SF Giants: Important Spring Training Dates Released

The SF Giants are inching closer to the start of Spring Training and a couple of key dates were revealed on Tuesday.

Pitchers and catchers report on February 17, whereas the first full SF Giants workout is slated for February 22. Every other team’s Spring Training dates are listed below as well:

The act of pitchers and catchers reporting is usually a mundane event. It is the first event that is often associated with the excitement that comes with Spring Training. With that being said, it is a process whereby pitchers and catchers literally report to camp. Very little baseball activity takes place on that day.

SF Giants key Spring Training dates revealed

However, a much more inclusive day is just a few days later when the first full-squad workout takes place. At this point, most, if not all, position players will have arrived and reported to camp. It is not uncommon for position players to be in camp well in advance of the full workout, especially if a player is new to the organization. That player can begin to leverage coaching and training methods, so that he is ready when everyone else arrives.

On a related note, the first Cactus League game is scheduled for February 27 against the Los Angeles Angels. As Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times notes, Springing Training rules will be different due to COVID health and safety protocols:

• Games can be shortened to as few as five innings through March 13 and as few as seven innings thereafter
• Pitchers can re-enter games
• Managers are capable of calling off an inning if it exceeds 20 pitchers

Before all of this occurs, the SF Giants will need to finalize a list of up to 75 players that they plan on having in Spring Training by Friday at 4 PM ET. This includes all 40 players on the 40-man roster as well as any non-roster invitees. Non-roster invitees can be players on minor-league contracts and top prospects.

These are all minor details in the grand scheme of things. However, it serves as a reminder that Giants baseball is just around the corner.