As a New Englander who grew up playing pond hockey and skiing blue ice, I have never had any problems with winter. In fact, I rather like the climatological change of pace that comes with four seasons. And the scents and scenery this time of year are hard to beat, especially when snow blankets the countryside and fires burn in woodstoves, making it all feel like something out of a Currier & Ives Christmas card.
But after a dozen snowstorms of varying intensity since New Year’s and two months of freezing temperatures, I started to break.
In fact, things became so dire recently that the usual delight I take in watching the Winter Olympics on TV was replaced by the dread of seeing as much snow and ice on my plasma screen as was drifting on the sides of my house.
Bottom line, I’ve turned to baseball and golf to get me through these next few weeks.
So, I decided to make some mental changes. And instead of admiring the frozen fairyland outside my windows or appreciating the athletic ability of the snowboarders and bobsledders in Italy, I started to dream of warmer places and sports with people wearing something other than mittens and earmuffs.
I also developed a couple of mantras to remind me that things would soon be OK. One of those was “Florida swing.” The other was “pitchers and catchers.” I keep saying them over and over.
Seeing palm trees and people in shorts and short sleeves brings an instant smile to my face. So does the sweet snap of a titanium-faced driver making contact with a urethane-covered ball. And as I watched the Cognizant Classic this past weekend, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be teeing it up myself, albeit with far less dexterity. I was also amped by what lies ahead on the PGA Tour, with Bay Hill next and then the Players – and the Masters not long after that.
Spring training also has a way of springing hope in the human breast. For the sunny settings of the major- and minor-league camps in Florida and Arizona and the long-missed pops of hard-pitched balls being caught in leather gloves. And those things re-enter our lives every February when pitchers and catchers report to their teams.
This is also a time of year when all teams are equal, and no one is lagging in the standings or enduring long losing streaks.
It’s only been a couple of weeks since I began my mantra meditations, and I am feeling better already. Not even the forecasts of another dump of snow this week are fazing me.
Pitchers and catchers. Pitchers and catchers.
John Steinbreder
Top: Collin Price of the Houston Astros during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rich Storry, Getty Images