Spring Awakening: Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers and catchers finally get to work

“Pittsburgh Pirates Pitchers and Catchers report to spring training.”

It’s currently freezing in Pittsburgh, so it’s a little hard to feel spring in the air, but the seven greatest words in the English language provide a feeling of warmth during this bitter, cold winter. Those words are “pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.” For baseball fans, Spring Training is the first sign that the boys of summer are finally on their way back. Rogers Hornsby famously said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

For baseball fans, the winter is basically a barren wasteland. The off-season hot stove may provide some excitement, but it is nothing compared to getting to watch your favorite team take the field. Spring Training provides the first look at the season’s ball club and the one time of year where every fan of every team can be optimistic and think, “this is the year!”

Spring Training means many things to many people. To some, it’s the true sign that spring is almost here. To others, it’s a time to pray that no star player gets injured. All baseball fans, whether they’re of the optimistic or negative variety feel excited the first day of Spring Training. There might not be any baseball games being played, but seeing members of your favorite team in uniform and doing baseball activities just brings a feeling of joy that cannot really be described.

Baseball is the most romantic of the major professional sports. It’s played almost every single day, so you feel like you really get to know the players on the team. You see their faces and really get to observe their personalities. Because of baseball’s romantic nature, it’s hard not to feel giddy over Spring Training. It’s truly the best preview in professional sports. Football may have training camp, but nothing compares to Spring Training.

Watching two position players battle it out for the fourth outfielder’s job or watching two pitchers battle for the last spot in the rotation is just incredible. Since you have a month and a half of Spring Training, you get to know the players and pick which ones you’re rooting for to win those jobs and much more. It’s great when you see a minor league free agent get told that he has made the major league team because you had the opportunity to follow and watch as the player grew from the workouts to the actual Spring Training games. Spring Training truly is a time of happiness and opportunity.

In addition to the spring being a reminder that baseball is almost back in our daily lives, it shows that the winter is nearly over and warm weather will be returning and everything will be new again. That’s what has always drawn me to Spring Training; it isn’t just about baseball, it’s also about life and the seasons.

Winter is a difficult time for those of us living in the northeast. It’s cold, snowy, and grey. It’s the gloomiest time of the year and it can really put a damper on your mood, but Spring Training reminds us that in the not too distant future, sunshine and warmth await us. Before you know it, Opening Day will be upon us and regular season baseball will be a part of our daily lives. Soon, we will be sitting outside, eating a hot dog, and watching our favorite teams play the game we love. If that doesn’t make you feel a little warmer, you should be checked for hypothermia. Just say it one more time, “pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.” Feels really good, doesn’t it?

Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!