Pitchers walk away from run
TAMPA, Fla. – Brad Penny finished his two-inning stint, then took off on the dead run. The All-Star ace cut across the field at Dodgertown, darted behind the right-field fence and ducked into the clubhouse.
Almost out of sight, too, is one of the great spring training traditions: pitchers jogging around the outfield warning track after their exhibition outings.
“It’s weird that nobody does it anymore,” San Francisco reliever Steve Kline said.
Like doubleheaders, infield practice and the pregame routine of pepper, those in-game trots on the track have faded like an aging right-hander.
Instead, most pitchers retreat to back fields.
“Yes, it’s part of the spring training charm going away, but really it just makes sense,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said.
Which is fine with Greg Maddux.
“I’m glad it’s disappeared,” he said after pitching three innings Thursday for San Diego. “Who wants to run in the outfield after a spring training game?”
Maddux, in fact, would rather skip running altogether.
“I did it when I was a rookie and they made you,” he said. “We’re baseball players. We’re not Olympians,” he said.
For those who want to, teams prefer that their pitchers stick to practice fields. They can work there in private and stay out of harm’s way – no heckling from fans and no chance of getting hit by a David Ortiz drive into the gap, either.
At some places, it’s more than a suggestion. At Legends Field, it’s an order.
A sign on the door leading from the locker room to the dugout succinctly tells New York Yankees opponents: Do not use main field for jogging during games. Use practice field No. 3.
“It started here,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday. “George Steinbrenner thought it kind of cheapened spring training to see players running on the field during games, even if it was a tradition to some people.”
“One of my first job requirements when I started with the Yankees was to go over to the visiting clubhouse before every game, find the visiting clubhouse manager and have him tell the players to stay off the field when they were done,” he said. “I did not want a call from our owner in the third inning, asking why there were guys out there.”
Those foul line-to-foul line jogs always made for a unique scene in spring training. They also let fans hope to see a shot that might scatter some unsuspecting pitchers.
“I spent a lot of time on those tracks, and I never got hit,” Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry said. “We used to run out there all the time. You don’t see it anymore, so you don’t remember the way it was. It’s the way of the world.”
For many pitchers, those midgame jogs were a good chance to socialize with ex-teammates.