2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training – Back to the business of baseball
As the 2011 Major League Baseball offseason comes to a close, the 2012 MLB Spring Training is right around the corner. All baseball fans, players and teams are gearing up for a successful Spring Training session to begin.
All Major League teams understand the immense importance of Spring Training. This is the actual chance for the teams to test out their strategies and see if their offseason move of acquiring certain players was wise. Teams go up against each other in their
last chance before the 2012 MLB regular season begins.
Broken down into two divisions, Grapefruit League and Cactus League, Spring Training for many is the actual start of the baseball season. All games are played in nice warm climates of both Arizona (Cactus League) and Florida (Grapefruit League). This essentially
allows the players and teams to literally ‘thaw out’ from a long cold winter.
For most players, Spring Training will give them the opportunity to show off their talent and find a possible spot on the final roster before the regular season begins. Some players will be going all out to show their skills to the team management and avoid
going to the Minor League. Field placing, pitching rotations, batting line-ups and overall team strategy are all tested during Spring Training. The session allows for a tremendous opportunity for the some of the younger players to get a feel of what it is
like to play in the Major League.
The fans get an ideal chance to see many of their favourite players that have recently joined a new team take to the field for the first time since the 2011 regular season ended. Players like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder will be hounded by the media
as they take to the field with their new teams. Japan’s Yu Darvish will also be scrutinised as he takes the mound for the Texas Rangers for the first time. More seasoned players like veterans Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are also the fan and media favourites.
However, the best part of Spring Training is that all the drama of players moving to different teams during the offseason and all the rumours can now rest as it is now time to play baseball. All of the ‘big talk’ by teams and players will be put to the test
as many of the top tier teams face each other in exhibition games.
One of the highlights of Spring Training is the excellent balance of teams between the Grapefruit and Cactus League. With 30 teams evenly divided into 15 per League, Spring Training gives the fans a unique opportunity to watch teams battle it out with some
of their top players. However, teams that tend to dominate Spring Training do not necessarily continue that trend during the regular season. Each stadium throughout the various cities that a MLB team visits throughout the season, has its’ own unique style
and character. Some teams actually struggle in the regular season, even though they had a decent Spring Training session.
Whatever happens during the 2012 MLB Spring Training session, all eyes are now on the field and each team now has to justify some of the huge contracts with all of the hype that surrounds the top players. It is now time to get back to the business of baseball.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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