Spring Training is a wonderful time of year. It portends warmer weather, hope for the future and of course, the beginning of a brand new baseball season. As someone whose spirits lift dramatically at the mere utterance of the words “pitchers and catchers report” each February, I truly believe that Spring Training conveys much more than simply “preseason baseball”, as an ignorant colleague of mine spoke of it a few days ago. However, one very important aspect of Spring Training that is not often mentioned is its educational power. While players learn offensive strategies, signs and new practice drills, managers and executives take a look at their teams and try to learn as much as possible about each player’s level of talent and where their skills would be best used to begin the upcoming season.
The educational process does not stop there, however. To the contrary, even the average fan can pick up insights into the lives of those around the game, gain a better understanding of the motivations of Maricopa County’s aging population, and garner plenty of other valuable information simply by staying around the game they love in the middle of March. In no particular order, here are some of the important life lessons my dad and I gleaned from our father-son trip to the Valley of the Sun.
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May 4, 2011
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Posted by Jim Malewitz
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