As always, never believe anything you see on a baseball diamond in February or March.
So, with that out of the way, a hearty welcome back to Major League Baseball, which will stage a month of exhibitions before starting a hoped-for 162-game season April 1.
As with all things in the era of the coronavirus, everything is subject to change — starting with regionalized play in the Grapefruit League and game lengths that can vary by the day. Yet teams and players alike have so far reported few COVID-19 cases upon intake — 14 players and six staff members among nearly 21,000 tests conducted.
While teams will take everything on and off the field deliberately, and there's little of consequence to any single exhibition, there are a few items that will be resolved before crowds of less than 5,000 due to attendance restrictions. Here's what to watch for as games commence Sunday:
Fallen stars
Yep, you can ignore spring results. True, you can minimize regular season stats until about Memorial Day, too.
Still, there's a handful of MVP-caliber talents who could stand to figure things out quickly in 2021.
"We live in a business where it’s ‘What have you done for me lately?’" says Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich, who went from NL MVP in 2018 to a desultory, .205-hitting season in 2020. "What I’ve done lately is play terribly, so I’m looking forward to a fresh start and starting a new year."
Yelich has the security of a long-term deal through 2028. Javy Baez does not. The Cubs shortstop, runner-up to Yelich in 2018 MVP voting, was totally unproductive in 2020, posting a .205/.238/.360 slash line, his .599 OPS third-worst among qualified major league hitters. Baez and fellow Cubs All-Stars Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo can become free agents after this season.
"I wasn't mentally ready for last year," Baez said.
Jose Altuve (.286 OBP), J.D. Martinez (81 adjusted OPS), Kyle Schwarber (.188 batting average) — none can reverse their career-worst 2020s in a few exhibition games. Yet all could use a sturdier leg to stand on before the lights come on for real.
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