[dropcap]R[/dropcap]egardless of how cold it might be in Michigan, it feels a lot like spring for the Detroit Tigers and all other Major League Baseball teams, as spring training has officially begun. Although only pitchers and catchers have been ordered to report at this point (position players generally arrive one week later), a lot of their teammates have already ventured south.
Noticeable early arrivals for the Tigers included Miguel Cabrera who is fully recovered from off-season surgery and Victor Martinez, who was asked by new manager Brad Ausmus to workout with the catchers. Having notable veterans arrive early not only sets the tone for other players on the team, but is also a clear indication of the team’s focus entering the 2014 season.
The Tigers 2013 season didn’t live up to its expectation, and that helped shape some of the many moves they made during the off-season, such as trading Prince Fielder and Doug Fister. Although the 2014 Tigers may have a much different look than last year’s team, they’re no less qualified to make another run at winning the World Series.
As is the case every spring training, there’s a lot of interesting stories that are going to be worth watching, not just for the Tigers, but all around baseball. In no particular order, here’s five stories every baseball fan should be following.
- Will the Boston Red Sox be able to repeat as World Series champions? It’s been a while since any team has been able to win back-to-back championships, but the Red Sox have a very similar team coming back in 2014. The one noticeable difference is the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury who signed with the New York Yankees. It won’t be easy for the Red Sox, as they play in arguably the toughest division in baseball.
- Will Justin Verlander be able to return to his old form? By most standards, Verlander didn’t have a terrible season last year, but he’s not paid to have decent years. He’s paid to perform as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and the hope is he can be just that. An off-season surgery cost Verlander a bit of time to prepare for the season, but he’s expected to be healthy by the start of the season.
- Can Chris Davis repeat his performance of 2013? If it wasn’t for Baltimore’s first baseman, Miguel Cabrera would have been the first ever player to win back-to-back Triple Crown awards. Instead, Davis was able to win two of the three qualifying categories (home runs and RBIs). There is some skepticism that Davis can come close to matching those numbers again, but he does play half of his games in a very hitter-friendly park.
- Will Masahiro Tanaka live up to the hype of his signing? The casual baseball fan probably didn’t know much about Tanaka before he signed a 7-year deal worth $155 million with the New York Yankees. Tanaka was clearly the best pitcher in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, but that hasn’t always guaranteed success in Major League Baseball.
- What kind of farewell tour will Derek Jeter have? Now that Jeter has announced that this will be his final season before retiring, it’ll be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank. Jeter will no doubt see his career end with a plaque in the Hall of Fame, but he is also coming off of a season where injuries limited him to only 17 games.
