The Birth Of Baseball History: Spring Training

 Every year, a new chapter of Baseball starts at the end of February, when pitchers and catchers report. Soon after that, every body reports to either the Grapefruit league in Florida, or the Cactus League in Arizona. This is where major leaguers go to loosen up from the winter months and to test out new skill, as individuals and a team.

Don’t be the one to try and determine who will be the champion this year by just looking at Spring Training standings, since the players aren’t actually trying their hardest. But you can be the one to determine upcoming stars and players that stick out and have a big chance to help their team in the 2015 season.

Let me start off with a young rookie, Mookie Betts (career .295) of the Red Sox. Betts had a great home opener with a solo home run. and an RBI. He has already made his way into the majors and is starting up his long career. The 2014 season was his first year in the majors with with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs (Runs Batted In). Those are clearly rookie numbers, but then again, he’s only 22.

Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs is a small time name with big intentions. I’ve seen his name come up during Spring Training games when he had some good plays, and he’s been solid. But, Bryant got bad news and was demoted back to triple-A for a few weeks. His agent is certainly not happy to have him demoted. He is set to come back in the next few weeks.

Another emerging prospect to keep an eye on is Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton. he has a lot of speed and is also a skilled base runner. He has had multiple injuries from a fractured  wrist to broken hand that have forced him from not coming into the majors. Other than that, if he keeps his skill up, he’ll have his MLB debut as early as this season.

Spring Training is a great time for each and every player to show off what they have, improve on their skill, or try something new. It also gives extra time for players to finish recovery periods during spring training so they don’t ruin their season. I say it’s the birth of baseball history because, of course, practice makes perfect.