Chicago Cubs: Things to watch for in spring training
The Chicago Cubs will hit the field for the first time this Saturday. The stats may be meaningless, but there are some important things you’ll want to watch.
At long last, baseball’s slow-moving offseason is nearly over. The Chicago Cubs hosted their first full workout on Monday and the team will play their first game of 2019 this weekend.
No MLB team is looking forward to baseball games actually being played again more so than the Cubs. The team’s much-anticipated offseason became nothing more than a source of frustration for fans. The Cubs refusal to spend big this winter was coupled with seemingly never-ending off-the-field issues.
While spring training should bring some excitement for those dying to hear the pop of a mitt or a crack of a bat, that excitement can quickly wane, simply because the results on the field don’t matter.
It’s easy to get excited about your team’s success or a prospect’s great statistics in the Cactus League, but those things don’t typically translate to success during the regular season.
Last spring, the Baltimore Orioles finished with a 17-12 record, the third-best mark in the Grapefruit League. In the regular season, the Orioles went 47-115 – good for a .290 winning percentage. They became the first team since 2003 to win less than 50 games.
Do you know who led all batters in OPS during spring training in 2018? Former Cub Dan Vogelbach. He had a 1.455 OPS last spring, yet proceeded to post a .691 OPS in limited action with the Seattle Mariners in the regular season.
If team record doesn’t matter and a player’s statistics don’t matter, what does?
Usually, it’s the little things. Does that player who missed most of last year look healthy? Has the aging pitcher lost any of his velocity? Is that batter’s new stance generating more power? How does that pitcher’s new slider look?
These kinds of things are what fans should be focused on in spring training, not traditional measures of success like batting average or ERA.
With the Cubs taking the field for the first time this weekend, here are four things to keep your eye on this spring.