Is Spring Training too long?
Many MLB teams reported to Spring Training camp three weeks ago and have played 10+ games already. However, the regular season is still a month away and teams have around 25 more games to play. Is this too long to wait? Is Spring Training too long?
First, let's take a look at how the length of Spring Training compares to other major sports preseasons. The average MLB Spring Training schedule includes around 35 games if including split squad games. That means that Spring Training is about 22% of the length of MLB’s regular season.
The NFL’s regular season has 16 games and four games of preseason. So the NFL’s preseason is 25% the length of the regular season.
The NBA’s preseason consists of about eight games and the regular season is 82 games. That comes out to about 10% the length of the regular season. The NHL is almost exactly the same as the NBA in this regard.
MLB is above average in the length of its preseason, compared to other major sports. Overall, MLB’s Spring Training length is not an outlier and does not even have the longest preseason of the major four sports.
MLB is unique compared to the other sports in regards to how teams fill their rosters. MLB’s expansive minor league system is unlike anything in any major sport. The NFL has no minor league system and rookies come from the NFL draft and or as free agents. The NBA has its D-League, but rosters for those teams are only about 15 names long and many of those players will never reach the NBA. Most of the NBA’s rookies are from the NBA Draft or sign as free agents internationally. The NHL has the AHL, which is similar to the NBA’s D-League.
In MLB, however, each team has multiple, sometimes up to seven, minor league affiliates with around 25 players in each. Some MLB rookies will sign as free agents from overseas, but almost every rookie comes from the minor leagues. Many of those players will spend at least four years in the minors before being called up to the big leagues. None of those players drafted will be ready for the major leagues right off the bat unlike many rookies in other leagues
As a result, MLB teams can use Spring Training to get these minor league players experience facing some major league players. In addition, with so many players in Spring Training camp with a chance to make the major league roster, there needs to be many games to have those players showcase and compete for those roster spots.
Another reason having Spring Training at its length is to help get the players get sharp for the regular season. This is less of a problem for pitchers who can pitch in the offseason and stay sharp. Batting in baseball is one of the toughest things in all of sports and so much of it relies on timing. While baseball players can go to the batting cages, they can’t get the same level of pitching to hit against in the offseason, at least not on a consistent basis. Some veterans don’t need this, but some players like Aramis Ramirez, don’t even historically get in a groove until a month into the regular season.
Could Spring Training be a little shorter? Sure. MLB has already announced that it will be reducing Spring Training by two games next season. However, much less and a shortened Spring Training schedule will be detrimental to teams and players.
