We’ve had enough spring training with surprises that we can throw them in all kinds of buckets. I saw the highly regimented military precision camps of Buck Showalter and Jeff Bannister, and witnessed the breath of fresh air environment that Ron Washington and Bruce Bossy brought to the table. I soaked up the Josh Hamilton buzz and Yu Darvish’s elbow tear gut punch. I’ve traveled because I didn’t wear enough sunscreen, and I’ve traveled because I didn’t pack enough sweatshirts.
This year it was a two and a half day trip. It’s not unheard of. Sometimes that’s all I can manage between my day job and teaching responsibilities. Recently, Max’s high school baseball schedule left him with only three days of spring break, during which he and I took a quick trip to our Arizona backyard.
that’s ok. In the field, I always feel like I can check a week’s worth of boxes in three days.
But two things made Spring Training 2024 unique for me. Firstly, it’s a completely unfamiliar and wonderful atmosphere to experience a world champion going about his business.it’s just differentI don’t think it’s necessary to explain it here.
Second, I went alone.
Now, I’ve often done it only at the end of the season rather than at the beginning, with an annual trip to coaching in the fall, which is very similar to spring training. But I had never gone solo in the last 15 or so of my 30-plus trips to spring training. As I’ve shared in this space, spring training is as much about family as it is about baseball for me.
Max no longer has a high school baseball schedule. He is currently working on his college baseball schedule. A freshman at the University of Texas, he is part of the team’s analytics group. Weekends are busy, and his first spring break in college means he’ll be out of town with his friends.
After spending last weekend in Austin with Max, I took a 6am flight to Arizona on Tuesday with the intention of spending the entire day at this complex. I made it to Bochy’s 9 a.m. media gathering and then flew to the minor league field to observe the defensive work. Four coaches spent 15 minutes training eight infielders on specific plays they are required to perform once a month during the season. In other words, he must prevent runs from being conceded inside the infield, hit sharp ground balls right in front of the fielders, and enter the ball with quick feet. In the backhand defensive position, it saves a potentially decisive 0.5 seconds in the glove-to-hand throw exchange.
It was beautiful (at least in this eye of the beholder).
The hectic pace of the morning – airport -> rental car center -> complex -> media workroom -> backstage – was too much for me, and I was up all the way by 9:30 a.m. Arizona time. 7 hours to reflect on many things. But watching that infield practice, you could see Chris Woodward, Kenny Holmberg, Carlos Cardoza, Cody Atkinson, or Jos Perez graciously spending a little time with Max and showing his passion for the game. , I remembered the years of forgiving my gloved children. Hands to get to work during vacation.
As for this visit, I guess I probably owe Max’s professors an apology for all the random texts I sent him during those three days in their backyard. Check out the sound of Sebastian Walcott’s bat. Josh Jung is moving well. So-and-so says, “Hello.”
He’s living his best life in Austin, which makes it totally cool that we didn’t manage to spend spring training together this year. To be fair, it’s not like I was watching Max every second or that he was chasing me, especially in his 4-5 years here. He was stuck practicing third base on field five while I watched four players throw pens from 50 yards away. I would have talked to Crosschecker and he would have referenced Anthony Gutierrez’s cage work. He shot a video on his cell phone and I grabbed a pen and scribbled notes against the weather.
But then he and I rented a car and went to Saigon Kitchen or Eric’s Family BBQ. Head to Over Easy Cafe, oregano pizza, and Handel’s homemade ice cream. To compare notes about what we saw and life.
I will miss seeing my campmates this year. I missed lectures and great moments. I missed watching Max develop his own relationships with Woody, Kenny, and Carlos. With Michael, Derek, Bozzi and Bubba.
Last year, I wrote:
When Max and I flew back from a short trip to Surprise, I was struck by a thought I’d been avoiding for years. This is just one aspect of the reality that all parents face. At some point, a father-son trip, or if I’m lucky, a father-mother-daughter-son trip, may become my priority, not anyone else’s. Erica will soon graduate from college. Max is going to university soon. What will spring training be like for me then? Will there be more trips like this in the future? Will there be interactions between grandchildren and players who lost their teeth or baseball pants? I don’t know the answer. I didn’t even bother to consider the question.
I now know the answer to one of those questions. Spring training was great again this year. The weather, the sounds, the people. That unique atmosphere that comes from a World Series title. Games and teams are back from winter break. Still energizing, therapeutic and wonderful. It’s just different.
At this point, I’m a big bet that there will be more spring training for Max and I, and there will probably be a lot of spring training. What I can’t pinpoint is what they look like. Max created a chance for himself in the match, and that chance has already skyrocketed beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. He charts a line built on spontaneity and passion, but there is an even worse foundation.
Someday, a spring training visit might just be a vacation for one of us. Perhaps the backfields of Surprise, Peoria, Port Charlotte and Boca Chica will become Max’s office.
Maybe not, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I’m used to a much different spring training experience right now. What is the other one?
No one is as quick to pull the trigger on baseball as a metaphor than I am, so even if I think back on all the moments in the backfield over the past few years, intently focused on something that caught my attention, you It may not come as a shock that while Max was doing his baseball job, it was just a harbinger of things to come. Sure, he’s been working on his baseball stuff lately. That’s just a literal meaning, not a surprise. And for me there’s nothing surprising about that.
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jamie newberg
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Jamie Newberg covers the Rangers on the strong side. He has lived in Dallas all his life, except for one period.
