That Ramon Santiago hit .377/.441/.509 in spring training is useless information. That is not to say that spring training was useless for those evaluating Ramon Santiago.

Cecil. Good example of an out of shape player, but I’ll admit, my Latin needs polishing. What did you say?

As for the player who missed Spring Training… c’mon. While the Spring Training experience is significant, it isn’t that “deep.” Dogs bark, the caravan moves on. One player being gone doesn’t totally disrupt everything (Walter Jones, for example.) But when one turns into 4, turns into 8… well, that turns into a team that lacks cohesion and probably organization from above.

And that turns into losses.

But thanks for simplifying my argument.

Oh… and if you want to go the other route and say that Spring Training is all important and missing it means you will never be a true part of the team– I don’t believe it, but I’ll play along. Here: I give you the St.Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V. (click my link).

#2, parts of #3′s agreement with 2, and the comments of #7 about antiquated notion of spring training… they just rang untrue to me. I was presenting something from the notion of being more involved in a day to day setting than many of you. Yes, I bleed my home teams’ colors as well, but while coaching I see the seeds of things that don’t seem significant in the stat book that occur in the preseason develop into big things (both good and bad) during the season. I can give you an example just from today if you wish– just ask later.

And issues like that are why Spring Training is a rite of passage. There is a process of communication that needs to begin before the first days of the playing season. You can’t expect players to just walk out and suddenly be ready to win ball-games. They need some “warming up” time with each other. Learning each others’ strengths and weaknesses. Even in an “individualistic” team sport such as baseball it is absolutely critical. Are they focused every moment they are out there? Probably not. But that, too, is part of the process.

I think you, DMZ and the rest of USSM, are absolutely brilliant writers. One of the strengths that I see in you is that I believe you do look at and weigh both sides of an issue. I’m not being personal in my comment toward some readers, just defending my own. I see myself far more on the “old skool” side as it was put. And I think the filter some of your other readers presented in these earlier posts was one of quick thoughts or incomplete rationale, the old “statistics/scouting” one good one bad argument. For example, it seemed like about 4 posts somewhat supported this statement:

“Nothing – NOTHING – hacks me off about old skool baseball types than their insistence that spring training means much of anything, and that the best way to choose between your options is how they batted in spring training”

That just simply isn’t true. But at the same time, all things being equal (which they rarely are) why shouldn’t “what have you done for me lately” be the best way to chose your option? And I think that I explained (with some help from other posters) why Spring Training and the decisions that are made there go far deeper than just “wow… look at that kid hit right now.”

There are a lot of issues to weigh, and trust me– I’ve been there, sitting up at 1 a.m. with a whiteboard listing the strengths and weaknesses of players and how they will fit in the team. It isn’t all fun and games and pick the best 15 players. There are peoples’ abilities and personalities, and at deeper levels their lives and personal satisfaction and hopes and dreams at play (not to mention your own job), and it isn’t so easy to work the “where are you now” argument vs. playing the “potential” game.

So… does Spring Training matter? Yes. Very much. You can mock my “rite of passage” comment, or you can read some Joseph Cambell and look into the concept and see that the door is metaphorical and the game extends beyond the boundaries of the playing surface and the numbers that are put up during the game.

By the way, which door do I step through for the (#15) “rite of passage?”

And if say, someone was hurt and missed ST. Would the team then be lost? The player may not have had the chance to “build [their] individual personalities and talents into a cohesive team.” The team might as well give up on the other 162 non-anomalies that follow. With that ever-important part, all must be lost.

Oh good. The stat-community’s pupils devote several posts to the uselessness of spring training.

This kind of dismissive grouping isn’t appropriate.

You can say that stats are all-critical and you can fill out your line-up before you ever step on the field; you can also say that spring stats are completely useless, ergo spring training is useless. Both are gross over-simplifications of a complex situation.

Spring Training is both a time to work out kinks and get in “playing shape” and– more importantly– a rite of passage, and the process of going through it critical in team-building. You need that time together to build your individual personalities and talents into a cohesive team.

Both parts make for the whole. Both are considered by management when creating a team, “small sample sizes” or statistical anomalies aside.