Tampa Bay Rays spring training: Pitchers and catchers report

Christmas morning. Your birthday. The final bell of the last day of school before summer vacation. All these pale next to the first day of spring training in terms of excitement.We may still officially be in winter, but the days are getting longer, and at last we have seen the first true sight of spring, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Charlotte Sports Park on Tuesday morning.

Along with the usual suspects, there were a number of position players present and ready to get a head start on training before the full squad is due to report next week.

Let’s take a moment to enjoy the beauty that is the first baseball activity of the year.

If you really want to keep up with the best in the business, give Rays photographer Will Vragovic a follow.

The full squad is set to have their first workout next week, but it’s clear a lot of the guys are already excited to get started. There’s nothing quite like this first week of baseball, when fans and players alike get to shake off the cobwebs of the offseason and start to get psyched for the summer months to come.

Baseball is back!