Earlier today, I had a list of 15 things that were going to happen in Spring Training. But, well, it was only a few hours late and it turns out that number five on the list isn’t going to happen, since Michael Bourn has signed with the Indians.
So, uh, I guess it’s only 14 things that are going to happen in Spring Training now. Whoops.
The following things are guaranteed to happen during spring training:
1. At least one player per team will be declared to be in the best shape of his life.
2. On at least one day, basically every Grapefruit League game will be cancelled due to rain.
3. You will check the box score of every exhibition game against a college team, just to see if any MLB players were struck out by a college pitcher or a college pitcher got a hit off a MLB pitcher.
4. At least one game will be delayed due to a weird reason, like a tornado warning or a large swarm of bees.
5. At least one person will write an article questioning whether Michael Bourn‘s continued free agency is a sign of collusion, as opposed to the reality, which is that the Minnesota Twins basically removed Washington and Philadelphia- two of the most likely destinations for Bourn- when they traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, unintentionally destroying the demand for Bourn in the process.
6. Somebody will try to liken something going on in Spring Training to the going-ons in Vatican City, and it won’t make for a good metaphor.
7. A MLB player will tweet out a picture of what his NCAA bracket looks like.
8. There will be confusion when a player on a World Baseball Classic team plays an exhibition against his usual team.
9. While watching stock footage of players doing routine workouts, you will inexplicably get the theme from The Rookie stuck in your head.
10. Somebody will have an embarrassing injury that will have more to do with their own stupidity or bad luck then some sort of baseball activity.
11. After the Astros lose a Cactus League game, somebody on Twitter will declare that they have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
12. We will hear about some humorous clubhouse prank.
13. At least one notable veteran will announce their retirement.
14. The Yankees will be declared doomed, the World Series favorites and a Wild Card contender… possibly all on the same day.
15. Everyone in Tampa, at Yankees’ camp, will be on 24/7 Alex Rodriguez watch.
If Felix Hernandez is worth $175 million dollars over 7 years…
… just how much will Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander be worth?
(The answer: At least that.)
Another image from the Library of Congress Flickr stream, this one is of Walter Johnson receiving a car.
But why is he receiving a car? Well, from 1911 to 1914, the MVP was awarded a car from Chalmers Automobile. The winner of the AL MVP in 1913? Walter Johnson. This is him receiving that car.
Another picture from the Library of Congress Flickr stream. This time, it’s of Connie Mack, who didn’t wear a uniform during his long managerial career, instead famously opting for a fancy suit. Can you imagine if Joe Girardi or Charlie Manuel did this?
Kurt Russell is an actor who has starred in films like Miracle, Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China, but in his youth, he played minor league baseball:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 20 | Bend | NORW | A- | CAL | 51 | 212 | 179 | 30 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 33 | .285 | .385 | .363 | .748 | 65 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1972 | 21 | Walla Walla | NORW | A- | 29 | 91 | 77 | 12 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | .325 | .389 | .377 | .766 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 1973 | 22 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A–AA | CAL | 29 | 99 | 4 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .283 | .364 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 1973 | 22 | Portland | NORW | A- | 23 | 83 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .229 | .253 | 21 | |||||||||||||||
| 1973 | 22 | El Paso | TL | AA | CAL | 6 | 17 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .563 | .588 | .938 | 1.526 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1977 | 26 | Portland | NORW | A- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4 Seasons | 110 | 404 | 356 | 46 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 41 | .292 | .361 | .365 | .726 | 130 | 2 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
| A- (4 seasons) | A- | 104 | 387 | 340 | 42 | 95 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 40 | .279 | .351 | .338 | .689 | 115 | 2 | 5 | 3 | ||||||
| AA (1 season) | AA | 6 | 17 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .563 | .588 | .938 | 1.526 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
What’s interesting about Russell’s baseball career is that it happened DURING his acting career. He had been on TV, and had starred in Disney movies like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, which came out in 1969. As you can see, he actually did pretty well, but a rotator cuff injury derailed him.
But that isn’t all. His father, actor Bing Russell, owned a minor league baseball team, and his nephew, Matt Franco, played in the big leagues for the Cubs, Mets and Braves.
The Yankees have seemingly sent Alex Rodriguez into hiding, to keep him away from reporters and paparazzi.
Not going to stop me.
I know EXACTLY where Alex Rodriguez is. He’s somewhere here:
Yes, Alex Rodriguez is somewhere on Planet Earth. Oh, sure, it is not impossible, given his great wealth, that he has fled to Mars, Alpha Centauri or Altair IV, but there is no evidence he has done so, as we would have been able to see his Warp Signature, or something (any Star Trek fans out there, feel free to correct me).
So, where on Earth is Alex Rodriguez? Has he donned a red hat and coat? Or is he going the red-and-white shirt route?
Nobody knows.
That said, let’s face it, this is Alex Rodriguez. He lives in Florida (especially Miami) but reportedly has houses or apartments in the New York Metropolitan Area and near Los Angeles. So, uh… start there.
So, yeah, not specific, but there you go.
As we near pitchers and catchers, we now have a countdown to 8:00 AM of February 11 over on the side of the page. The 8:00 AM time is just some random time, since just putting it at midnight wouldn’t be be quite true.
So, yeah, we are in the home stretch, everyone!
Today’s picture is a random little thing from Library of Congress Flickr stream of a medicine ball being sent to Reds manager Joe Tinker, circa 1913.
Weird, huh?
The Baseball Continuum 
