / colouring arena are slim. As I like to say to people, ‘I need a ruler to draw stick men’. And that whole “colour thing”, my wardrobe is made up of blacks, blues, and grays; rarely do I venture into hues other than the basics. But the post started out with a quote from Dr. Joel Pearson that hit a chord with me, “it brings out our inner child”; parallel again to my love of baseball, my “inner child” pursuit. Okay, keep reading. Donna touched on her journey with Adult Coloring books and what she found inside. She continued into aspects of technique (who knew there’s more than just putting a colour between the lines and shapes), the actual “why” of the process, building her colored pencil collection, images, and the endless possibilities. It didn’t make me run out and get a 64 box of crayons and a couple books, but it did remind me of the simple times I coloured with my three kids when they were younger and the relaxation and joy of those times. It was a good read and it spoke to my soul.
 
Some of the categories she has or will tackle are:

     > Baking
     > Coloring
     > Equip Yourself
     > Home Refresh & Repair
     > Knowledge Portal
     > Photography
     > Self-Expression
     > Sewing
 
She has other posts, which I will not recap here, but suffice to say, I was delighted with what I found and have put her blog in my Feedly Classic app. 
 
In this time of stress and isolation with the pandemic, political chaos, un and under-employment along with our “modern problems” this blog may just be the site that changes our outlook and steers us into a positive pursuit.
 
Check it out, the link is: https://www.itsallintheexpression.com
 
Donna has a relaxed, enjoyable writing style. She covers a variety of subjects and is just a wonderful person who deserves a following for her voice. You can subscribe to the blog and be notified via email when she posts. Tell her I sent you!
 
Back to sports soon!
 
~ Coach Mike

 team·mate /ˈtē(m)ˌmāt/
noun
plural noun: teammates

1. a fellow member of a team.

 
This definition may not be complete or at least detailed enough to mirror my personal experiences, nor this post concerning two well-known teammates.
 
In my lifetime, I have had many teammates, some I was closer to than others, some I didn’t care for on a personal basis, but still understood our interaction and cooperation equaled a better chance of success for the team. Many of my teammates have become friends and some friends have been teammates, a select few have become family. Sports is often spoken of being a metaphor for many things, including life. Perhaps, this is correct.
 
Lawrence “Yogi” Berra. (May 12, 1925 - September 22, 2015) was a major league catcher, coach, and manager. He has also been described as a character due to his malapropism, his “Yogi-isms” are famous. (See “Yogi-isms” posted on January 4, 2021) Some pretty good stories have been floated around as well.
 
Yogi played 19 seasons in the majors and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 with 85.6% of the voted on the second year of his being on the ballot. He was an exceptional defensive catcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed standing 5’7” tall at 185lbs. His MLB debut was on September 22, 1946 with the New York Yankees and appeared in his final game as a New York Met on May 9, 1965. He had a career batting average of .285, hit 358 home runs and had 1,430 runs batted in. He was a Yankee from 1946-1963 and a Met player in 1965, also coaching that year. His number 8 was retired (Bill Dickey also wore it, so it was retired for them both), and he has a plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
 
He was an 18 time American League All-Star, won 10 World Series Championships as a player, three as a coach, won 3 AL MVP Awards, caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, caught 173 shut-out games, which is a record and was named to the MLB All-Century Team.
 
Yogi’s managerial career started with the NY Yankees in 1964 and included the NY Mets from 1972-1975 and back with the Yankees again in 1984 and ‘85. He compiled and overall record of 484 wins / 444 losses for a .522 winning percentage. He also coached for the Mets from 1965-1971, Yankees 1975-1983 and the Houston Astros 1986-1989.
 
Berra also served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945. He was at gunner’s mate, Seaman Second Class and earned the Purple Heart During the Normandy Landings.
 
Phil “The Scooter” Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 - August 13, 2007) was a major league shortstop and after his playing days had a 40-year career as a radio and television announcer all for the N.Y. Yankees. He was known as a great guy, hard competitor as a player; as an announcer, for his trademark expression of “Holy Cow”, off the wall digressions and a true love of the game which came through with each broadcast.   
 
Phil played 13 seasons in the majors and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 by the Veterans Committee. He was an exceptional defensive shortstop. He batted and threw right-handed standing 5’6” tall at 150lbs. His MLB debut was April 14, 1941 and appeared in his final game August 16, 1956. He has a career batting average of .273, hit 38 home runs, had 563 runs batted in and was a fine bunter. Phil had 1,224 career double plays and a fielding percentage of .968. He was a Yankee from 1941-42 and 1946-1956. His number 10 was retired, and he has a plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.
 
He was a 5-time American League All-Star, won 7 World Series Championships and won 1 AL MVP Award.
 
Phil broadcasted Yankee games from 1957 through 1996. He was colourful, and insightful. Along with his “Holy Cow”, he would frequently come out with an “Unbelievable” or “Did you see that?” during broadcasts. Rizzuto would wish fans a happy birthday or anniversary; he spoke of restaurants he enjoyed and told great stories. From time to time he would lose track of the game, so on his scorecard he would tally “WW” for “Wasn’t Watching”.
 
Rizzuto served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945. He was stationed in the South Pacific.
 
If you notice, both players had some things in common; military experience, shorter than the average player, N.Y. Yankee teammates, members of the HoF and careers in baseball after their playing days were over. I will also mention, they both had long marriages and loving families. I’d imagine during their playing careers, they drank a few beers together, probably even did some family things together.
​
Why did I bring this up? Because as Phil aged and due to declining health, he lived at an assisted living facility in West Orange, New Jersey which was about 30 minutes from where Yogi lived. Yogi went to see him every day. They would talk and play cards until Phil got too tired to play and start to doze off. Yogi would hold Phil’s hand until he fell asleep and then leave. He did this every day. Because teammates were important, this is what Yogi did with and for Phil.
 
May they both Rest in Peace.
 
~ Coach Mike