The poet Alexander Pope once wrote, “Hope springs eternal.” For Major League Baseball fans, that hope begins during spring training.
Spring training gives baseball fans the opportunity to see and meet their favorite major league players for autographs and selfies. During the regular season, many fans are disappointed when they are unable to get autographs or a photo taken with their favorite players, who are on a tight schedule in ballparks. (Players still find the time to sign a great deal of memorabilia.)
Top prospects and other big league hopefuls began workouts with their prospective teams on the east coast of Florida earlier this month. Yahoo News photographer Gordon Donovan visited several major league camps and caught the first few weeks of action as players got into the swing of things while preparing for the long baseball season.
The 2017 New York Mets started filled with high expectations. After reaching the postseason for two consecutive seasons, the team expected to continue the trend with the healthy young arms from the starting rotation that the general manager boasted about for years. With the exception of Jacob deGrom, each of the young Mets starters missed multiple starts, misdiagnosed injuries and later found themselves on the disabled list.
Top prospects and other big-league hopefuls began workouts with the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla., this month.
Yahoo News photographer Gordon Donovan visited the camp and caught the young men getting into the swing of things as they vied for a chance to move up through the ranks.
“Hope springs eternal” for the major-league teams and their fans who flew south to Florida's Grapefruit League to catch a glimpse of their favorite team and players. Fans watched players stretch, participated in workouts, sought autographs, selfies and enjoyed the national pastime in the Florida sunshine.
The New York Mets opened the 2016 season as the defending National League champions at home with a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The season started slowly, but the Mets picked up momentum in late April and early May, going 17-6 in one stretch with the offense clicking on all cylinders. But injuries to key starting players David Wright and Lucas Duda caught up with the team in June, and the Mets found themselves hovering six games above .500 at the All-Star break as the offense struggled.
Matt Harvey’s inconsistencies were a big question from the beginning of season. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder pain on July 4 and later opted to have season-ending surgery to resolve a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome. He finished the year 4-10, with a 4.86 ERA.
The Mets acquired Reds slugger Jay Bruce at the trade deadline for top 2B prospect Dilson Herrera. But the Bruce pickup was not quite as impactful as the Yoenis Céspedes acquisition the year before: Bruce totaled just eight home runs and 19 RBI in 50 games as a Met. The Mets did get a spark out of former star José Reyes, who was brought in to fill the void at 3B and in the leadoff spot. But in late August, they fell two games under .500, third place in the division and 2 1/2 games out of the wildcard.
The Mets finished the last 40 games 27-13 despite losing 2B Neil Walker and starting pitchers Jacob DeGrom and Steven Matz to the injury bug. They clinched the first wildcard spot on the second-to-last game of the season only to lose the wildcard game at Citi Field to the Giants and Madison Bumgarner.
When photographing an event, you wait for that one great moment to capture on the camera. Whether it be a second baseman going airborne in an amazing double play or a player hitting a game winning home run and being mobbed at home plate at teammates. Then it happens and you get a clear shot, suddenly somebody on the field walks right in front of your line of sight destroying that moment. Read more
Miami Marlins Adeiny Hechavarria (3) scores ahead of New York Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud (15) tag in the seventh inning of a baseball game at Citi Field in New York, Monday, September 15, 2014. (Gordon Donovan)
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