Bats and Balls All the Rage as Spring Training Games Get Underway

Spring Training has been underway for a month now, and the first games in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues were played over the weekend.

It's time for baseball to re-emerge from the cold, snow and dreariness of winter, as players twist and turn their bodies into shape for the long, demanding season ahead.

Overhanging the upcoming regular season a little more than a month away are the scandals stemming from creative sign-stealing in the 2017 regular season, playoffs and World Series and 2018 regular season by the Houston Astros. Their victory over National league rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the 2017 World Series has been tainted by what amounts to a combination of high-tech and low-tech method of informing batters of incoming fast balls, the easiest to hit for professional hitters.

The World Series title will not be vacated by MLB, but the damage has been done. Astros' general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A. J. Hinch have been suspended for the entire 2020 season for failing to prevent the rules violations. Boston Red Sox manager Joey Cora was released by the team in January when it was alleged that he was the mastermind behind the scheme. Recently hired by the Mets as their 2020 manager, Carlos Beltran - a player for the Astros in 2017 - was also released in January after his name came up in the MLB report.

Stealing signs is as old as the game itself. It's part of the nomenclature of the sport, as getting an edge in any sporting event, by whatever means, can often result in the difference between winning and losing, and being a superstar as opposed to an ordinary player. While cheating is universally frowned upon from a moral perspective, there's always a few rotten apples in the barrel who will go to extraordinary lengths to secure an advantage.

By the time the regular season rolls out, the sign-stealing scandal will be back page news, overtaken by the timelessness of opening day, pitchers with wild arms, rookies with big smiles, batters with adjustments to their swings, and a fresh slate of 162 games ahead for everybody.

With Spring games now underway, it's time again to pick up the bats and balls and head to the field, where the glory of America's game will add another chapter to its rich, enduring history.

Baseball on Deck will begin its usual coverage of players of the day on Tuesday, February 25 with highlights from the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.