Insider information

Tom Verducci's column in Sports Illustrated is called Inside Baseball, and this week he proves just why that is. If you've ever wondered what it would be like not just to go to spring training but to be an integral part of it, check out his article, which describes the week he spent at spring training with the Blue Jays.

There are some nice little insights scattered throughout the article, but my favourite quote was one which goes to prove that no matter at what level you play baseball, some things stay the same:

While on the bases, if an infielder asks you to step off the bag so he can clean the base, don't. He's trying to pull the hidden-ball trick.

It doesn't matter whether it's the Major Leagues or Little League - no-one wants to walk back to the dugout after getting retired on that particular play.