Spring Training: Why is it Important?

Spring Training: Why is it Important? 

Pitchers and Catchers started reporting for some MLB clubs yesterday for spring training, and more continue to today. 

The leaves are starting to come back and the trees are starting to lose their cold snow feeling. The temperature is rising above thirty-five degrees in the northern parts of the United States and above sixty-five in the south. The leather gloves are returning from their prime winter space in the closets of kids rooms and the basements of teams locker rooms and the yarn from the inside of the baseballs are ready to expand and be thrown into mitt after mitt after mitt and hit by bat after bat after bat. What time of year is this? This is, spring training...

Spring Training: batting practice: Boston Red Sox: from 2015

Spring Training for Major League Baseball occurs every year where there is an MLB season, which, unless there is a lockout for some reason or another, is every year. It occurs from around mid-February to the end of March (sometimes the first couple days of April) and happens all over Florida and Arizona, because it is too cold during this time of year to play baseball where most of the teams are located during the regular season. 

Just like in sports such as football, basketball, and hockey, baseball has a preseason that well, precedes the start of the regular season, the time of year when the games that actually matter are played to figure out who will be in the playoffs. 

Spring training is basically a sort of "tryout" portion, of the baseball season. It is where players from high school and from college ball go and try to make the professional Major League team and is also where the coaches figure out where to place players in the different departments of the minor league who aren't ready for the big show yet. These different minor league sections are divided mostly by experience and skill set. 

Minor League baseball sections (MiLB): 

Rookie- usually players signed right out of high school (75 game seasons)

Class A short season- just above rookie league; most college and some high school players (75 game seasons) 

Class A or Class A Advanced-  Really good college players start out here (140 game seasons) 

Double A- For player with at least four years of professional experience depending on skill level and timing, among other variables. Also, rehabbing, or, injured major league players rehab here (140 game seasons)

Triple A- One step down from Major league baseball, the best of the minor league players and another spot for rehabbing MLB players as well (140 game seasons)  

Overall, Spring Training is a fun yet serious time for players to get out of the rust of not playing since October or November and to hone their skills for the upcoming season; whether that be in the Major Leagues, or else where in the Minors.