Well friends, how do we feel? Baseball is back on our screens and radios, some prospects are already starting to impress (and that includes impressing other players), and we’re starting to get our first real taste of what this season might look like. The air in Florida and Arizona is full of excitement and ancitipation, and the countdown to the start of the regular season is on in earnest.
Of course, to get there we still need to get through the World Baseball Classic, which is sneaking up quickly
and enthusiasm is building. Some players already know they won’t be in the games for the long haul (Tarik Skubal has announced he’ll only make one start), but there are a lot of exciting players to watch and it should be a good show.
Let’s get right into today’s links, which have a little bit of something about everything.
- Davy Andrews tries to get to the heart of what Angels fans want.
- Adam McCalvy shares how the Brewers managed to pull off a pitch trick that looks deadly but was anything but to impress social media fans.
- This player is so used to Tommy John surgery he literally wrote the book on it. Story by Mark Sheldon.
- Looks like Jeff Kent is still harboring some bad blood against Alex Rodriguez. Story by Stephen Douglas.
- Kyle Koster reports that Bryce Harper has a lot of positive things to say about hot Pirates’ prospect Konnor Griffin.
- Buster Olney shares his top shortstops currently.
- The Athletic staff try to determine which pitchers will benefit the most from the new ABS. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Never considered that before…
- Jay Jaffe shares a tribute to the late Bill Mazeroski.
- Thomas Harrigan looks at ten players who are poised for big rebounds this season.
- Tarik Skubal shared why he will only be making one start at the WBC. Story by Kyle Koster.
- Kyle Koster gives us a complete list of every MLB player appearing in the WBC.
- Sebastian Walcott, the number 5 prospect in baseball, will miss up to six months with the Rangers after undergoing surgery. (ESPN)
- Matt Gelb gets deep with Bryce Harper, who hasn’t been scared to tell us what he really thinks all offseason long. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- This is such a good baseball name. (Here’s a direct link to the BlueSky post for those on Apple News)
- Ben Clemens looks into how much teams are paying to get each win.
- Sam Dykstra offers us some prospects who have already been impressing early in Spring Training.
- The Yankees Spring Training roster is so big it’s hard to fit in one photo during the National Anthem. Story by Stephen Douglas.
- Legendary Yankees announcer John Sterling shared that he recently had a heart attack but feels optimistic about his health. Story by Kyle Koster.
- Things are looking sunny for the Rays as Florida government officials approve land for stadium use. (AP)
- Zack Meisel takes a deep dive into one man’s almost obsessive need to locate a long-lost baseball player over the course of 30 years. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Chris Sale is sticking around.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
