By Julie Huffman
Pitchers and catchers have officially started reporting to camp in Florida and Arizona, kicking off spring training for the 2024 MLB season, while position players are expected to report between Feb. 18-20.
Spring training is an important and exciting time of year for players and fans, with the latter enjoying exhibition games at cheaper prices and in more minor, less crowded stadiums. Exhibition games begin Feb. 22 for the Cactus League in Arizona and the following day for Florida’s Grapefruit League; tickets for these games are already on sale online.
For players, the beginning of spring training gauges how prepared they are for the season and how ready they can expect to be by Opening Day, which this year is March 28. Teams judge their performance and physical condition to decide who makes the 40-man roster and who from the 40-man will be on the 26-man active roster.
Former Tampa Bay Rays utility man Brad Miller, who was with the Texas Rangers when they won the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in November of last year, is entering spring training this year as a free agent and offered insight into how he deals with the accompanying stress.
“Luckily, I’ve been in a few spring trainings where I am part of a competition for a starting spot or even a spot on the team,” said Miller. “There can be a lot of stress and pressure to perform but I always go back to the root of why we play the game. To compete! So that eases a lot of my anxiety because I know competition is what we are here for and to attack it and win! The game that day and ultimately the spot on the team or role.”
Miller also shared his favorite part of spring training.
“I think my favorite aspect of spring training is that it truly is the only time the entire organization is in one building,” said Miller. “There could be upwards of 70 players in camp, plus you have the minor league camp going on simultaneously. So you really get to meet everyone and form that team camaraderie.”
Miller’s least favorite part is how long spring training lasts, as he feels it is unnecessarily long, saying everyone in the league most likely feels the same way.
10-time Gold Glove winner and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is about to begin his 11th spring training in the big leagues and discussed what spring training has been like throughout his career.
“I feel every spring training has a different vibe to it,” said Arenado, going on to say that for some years, he feels there is “more to prove” in spring training, including this year, but does not feel as much pressure now on how he chooses to get ready for the season as compared to a few years before.
“You know, when I go to spring training, the only thing that’s different about the routine is now I’m just adding a lot of baseball to it,” said Arenado. “I’m going to a baseball field every day, where in the offseason I’m already doing explosive training and all that, so I just implement, you know, people think I implement the training into baseball when I implement baseball into my training when it comes to spring training.”
Arenado also spoke about the importance of spring training for in-season ambitions, saying, “Spring training is strictly to get ready and to achieve those goals,” first and foremost, getting ready for Opening Day.
“I have to slow it down,” said Arenado of preparing himself to meet his in-season goals. “Be more patient. And then, you know, I want to ensure that I am ready for opening day on April 1 or March 28 or whatever, that’s what I’m worried about. That’s what I want to do. And as long as I’m ready for that day that’s all that matters to me, but I will continue to push for those goals, and spring training is a big deal. I really like having over 50 at-bats in spring training, I think that’s important to me. I’ve always felt like that my whole career.”
Arenado will report to camp for the St. Louis Cardinals on Feb. 19 in Florida.
The spring training schedule has been slightly altered to allow the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres time to report early, as the teams will be kicking off the regular season early in a two-game series against one another in Seoul, South Korea, on March 20-21. The Seoul Series is part of a more significant effort by the MLB to expand the organization globally. There will also be three additional two-game series played in Mexico City, London, and Santo Domingo. The latter is the only series during spring training and will not count towards the participating teams’ 162 regular season games.