January is not traditionally thought of as “baseball season.” And, although there are always leagues playing somewhere around the world, that’s a fair position. January is roughly halfway between the end of the MLB postseason and the start of Spring Training, so if you’re looking for a valley of baseball-less dread, it’s right now.
Instead, right now is a team when the other major sports step out from baseball’s glorious and robust shadow, with the NBA going strong, and the NFL hitting its postseason. The NHL is also in the middle of its regular season, which is wholly appropriate because cold and ice and such.
What if the NHL could throw baseball fans a little January bone? Well, there’s the Winter Classic each year – an NHL game played at a big league stadium (this year, the Blackhawks headed to St. Louis to play the Blues at Busch Stadium) – which is fine. But I’m talking about something with a little more baseball flavor than simply being played in a baseball stadium.
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Like … say … an NHL goalie trying to make saves against a big league pitching machine?
Thank you, St. Louis Blues:
So we found a great use for the batting cages. pic.twitter.com/Wxeg7qEVF6
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 8, 2017
.@CarterHutton is certainly ready for spring training. pic.twitter.com/2xBeQdZAXi
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 8, 2017
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That’s NHL goalie Carter Hutton trying to stop a variety of pitches from the kind of big league pitching machine that can spit out 90mph sliders. Look, I know that a hockey puck is really firm and come at you with ferocious velocity. And I know that Hutton is well-padded. But that still looks damn terrifying. How about a little love for big league catchers, eh?
In the end, Hutton let a few sneak by, but not a terrible performance. He says he’s ready for Spring Training. I kinda wish he wasn’t kidding when he stood to to take a swing with his goalie stick, though.
… then again, that stick probably would have shattered into the onlookers. So maybe I should be a little less bloodthirsty. Sorry. That NHL spirit got me for a minute.