About Spring Training: Meanderings of My Mind

About Spring Training: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

February 17, 2025

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Spring Training has opened for the New York Yankees. So far, it has just been workouts, mostly for pitchers and catchers. Some of the position players are there getting a head start. A few interesting things have happened already but it's still just the beginning. Things will get a lot more exciting in the coming weeks.

Well, today is Monday and Presidents’ Day. There are no games to recap yet. That means I will now move from topic to topic like Ronald Reagan sampling flavors at the Jelly Belly Factory. 

·      Marcus Stroman showed up to Spring Training a few days after the other pitchers. Technically, he was not late as he did not have to arrive before February 22nd, according to policy and contracts. He announced that he will be a starting pitcher for the Yankees this season, as he has no intention of pitching out of the bullpen. Essentially, he was booking his ticket out of town. Unless there are injuries to other members of the starting rotation, it is highly unlikely that Stroman would crack the rotation. The sooner the Yankees trade   him, the better it will be for all parties. 

·      My friend Roger made the news the other day. I'm sure you all read and heard about the Social Security payments that went out to people who were 150 years old. Roger was not happy about this unwanted publicity but, at least they didn't use his name.

·      Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with tendonitis in both elbows that may impact his availability for Opening Day. I don't think anyone should be a surprised because Giancarlo Stanton getting injured is like Punxsutawney Phil being dragged out of his burrow. It happens every year there is very little uncertainty involved. With Punxsutawney Phil, the question is whether he will see his shadow. With Giancarlo Stanton, it is when the injury will occur. Apparently, he decided to avoid the summer rush and get an injury now. If he is going to miss time, that could provide an opportunity for Everson Pereira or Ben Rice to make the team and get some at bats as the DH.

·      The other day, I read something very interesting. It said that Ty Cobb would have to return from the dead, resume his baseball career and go hitless in 2,530 consecutive at bats for his career batting average to dip below .300. Just imagine that. I know batting average is not a statistic that people pay that much attention to anymore, but just consider what that statistic means in regard to Ty Cobb’s hitting ability. Sure, he was a horrible person, (my friend Roger once showed me the scar on his shin where Ty Cobb kicked him when Roger asked for an autograph) but, he was an incredible hitter. I also read that he was not enamored with home runs and the fascination of the public with them. He preferred bunts, singles and line drives that would simply get him on base. Apparently, once to prove his point that he could hit home runs if he chose to, he hit five home runs in two games. He then resumed his normal style of hitting, which he preferred. You know, I was thinking that it would be almost impossible to go hitless for 2,530 at bats but, then i remembered Joey Gallo.

·      Apparently, Trent Grisham pulled his hamstring a few weeks ago. It is unclear if that will interfere with his ability to sit on the bench during the regular season.

·      I have been seeing a lot of old boxing clips on social media lately. I enjoy watching them and I never cease to be amazed at the sheer punching power of George Foreman, in both his early, “Grouchy George” phase and his later “Lovable George” phase. The clips of Muhammad Ali are also fascinating when you realize how truly great he was. We all know that our editor at SSTN, Paul Semendinger, loves the Rocky movies. Most of you probably remember that the character of Rocky is based on Chuck Wepner, the “Bayonne Bleeder”, who fought Muhammad Ali in 1975 and came within seconds of going the distance, before being counted out in a technical knockout in the 15th round. As an amusing aside, before the fight, Wepner brought his wife a beautiful blue nightgown and told her to wear it because after the fight she would be sleeping with the Heavyweight Champion of the World. After the fight, Mrs. Wepner reportedly asked her husband, “OK big shot, is Muhammad Ali coming here or am I going to his room?”

·      Thus far, Max Fried has looked good in spring training and should help create one of the best starting rotations in Major League Baseball. When you combine him with Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt, the rotation does not seem to have any holes.

·      Since it is Presidents’ Day, I thought I would take a look to see which president has been the subject of movies more than any other. Not surprisingly, it is Abraham Lincoln. He has been featured in over 150 movies. Next on the list, is George Washington who was portrayed over 60 times. Surprisingly there are not too many movies about Warren G. Harding, Franklin Pierce, William Howard Taft, William Henry Harrison or his grandson, Benjamin Harrison. I can't wait for that Millard Fillmore movie to come out. After all, he was the first president to have a bathtub installed in the White House. A movie about him would really clean up at the box office.

·      Reportedly, Jasson Dominguez began working on playing leftfield a week or so before pitchers and catchers had to report. That shows a tremendous work ethic and that he is serious about adjusting to leftfield and winning that job.

·      Another presidential tidbit, the phrase, “I will throw my hat in the ring,” was first used in reference to politics by Theodore Roosevelt regarding the 1912 election. When asked if he was planning to challenge William Howard Taft for the nomination of the Republican Party, Roosevelt responded, “My hat is in the ring; the fight is on, and I'm stripped to the buff”. The expression,” good to the last drop” in reference to Maxwell House coffee was also attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. Reportedly after drinking a cup of coffee at the Maxwell House hotel in Nashville TN, Roosevelt made that observation. Since there were no cameras rolling at the time, there is no concrete evidence that he actually said it, but it is likely. After all, Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day. One of his sons described his coffee cup as more like a “bathtub” than a cup. Teddy drank his coffee black with seven lumps of sugar in each cup. Roosevelt's favorite breakfast included strong black coffee, broiled Spanish mackerel, steak, bacon, and fried apples. No wonder the man once dictated a book while shaving.

·      Roger Clemens will be a guest instructor at Spring Training this year for the Yankees. I think that is a good thing. After all, he was a seven-time Cy Young Award winner and a tremendous competitor. I'm sure there are a lot of things he can teach some of the younger pitchers.

·      A couple of quick updates. I am making progress in teaching Clancy to shake hands. He now offers me his paw upon request about 50% of the time. Considering that his paws are about the size of a catcher’s mitt, it is quite an experience when he gently slaps it into your hand. Apparently, my little upstairs neighbor, the Roadrunner, has learned how to use tools. As I was writing this article, he took a break from running, jumping, and screaming to begin pounding on his floor and my ceiling with some type of pickaxe in an effort to tunnel through, like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.

·      One final presidential tidbit. Most people know the story about the Baby Ruth candy bar and that it was reportedly named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth. In fact, it seems that the candy bar may actually have been named after Babe Ruth, but the candy company did not want to pay him any royalties. The Curtiss Candy Company refashioned the “Kandy Kake” bar into the Baby Ruth bar. When the Curtiss company renamed the candy bar in 1921, Babe Ruth was at the height of his popularity. On the other hand, Grover Cleveland left the White House 24 years earlier, and his daughter Ruth had been dead for 17 years at the time. It seems unlikely that the candy bar was named after Ruth Cleveland.

By the way, do you know how the Snickers bar got its name? The Mars Candy Corporation, owned by Frank and Ethel Mars, produced a candy bar in 1930 that did not have a name at that point. In addition to the candy company, the Mars family owned a horse farm that produced racehorses. Mrs. Mars’ favorite racehorse, Snickers, died shortly before the candy bar hit the market. The horse farm was called the Milky Way Farm, and the candy bar was named after Mrs. Mars’ favorite horse.