Listening to the A’s game against the Padres last night reminded me what I love about Spring Training. The game itself (which Oakland won 15-4) was fairly incidental to the broadcast; barring the basic calls of each at-bat.Â
Instead, the attention was more on the commentator simply talking about baseball with various guests, not least of whom were Susan Slusser (staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle) and  Billy Owens (the A’s Director of Player Personnel).  With the sound of the game in the background (the crack of the bat, the noise of the crowd etc), you basically got to eavesdrop in on a couple of very well-informed people talking about the sport they love. It’s a great, relaxed atmosphere and you can pick up a lot of knowledge along the way about the teams involved in the game (it was something of a running gag that Billy Owens could reel off a stream of information about any of the young players on show – including the Padres’ players). If you’re a new subscriber to MLB.tv and have so far just concentrated on the .tv side of things, make sure to listen to some games on Gameday Audio as well (particularly the home feed for your team) during this Spring Training.
With that being said, there are three games being broadcast by MLB.TV this evening.
At 18.05, C.C. Sabathia and the Indians take on the Astros, with Woody Williams and Brandon Backe both scheduled to pitch for Houston.Â
At the same time, Joe Torre renews his rivalry with the Red Sox. Derek Lowe will start for L.A against his former team, while Tim Wakefield starts for Boston.
Finally, at 20.05 the Rangers start their game against the White Sox, with Vicente Padilla and Gavin Floyd on the mound.
2 comments
As a first-time subscriber to Gameday Audio, this is my rookie Spring Training, but I’m already developing a taste for it.
A major way it differs from the regular season is in removing the emotional bet that you normally place each time you watch or listen to a game. If your team is victorious, you can win too, but a defeat on the field translates into an emotional loss. In Spring Training, you’ll be neither elated nor gutted. As such, it’s arguably the only time a real fan can relax while following a game.
And on the subject of emotional gambling, what’s your take on the bet hedging that is following a National League team and an American League team? Inter-league play between the two teams – as well as the improbable World Series match-up -obviously complicates the odds.
They key to Spring Training is that it still feels like an event, even though the results don’t really matter. I can watch a pre-season football friendly in a completely relaxed state, but that ‘throwaway’ feeling carries over and frankly it’s hard to care about the games. Spring Training still retains a certain magic for some reason.
I think it’s quite common for fans to support more than one team, even if they have a main team and then another that they just ‘look out’ for. Even in football, you often hear loyal supporters admitting to having a second team from another league. It’s difficult for a Brit to follow a Minor League side, so the natural solution is to support a team in each league. I guess ‘hedging your bets’ is human nature; a surivial technique so that if one team is doing badly, you’ve always got a back-up to brighten your mood. I’ve always only supported the A’s, but I might need to start following an NL team as well this year!