Hope springs eternal for Jose Reyes, Prince Fielder, and me and you

As the great Rodger Hornsby once mused, “People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” Over the next few days, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams will descend to Florida and over to Arizona for 2012 spring training. The wait is over!

All players, from Jose Reyes and Prince Fielder, with their new multi-million dollar contracts, to Matt Harvey and Sean Gilmartin, attending their first major league spring training, will begin to forge their future in baseball. These veteran players, and the younger ones, are focused on building their bodies back into peak physical shape, hoping to build on past success, yearning again to accomplish dreams set when they were mere young boys, i.e. to play professional baseball.

This rite of spring attracts thousands of fans who get to see the players’ efforts played out on supremely green and well-manicured fields. Those fans, young and old, also yearn. For them the yearning is to catch a glimpse of their favorite players and teams.

As captured in the wonders of Spring Training, hope is eternal and confidence is abounded. Spring Training provides a unique opportunity to create strong family bonds and teach our children some of sport’s most important characteristics, its essence, “goals, effort, joy, and achievement”. The entire shared experience is designed to enrich each of us individually, as families, and as communities.

These shared experiences are not lost on Major League Baseball, as it continually promotes fan-friendly initiatives designed to positively teach and influence children and entertain adults throughout the baseball universe. We applaud those efforts and wish everyone the best of luck this season.

For further information Major League Baseball spring training events, please refer to the Florida Grape Fruit League or the Arizona Cactus League official websites.