LAKELAND, Fla. — How to capture the excitement of spring training?
To show what it feels like inside a Major League clubhouse, at this time of spring training, when the Florida sky is a brilliant bright blue, and the weather is gorgeous, and every team is still undefeated, and nobody is in a slump, and nobody is ornery — not yet at least — and the excitement and fun seems contagious, spreading from player to player.
Maybe it is best to view it through the eyes of a youngster. Through the eyes of a newcomer.
Which brings us Justyn-Henry Malloy, a 22-year-old non-roster invitee in his first Detroit Tigers spring training. On Wednesday afternoon, he stood in front of his locker, in the middle of the Tigers clubhouse, smiling and laughing and flashing all kinds of personality.
OBSERVATIONS FROM CAMP:Spencer Torkelson’s different look an encouraging start
CASEY, MASTERPIECE:Tigers’ Mize, recovering from 2 surgeries, works on getting better, not bitter
“I want to be a sponge,” Malloy said. “I want to learn from guys like that who sit right there, right in front of me.”
He was pointing at Javier Báez, whose locker was just a few feet away from him.
“It’s just funny because, like, well …” Malloy said, lowering his voice. “I’m a fan (of Javy).”
The honesty was refreshing.
But isn’t that how most baseball fans would react in a clubhouse? Just kind of blown away? Just enjoying every second of it?
“But it’s so weird because he’s right there, you know,” Malloy said.
Yes, he was right there.
Báez himself was exuding all kinds of excitement while sporting a new blond hairstyle.
“I’m really excited to be back,” Baez said. “Just seeing everybody and everybody’s smiling and, you know, just happy.”
Yes, just happy.
“He’s another one — had a big smile on his face when he came in the office,” manager A.J. Hinch said of Báez.
Maybe there is a backstory to that smile. Hinch spent some time this offseason with Báez in Puerto Rico, building a relationship.
“I understand him a lot more,” Hinch said. “He and I became close, and he’s confided in me in a lot of things that he enjoyed last year and things that bothered him.”
The importance of that cannot be overstated: For Hinch to understand one of the most important players on this team.
And for Báez to understand his manager and his expectations.
“I think he tried to carry the entire team (last year) and we just need the best version of him,” Hinch said. “It’s gonna come with some peaks and some valleys, but he seems to be in a really good spot.”
Most stories previewing a season don’t dive into that. How players evolve. How relationships change. How players and coaches grow more comfortable, and how it is impossible to measure, but it affects what happens on the field. It’s the hard-to-see undercurrent that can have enormous ramifications.
HONOLULU BLUE LESSONS:How Tigers brought a little Lions ‘grit’ to spring training
The ups and downs of Day 1
What a strange day at TigerTown, as pitchers and catchers started working out, filled with so many strong emotions.
For some, it was pure giddiness. A new beginning. A fresh start.
For others, it was heavy. “We want to send our thoughts to Michigan State and the people in East Lansing,” Hinch said, opening his first news conference of the spring. “I know we’re all tired of talking about gun violence when people lose their lives, but if we don’t continue to hammer it home, we’re not going to see any changes.”
It was heavy stuff. Important stuff that needed to be said.
Then there was another twist, seemingly out of nowhere, bringing another wave of emotions: The Tigers announced that Casey Mize had had back surgery, while recovering from Tommy John.
“It’s been challenging,” Mize said after coming out of the clubhouse and talking to reporters. “I was at church this past Wednesday, and I heard my pastor say, ‘In the time of the peaks and valleys, when you’re in the valleys, instead of being bitter, focus on being better.’ I did find myself in a time of being bitter, and I was upset, and then it switched for me. This is a really good time for me to get better, physically and mentally, and become a better player.”
A FRESH START:Tigers’ spring training brings new beginning for almost everyone in organization
Before the valleys …
Then, the pitchers hit the back fields for the first round of bullpens.
“Mentally, we need to be pretty sharp from the get go,” Hinch said. “If I could sum up one theme of this camp is we’ve got to get inside the strike zone. Our pitches need to throw strikes. We’re gonna hammer that home here. You are going to get tired of hearing me talking about it. The elite teams, or even the top third teams in baseball, will all be quality strike-throwers. They don’t walk people. They punch people out because they get into leverage. That’s kind of the message from the get-go.”
So that will be one of the stories of this spring: Throwing strikes.
It’s the mantra of new president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
But there is something else.
The importance of versatility. That’s the mantra of Hinch.
“We don’t want as an organization to miss an opportunity for somebody to advance simply because they don’t fit perfectly on the roster,” Hinch said. “We’re trying to build as many options as possible. And I can think of some young hitters that might not make our team out of camp, but we’ll certainly want to be considered if something happens during the season.”
So you can expect to see Ryan Kreidler and Zack Short getting time in the outfield.
Or Andre Lipcius playing … well, let’s let him describe it:
“Anywhere!” he said. “Honestly, anything. Anywhere. I’m ready to play infield. Outfield. Wherever they want. I’m ready to go.”
He, too, had that youthful excitement. Those fresh eyes. In his first big league camp.
His first spring training in the main clubhouse.
“I just want to get on the field.”
And so it begins.
Another season, starting with the usual excitement. As well as some heaviness.
The slumps will come. Winning streaks and losing streaks. As well as injuries and all the twists and turns.
But for one day, one thing said it all. The excitement of Malloy, looking over and seeing Báez.
And smiling like a little kid.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.