Reflecting on Spring Training Highlights
Published on March 31, 2019 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release
Man, I need to start keeping a journal, or something.
I've already started to lose track of all the highlights from my first month on the baseball beat.
So, as the Missions' coaches and players begin to arrive in San Antonio over the next few days, and the Pacific Coast League season-opener looms on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, here are some of the top-of-the list memories:
A trip to spring training a few weeks ago was an eye-opener.
I had no idea that spring games at the major-league level were so well-attended. Nearly 9,000 people showed up at the American Family Fields of Phoenix for the two Milwaukee Brewers exhibitions that Missions staffer Mark Meyers and I watched.
Some of the locals even came out for batting practice -- on a week-day, in the morning. One image still sticks with me. A boy, elementary-school age, standing alone on the right field berm on a cloudy day. Wearing his glove. His knees slightly bent.
The kid was ready, hoping that one of the Brewers would launch one over the wall. Did he have permission from his school teacher to miss class? I'll never tell.
Another observation on the rites of spring centered on just how much work that coaches and ball players put in. Second baseman Keston Hiura, for example, explained how his day started just after dawn and lasted until late in the afternoon.
Hiura said he tried to arrive at the training complex by 6:45 or 7 each morning.
"I do what I can to prepare my body," he said. "You get loose. Get actual work in the (batting) cages. Infield. Just doing whatever you can just to get the body ready. Go to practice. Do all the fundamentals. (Take) batting practice, and then prepare for the game.
"So, yeah, it's a long day. But this is what you do to prepare yourself. Everyone here is enjoying that."
The work day is more stressful for some than others. Hiura is considered one of the Brewers' top prospects. He knew coming into camp that he would have a job playing baseball this summer, somewhere.
Others were scrapping like crazy, just trying to make a minor-league roster. I recall the day that we stood outside a chain-link backstop on the grounds of the Brewers' complex. It was a hot afternoon, with temperatures in the 80s.
There weren't more than 25 people in the grandstand, and in a game involving Triple-A players, primarily, the Chicago White Sox were pounding the Brewers. In the top of the ninth, the White Sox were enjoying a big inning.
They were leading, 11-0. But as some watching from outside the white lines started to wonder how long this game would go on, at least one of the Brewers/Missions players decided to put a stop to it. Bruce Caldwell, playing third, laid out to field a hot smash down the line.
With the dust still flying, he jumped to his feet and fired a strike to first base for an out. Really, this was the essence of spring training, played out right in front of us. There clearly was no quit in Mr. Caldwell, who was just trying to make the team.
Did he make it? Well, we'll know within a few days, when the Brewers are expected to unveil the rosters for each of their minor league clubs. When the memories of a new season will begin to materialize for all of us.
Pacific Coast League Stories from March 31, 2019
- Express Bested by Hooks 7-3 in Exhibition Finale - Round Rock Express
- Reflecting on Spring Training Highlights - San Antonio Missions
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
