TAMPA — Like Lennon & McCartney, Bonnie & Clyde and Romeo & Juliet, you can’t avoid Pitchers & Catchers when it comes to baseball lingo at this time of the year.
While pitchers throwing to catchers gets over-romanticized compared to what it actually is, a baseball popping a catcher’s glove under a brilliant sun signifies the beginning of spring training.
The first official step in that process for the Yankees is Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field when their pitchers and catchers report. Thursday is the first workout, though J.A. Happ, James Paxton, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka have been throwing at the nearby minor league complex where Gary Sanchez has been hitting and catching on his way back from left (non-throwing) shoulder surgery.