February ushers in the hope of springtime, with Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training in Florida and Arizona. With the Oscars kicking off tonight, we mash up baseball and Hollywood.
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In October of 2014, with the baseball season winding down, we kicked off the Sports Explained series with Sports Explained: The Complex Simplicity of Baseball.
And now, we come full circle. From endings to beginnings.
With much of the country buried in snow, on the sun-dappled grassy fields of Florida and Arizona hope springs.
Along with that hope comes the standard Spring Training story lines. They are the same from year to year. So let’s spin the wheel for a game of MLB Spring Training storyline roulette:
1. Player X has renewed his work ethic and is in the absolute best shape of his life!
2015 Case Study: Jesus Montero
Every team will have at least one player who – despite an injury riddled past and a down year last year – has reported to Spring Training in “the best shape of his life.” Former Yankee uber-prospect and Mariner’s bust, Jesus Montero, is one such player this year. The NY Daily News trumpets that Montero “is noticeably slimmer.” We shall see…
2. Player Y has really let himself go! He appears to have reported to camp over weight and out of shape.
2015 Case Study: Pablo Sandoval
Former San Francisco Giant and new Boston Red Sox third baseman, Pablo Sandoval. The man who has lovingly been referred to as Kung Fu Panda throughout his career, has a body shape – and has always had a body shape that evokes a Tony Gwynn or a Kirby Puckett.
That hasn’t stopped the media around Boston from freaking out about his weight. Stay classy.
Safe to say Pablo Sandoval didn’t miss too many meals this offseason [cough] #redsox #worst2firstround2 pic.twitter.com/zN0ZHUYEXG
— Steve Silva (@stevesilva) February 17, 2015
Of course Sandoval looks no different than he has his whole career in San Francisco. 
How about we back off the Panda?
3. Rookie Player Z has come out of nowhere and looks like one of the best players in baseball this Spring!
Every once in an blue moon you get an Albert Pujols or a Jose Abreu.
But for every Pujols or Abreu, you get 100 guys whose name I can’t even remember, because their only hot streak of the season was in Spring Training.
But its not just Spring Training that’s in the news.
Tonight is The Oscars! The Academy Awards!
The glitz and glamour of Hollywood is on full display. Fire up the Facebook and the Twitter, summon the ghost of Joan Rivers, and let’s hit the red carpet!
Tonight, in the 87th Academy Awards, it is Boyhood, American Sniper, Selma, Birdman, The Theory of Everything, and The Grand Budapest Hotel that are in the spotlight.
Baseball has its own movie pantheon as well. It includes The Natural, Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams.
And of course, Hollywood, like baseball, has its recurring story lines and personalities. Indeed, the actors and athlete archetypes are more the same then they are different:
1. The Mickey Rooney. The grizzled veteran catcher whose knees are starting to go:
“When I was 19 years old, I was the number one star of the world for two years; when I was 40, nobody wanted me; I couldn’t get a job.” – Mickey Rooney, 1982 Academy Awards honoree
2. The Hilary Swank. The scruffy kid from the poor neighborhood, who worked his way to the Major Leagues:
“I’m just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream. I never thought this would ever happen.” – Hillary Swank, Best Actress, Million Dollar Baby, 2004
3. The Meryl Streep. The non-stop success. Every season. Always at the top.
“When they called my name, I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, ‘Oh no. Come on… Her, again?’ You know. But, whatever.” – Meryl Streep, Best Actress, The Iron Lady, 2012
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But whatever should we baseball fans wear to the red carpet? Well, local Port St. Lucie, Florida artist Jennifer Hitchner has the answer. She has designed a dress made entirely of NY Mets baseballs:
Don’t forgot to vote for #DavidWright DavidWright for the #FaceOfMLB then follow me for how to win the #MetsDress. pic.twitter.com/fv1QOb31hO — HitchnerArt (@HitchnerArt) February 18, 2015
#TCPALMSOCIAL: A dress made from baseballs? You’ll be surprised how great it looks: http://t.co/CEbZ9ZPz17 pic.twitter.com/6GpMrvqCfi
— Linda Gillis (@LSGillis) February 17, 2015
Happy Spring Training.
And have a Merry Academy Awards Night!
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Photo Credits: YouTube/Screen Capture; Nicole Vogelsong, AP/File, Twitter
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