Astros: Save the date for pitchers and catchers to report to ST

Astros pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Valentine’s Day.

Most of us are still living in the 2017 championship season by the Houston Astros. My wife is currently watching the World Series documentary as I am typing this. Everyone is excited about everything that happened in 2017, but they are ready for baseball to return. With the Texans disappointing season and the Rockets stars injuries, people miss baseball.

This town has been a baseball city before, but many fans stepped aside during the process. These fans and others have returned, the number of people who were at the World Series parade was impressive. What are we waiting for? Let’s play ball!

Keep in mind, the Astros played their last game on November 1st, so they haven’t had much of an offseason so far. If you believe the commercials, Alex Bregman is working hard to get ready for the season. We knew when the first Spring game was (February 23), but it had not been reported when pitchers and catchers report.

You had to wonder if the Astros would push back the reporting date with the shortened offseason? However, their first game would be on the 23rd so they couldn’t push back the start too much. This afternoon, the Astros finally made the announcement via the tweet below.

Pitchers and catchers report…

The players and their wives/girlfriends will have to celebrate Valentine’s day in West Palm Beach. That will be the official report day for pitchers and catchers. The beginning of the quest to go back-to-back will begin on February 15th, which is the first official workout for pitchers and catchers. There will be a lot of first for the Astros that day.

Spirits will be high after winning the first World Series. It will be the first time we will see Justin Verlander at spring training with the Astros. We will see the new kids in the bullpen in Joe Smith, Hector Rondon, and Anthony Gose. We will see Max Stassi report with a real shot to become the backup catcher with Evan Gattis returning to DH duties.

Next: Former Astros closer Billy Wagner was good, but not Hall of Fame good.

The big question is will Gattis even report on the 14th? How will Ken Giles feel after his playoff performance? Will there be any additional top starters reporting? That will depend on the rest of the offseason. This will get the Astros season kickstarted and husband and wives need to enjoy the time with their loved ones before the season starts.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***