They are four ordinary words: “Pitchers and catchers report.” To baseball fans, however, the words carry an almost magical connotation.
The spring comes alive, even in an otherwise unremarkable photograph of a pitcher playing catch. The season soon will be upon us, but not before six weeks of optimism among fans of even the weakest teams.
Pitchers and catchers begin reporting to training camps Sunday.
The first spring training games are less than two weeks away.
Editor’s note: Baseball is a game that steals our best young players, thousands of our fans, but one that is inexorably intertwined with fastpitch. It is one that we grow up playing, following, and bantering about during our own season. Its seasons and cycles are tied to our own. It echoes the same reminders that spring will soon be upon us, and time to dust off the gear for another season. “Pitchers and catchers report”.