District Daily: Spring workout dates announced for all clubs
By Pablo Roa
Feb 19, 2014; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; A general view of ball bags on the field befor spring training action at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning dod readers, start off your day with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web in our District Daily:
Spring workout dates announced for all clubs
Major League Baseball announced the first Spring Training workout dates for all 30 of its clubs on Thursday. Pitchers and catchers for the reigning World Series champion Giants — along with the Phillies, Pirates and Reds — will be the first to work out, with a Feb. 19 start date. Thirteen other clubs will work out pitchers and catchers for the first time the following day.
That’s right, folks: Just 42 days until the first pitches of the 2015 season are thrown.
The first full-squad workouts will take place on Feb. 24. Those four teams will be joined by the Marlins, White Sox, Indians and Tigers as the first to have their entire team begin working out. Read full article here.
Rick Ankiel hired as Nationals’ newly created minor league ‘life skills’ coordinator
(James Wagner, Washington Post)
The Nationals announced their minor league staff on Thursday but with an innovative and newly created position that brings former player Rick Ankiel back into the organization. Ankiel will serve as the Nationals’ minor league “life skills” coordinator, a mentorship role.
Ankiel, 35, overcame an upbringing that included his father landing in prison for drug use. Ankiel was once a St. Louis Cardinals’ top pitching prospect and reached the majors at 19 in 1999. He finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting the next season before his pitching career unraveled. He painfully and publicly lost his ability to pitch and eventually resurrected his career as an outfielder, reaching the majors again as a position player in 2007 with the Cardinals. He played for the Nationals from 2011 to mid-2012, making some of the most memorable, jaw-dropping outfield throws ever seen in Washington and becoming a beloved teammate. Ankiel retired after a trying 2013 season with the Astros and Mets. Read full article here.