How important is it to win during spring training?

Elphie15 · Post by **Elphie15** » February 28 07, 9:33 pm

ST games are like office softball games.

stlmark · Post by **stlmark** » February 28 07, 11:10 pm

I agree with ST games meaning absolutely nothing, but in the last week or so when we basically have the 25 man roster set,or close to it, I want them to start winning to get that winning feeling. I think if they play well for the last week in ST they can keep that going to start the season.

The #1 thing for ST is to stay healthy of course.

cabby7588 · Post by **cabby7588** » February 28 07, 11:51 pm

For guys like Pujols, Carp, etc, it really doens't matter what kind of stats they put up.

For the young kids...Especially the hitters, it can mean a lot and show what they are made of in my opinion.

Oh, winning? Who cares.

Richie Allen · Post by **Richie Allen** » March 1 07, 12:47 am

I agree, as I aluded to in my original post, that there is very little correlation between spring training results and regular season results.

But I do have to take exception to some of the assertions that the games mean nothing and that they are the equivalent of an office softball game.

Now, if you're a team that has advanced to the playoffs for 6 of the last 7 years, it's very easy to take a lackadaisical approach to spring training game results.

If, however, you're a team that has hopes of turning the corner in the present year, I know that spring training results have an added significance for the fans. And I would think that that team could be either encouraged or discouraged by how well they competed. Especially as spring training nears its end.

haltz · Post by **haltz** » March 1 07, 1:05 am

Beyond the Box Score looked at the correlation between spring performance and regular season performance today.

I took a look at all players who got at least 50 at-bats in Spring Training of March 2006 and accumulated another 50 in the regular season's first month of April. My list was 135 players long.

After comparing the stats from March with how each player began the year in April, I reached a couple of conclusions:

- One, that was more time-consuming than I anticipated.

- Two, Google Docs is very, very handy.

- Three, there seems to be a very small correlation between performance in March carrying through to April. It's so small, it's almost not real.

Richie Allen · Post by **Richie Allen** » March 1 07, 1:18 am

haltz wrote: - Three, there seems to be a very small correlation between performance in March carrying through to April. It's so small, it's almost not real.

Yes, I wouldn't think that individual play in March would be much of a predictor for regular season performance.

myersli · Post by **myersli** » March 1 07, 8:46 am

I actually agree with stlmark. Overall, I do not believe that Spring Training wins and losses mean much for a veteran team. But, I see the end of Spring Training being a little like the last 2 weeks of the season. If you begin playing well to end either season (ST vs. RS), I think that there is a carry over to the next round (RS vs. Playoffs). (Side note: the post from haltz is likely right in that if you analyze the entire ST record, there likely isn't a carry over to the RS. I'd be interested in seeing the record for the final 7-10 games of ST, though, and if there is a correlation between that and RS record.)

But, it's still not that important. The biggest thing for any team is to come out of the exhibition schedule with a healthy (and quality) roster. I think the only major effect of Spring Training upon a team would be if a team went winless. Then, they would need to face additional media and fan pressure going into the season.