Pitchers and catchers for the Atlanta Braves reported for
spring training on Friday and position players were scheduled to report for
duty yesterday (Wednesday) with the first full-squad workouts set for today
(Thursday) in Kissimmee, Fla.
Once the entire team arrives, they’ll waste little time
getting right into their slate of spring training games. Over the course of the
coming week, they’ll play the Mets twice, the Astros, the Nationals, the
Cardinals and the Tigers before getting into the meat of their March schedule.
Perhaps the biggest news of the spring so far has been the
arrival of new third baseman Josh Donaldson, who arrived early on Sunday after
signing with the Braves as a free agent in the off-season. Last season, the
33-year-old Donaldson started out with the Toronto Blues before being traded to
the Cleveland Indians in August. In November, Donaldson signed a one-year
contract with the Braves for $23 million.
Many in the reading audience will know that Donaldson was
born in Pensacola, but graduated from high school at Faith Academy in Mobile.
Donaldson was a record-setting football and baseball player at Faith, where he
helped lead the school to a state baseball title during his senior season.
Donaldson went to Auburn University as a catcher, but transitioned to third
base.
Donaldson was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and bounced around
the minors for several years before making his Major League debut with the
Oakland A’s in 2010. He went on to play for Toronto before ending up with the
Indians and the Braves.
Personally, I’m hoping that Donaldson will make a good
showing with the Braves. He’s had some injury issues, but being from the
Pensacola-Mobile area, I think it’s safe to consider him a “local” boy. It’s
always nice to have a really good reason to pull for the Braves, and having a
person from our neck of the woods fits the bill in my book.
Speaking of baseball, Alabama opened their 2019 baseball
season by winning two of three games in a series against Presbyterian College
on Friday and Saturday in Tuscaloosa. My newspaper colleague Butch Adams and I
were discussing this on Monday, and Butch asked me a question that I could not
answer: Just where is Presbyterian College?
I immediately googleated it and learned that Presbyterian
College is a private college located in Clinton, S.C. Presbyterian has one of
the most interesting nicknames in college athletics. They call themselves the
“Blue Hose.” This name comes from the socks worn by the school’s football team
over a century ago. Presbyterian’s mascot is a guy dressed up like a Scottish
highlander.
I also saw this week where Alabama dedicated its Hall of
Fame at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in honor of Babe Ruth McAbee on Friday before
Alabama’s season-opener. I was interested to learn that McAbee was a native of
Northport and was named after her grandmother Rosanne “Ruth” Franklin and two
famous “Babes” from the world of sports – baseball player Babe Ruth and Olympic
medalist Babe Didrickson. McAbee, a co-founder of McAbee Construction in
Tuscaloosa and a major supporter of Alabama athletics, passed away in 2014.
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