THE RIGORS OF SPRING

Or are they? This week baseball players are in the opening phase of training, 10 days set aside for conditioning when no formal exhibition games are scheduled. Nowadays, most teams order their players to come to camp in good shape, and many hire special instructors to lead the troops in calisthenics. But do the players, with the exception of the pitchers and catchers, really need—or even try—to get into finer fettle than golfers? Or as tradition holds, is springtime more properly an occasion for them—and their fans—to dispel winter's chill and sharpen their eyes and arms? As the paintings on the following pages show, early training is both a laborious and a relaxed time. And as the article on page 37 reports, that's the way it has to be to prepare for a season that stretches 162 games.

FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS

JAMES McMULLAN