Even in hard times, spring training is a land of hope and dreams, including for Royals
Even as it ebbs slightly and vaccinations are on the rise, the pandemic remains relentless. And treacherous weather has been gridlocking us here and menacing millions around the nation.
So the annual rite of regeneration and aura of possibility conveyed in the mere term “pitchers and catchers” might feel distant or muted or even hollow right now.
And with so many bizarre and burdensome twists still conspiring against life as we knew it, and with media access limited, you’ll be spared some of our annual compulsions to rhapsodize about the sensory delights of the first cracks of bats … and thwacks of baseballs smacking gloves … and the smell of the fresh grass … and the chatter around the fields.
But even if it seems like it’s removed or in a vacuum, know this:
All those sights and sounds and smells remain alive and well and real and spectacular — as much as ever and in some ways all the more so as the Royals pitchers and catchers reported Wednesday in Surprise, Arizona.
From his office near the clubhouse, Mike Swanson, the Royals’ vice president of communications and broadcasting, could hear the clacking of spikes in the hallway and view the cloudless sky and feel the distinct vibe of all that makes up the essential romance of baseball.
And he thought about how much it will mean to be able to have this intriguing team prepare over the next six weeks for this delivery to share in Kansas City, perhaps even with limited attendance for the first time since 2019.
From his office within the clubhouse on Thursday, manager Mike Matheny said you could “feel the buzz in there. I wish you guys were around, because you could sense it, too, You really would. It’s not just some sort of company line.”
As for his own favorite line right now, he added, “It’s a great time to be a Royal.”
Matheny was referring specifically to his second Royals team, one that appears substantially upgraded from last year’s 26-34 finish in the COVID-limited season. With such additions as Andrew Benintendi, Carlos Santana, Michael Taylor and Mike Minor in particular, they appear to have injected length and pop into their lineup and enhanced and reframed their starting pitching.
But it’s also true that it’s a great time to be a Royal, and even Royals fan, because … baseball, period.
Despite, or perhaps because, it’s framed against all the gloom and even with COVID-19 coronavirus protocols firmly in place, maybe normalcy has never been more anticipated than here: the convergence of all that’s been so bleak with the restart of the sport that so symbolizes fresh hope in its innate association with spring.
Much has been written about that tradition, but I like how my friend, former colleague and longtime Royals beat writer Bob Dutton put it on Twitter the other day:
“Pitchers and catchers report today. I covered a lot of bad clubs in my career, but it’s one of the beautiful mysteries of baseball that with each one, at some point in spring training, I thought they had a chance. I never felt that way in preseason with bad clubs in other sports.”
In this case, though, chance has more resonance yet. Think of it by simple logical extension: Spring training is a harbinger of opening day, in this case against Texas on April 1 at Kauffman Stadium, itself the herald to spring.
That suggests impending better weather, which means being able to be outside more.
Which means less isolation from the pandemic and more freedom of engagement, particularly as the vaccine continues to be administered.
That’s an appealing picture in itself, courtesy of some of the rhythms and rituals of baseball.
But it would be a different sort of boost here if the Royals are somewhere between competitive and good again.
Between winning Super Bowl LIV and going a club-record 14-2 on the way back to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs demonstrated how a captivating sports team can be of extra therapeutic value to a fan base precisely because of the mental health challenges posed by the pandemic.
As he spoke of following the Chiefs last season, Matheny perhaps inadvertently spoke to the very point of how entwined fans can become with teams.
“It’s one of those things that you watch from the outside,” he said, “and you love being a part of it.”
He thought about how exciting the Chiefs were to watch and how he saw the city rally around it and even the impact they had on his own players.
“They want a piece of that, right?” he said. “And that’s exactly where we should be.”
At least for now, we can be grateful they are exactly where they should be: at spring training and soon on their way back home.
In the optimistic spirit of the moment, we are assuming that adherence to protocols will be sufficient … or we’ll have quite another tale to tell.
But spring training isn’t about doubts and worries.
It’s about all that is possible, including what Matheny called evolving with safety measures and continuing to think outside the box to fend off the pandemic.
For a higher cause.
“How we can do our part to keep this going,” he said, “so sports can continue to be that kind of light …”
He later added, “and keep doing our part to help the healing process.”
So “play ball” never sounded so welcome.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.