The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX 40-22 just nights ago, and it has not taken long to turn to the next thing: MLB opening day is just 45 days away, on Mar. 27, but really baseball is much closer than that with pitchers and catchers already reporting to camp. The MLB season is the longest of all professional sports leagues with 162 total games, not including the preseason or playoffs. Between last season’s opening day, Mar. 28, 2024, and last season’s final game when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game five of the world series to capture L.A.’s eighth world series title, 216 days passed. That alone is plenty, but does not even capture the weeks of Spring Training that precede opening day. On Feb. 9, 2025 the Chicago Cubs and reigning champion L.A. Dodgers had pitchers and catchers reporting to training camp. On Feb. 20, the two squads will face off in the Cactus League’s first Spring Training game of the year.
During the MLB Spring Training period—the weeks between Feb. 9-13 and Mar. 27— the league is divided into two leagues. And, no, not the typical National League and American League. Half of the league ramps up to opening day on Mar. 27 in Arizona—“The Cactus League”—while the other half of the league gets going in Florida—“The Grapefruit League.” The Cubs’ and Dodgers’ pitchers and catchers arrived at training camp on Feb. 9 and Feb. 11 respectively, which is a few days before the rest of the league will see their pitchers and catchers; most other teams’ catchers and pitchers report to camp on Feb. 12-13. Furthermore, the Cubs’ and Dodgers’ full team workouts also begin a few days early on Feb. 14 and 19, respectively, while the rest of the league’s full teams report to camp on Feb. 16-18. The Cubs and Dodgers are days ahead of the 28 other MLB teams because they will be beginning their season before the rest of the league. On Mar. 18-19 they will play in the MLB Tokyo Series to kickoff the 2025 regular season about a week before the official MLB opening day on Mar. 27.
With all teams returning to camp on Feb. 16-18 and Spring Training games beginning on Mar. 13, it is safe to say that baseball is back. After an active MLB offseason that saw record-breaking deals and extravagant trades, it is time to see how the moves will play out on the diamond. The biggest markets in the league were some of the most active over the past months, but one story stands out above the rest: the New York Mets’ signing of then-Yankees outfielder Juan Soto. After an electrifying season the New York Mets and their high-spending owner Steve Cohen had a decision to make: How much would they be willing to shell out to land Juan Soto? The answer was a precedent-shattering $765 million/15 year contract that shipped the 26-year-old star across the city to Queens. After re-signing star first baseman Pete Alonso and returning breakout infielder Mark Vientos, the Mets will be a must-see team this year. After winning the world series, the L.A. Dodgers further bolstered their already daunting roster. The Dodgers inked revered Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, emerging as the early favorites for the 2025 World Series.
Casey’s Corner
Although there is debate on where the name “The Windy City” originated from, there is no denying the impact of the winds at Wrigley Field. The wind is essentially an omnipotent 10th man at The Friendly Confines, tipping the scales at any given moment. When thinking of the significance of wind at Wrigley, many Cubs fans will recall Patrick Wisdom’s infamous fly-out this past June against the St. Louis Cardinals. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cubs trailed 1-0, but had a runner on first base. Wisdom then barreled a pitch that left his bat at 111 miles per hour headed straight for Waveland Avenue, but instead landed in Brendan Donovan’s glove on the left field warning track. Cubs fans may also remember Cody Bellinger’s game-ending fly-out against the Reds last May. With two down and a runner on in the bottom of the ninth, with the Cubs down 5-4, Cody Bellinger stepped up and demolished an Alexis Díaz pitch at 107 miles per hour for a home run. Sike! Bellinger forgot to take the Lake Michigan winds into account. Bellinger smacked the baseball directly into a 17 mph headwind. The ball floated down into the right fielder’s glove, and the L flag was promptly raised above the scoreboard in center field.
Thanks to the use of proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) and Weather Applied Metrics technology, MLB has gained the ability to measure gusts “in-game, in-park, not just pregame from a nearby station, as had long been the standard.” Wisdom’s would-be homerun, was shortened by a staggering 62 feet, while Bellinger’s lost 40 feet of air because of the Wrigleyville winds. The Cubs ended up losing both of these games but who knows what may have happened if the winds died down for a split second on the north side of Chicago. In the 2023-2024 season, MLB found that more than 40 percent of largely wind-impacted baseballs—those pushed by 25 feet or more— happened at Wrigley Field. The wind affects more baseballs at Wrigley Field than anywhere else in the majors, and it is not particularly close.