To try to get a sense of the scope of this 78-ring spring-training circus, The Athletic touched base with more than a dozen people from all walks of the baseball business. … But the minute this thing ends, don’t even think about me for two weeks.’” “I’ve said, ‘Listen, until this starts, I’ll be home. “I’m trying to prepare my wife,” said an official of one club. … “Bananas,” muttered another official.Īnd you know what will make it even more bananas? It’s that right now, the entire sport is so deceptively quiet, as everyone waits for the lockout gridlock to unclog. … “Unique,” said Royals All-Star Whit Merrifield.

We’re talking Park Tank meets Extreme Infield Makeover, with a special appearance by the casts of The Real Grounds Crews of Florida and Arizona. There will be much, much more to deal with, all stuffed into what figures to be a four-week reality-show-esque frenzy. All accompanied by the ohbytheway sights and sounds of spring training itself, which is bound to make us ask, at some point: Has a guy ever been traded in the middle of a cutoff-and-relay drill?Īnd those are merely the highlights.A little bonus Aaron Judge/Shohei Ohtani/Jacob deGrom extension drama.New managers and coaches trying to connect, teach, establish team culture and make an impact - on fast-forward time.Dozens of injured players trying to push themselves back to health and onto rosters.A slew of arbitration-eligible players who need to work out contracts, file arbitration numbers, possibly even go to a hearing, all in this same window, while teams begin to wonder if they’ll even know their payroll on Opening Day.Trades that never got done this winter, erupting at any moment.Hundreds of free agents trying to get signed as soon as possible, all at the same time.It will be more like The Wildest Spring Training Ever. This won’t just be “spring training,” as we all know and love it. And the more people inside baseball spend every waking moment planning for it, the more evident it becomes to all of them. We sure hope it won’t be sometime after what was supposed to be Opening Day. We know it won’t be arriving next week, when we need it most. Somewhere, off in the hazy distance, it’s coming.

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