Spring Training 2014: Baseball is right around the corner

It’s the first day of February and while Punxsutawney Phil has yet to come out of his hole to predict weather over the next six weeks, one thing is for certain: pitchers and catchers are reporting for Spring Training soon.
Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
The voluntary reporting date for the St. Louis Cardinals is February 12th but that doesn’t mean that players won’t be arriving before then. Even position players won’t wait until the mandatory reporting date. Around the league, players are starting to head down to Florida and Arizona, days before they are even required to report.

Pitchers for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, because of opening the season overseas in Australia, are required to report this week at Camelback Ranch and Scottsdale. Soon, Jupiter, Fla., will be filled with the Cardinals and Miami Marlins, alike, as they prepare for the 2014 season.

For the Cardinals, the 2014 season will be about defending their 2013 National League championship with the hopes of getting not just another pennant but winning another World Series championship–50 years after making a run against the Philadelphia Phillies for the pennant in 1964.

As the NFL season comes to an end on Monday and the Winter Olympics start up in Sochi, all eyes will soon turn their attention towards baseball. I can watch programming on the MLB Network all day long, even if it is a repeat…