One quirk of baseball’s spring training that I’ve always found amusing is the split-squad road trip. For example, half the Mets may play the Orioles at the New Yorkers’ home park in Port Saint Lucie, while another half of the squad may play the Twins at their field three hours away. Since baseball is designed to only let nine guys play at once, the split squad means more action for the dozens of guys clamoring for a roster spot, or the vets simply looking to get their rhythm back.
More than any sport, it seems, baseball is steeped in unwritten rules and age-old protocols. One is that established veterans don’t make those three-hour road trips in spring training. Once you’ve finally paid your dues in Major League Baseball, you may never have to schlep it on the bus again — assuming you stay out of your manager’s doghouse.
Sunday’s New York Times has a fun story on the topic. “Long Day of Baseball Can Be Rite of Passage,” reads the headline, as the article tells of the Mets’ scrub club forced to board the bus for Lakeland 2 1/2 hours away.
[Bobby] Parnell was one of the 29 poor souls with a round-trip ticket for the Mets’ longest trip of spring training.
Yes, those poor fellows have to ride 2 1/2 hours on a fully decked out coach bus, armed only with their iPods, something to read, and the camaraderie of 28 other young dudes to bide the time. And the drudgery that awaits them at the end of the interminable ride? A baseball game in the sun in some adorable little ballpark. Poor souls, indeed.
At least hurler Matt DeSalvo is making good use of the time, reports the Times. He’s reading Sophocles.
The Mets vets were all too happy to be spared the road trip–at least this time around.
Once the roster starts shrinking, the bigger names will no longer be spared the long bus rides.
“You can’t talk too much junk, because you’re going to be on those trips eventually,” said catcher Brian Schneider, who recalled overnight jaunts to Sarasota and Orlando during his days with the Montreal Expos. “It’s good to be out of some of those, though. Trust me, I’ve done a lot of them already.”
I’ll think of those poor souls, schlepping through sunny Florida on the bus, when I’m embarking on my own 2 1/2 hour train ride to the city in 10 inches of snow tomorrow.
why would your train trip be 2.5 hrs?