by Kelly Campbell
As the days get longer and the weather warms up, athletes across the country dust off their gear and head to the courts and fields for spring training. While MLB players prepare for a fresh season, they’re turning to a new training tool to get prepped for game day––pickleball.
We’re seeing more and more professional athletes using pickleball or pickleball-inspired activities as a training exercise. With pickleball’s many health benefits, it’s easy to see why.
Read on for more about how MLB teams use pickleball as a spring training tool, why pickleball is the perfect workout for professional athletes in other arenas, and a list of some baseball icons-turned-pickleballers.
Let’s Play (Pickle)Ball: MLB Teams Choose Pickleball
The Chicago Cubs are not the first or only MLB team to turn to pickleball during spring training, but they’ve been making headlines this year for their preseason pickleball-baseball blend.
This spring, the Cubs are training in Mesa, AZ. As they prepare for their regular season, the team is getting in shape, honing their skills, bonding with and getting to know each other––and pickleball has become a massive part of it all.
Jesse Rogers posted a video to X of Cubs players playing a game that seemingly combines baseball and pickleball. The players in the video are playing a doubles match with baseball gloves instead of using paddles, volleying the pickleball over a net. This version applies pickleball mechanics to a baseball fielding drill, encouraging players to develop better hand-eye coordination skills that will help them on the field in a low-impact environment.
In an interview with WGN-TV, Craig Counsell, Cubs manager, talked about his pickleball passion and why pickleball is a key part of his routine on the road.
“I enjoy playing and it’s fun, a little competitive. You don’t feel like you’re going to hurt yourself. I’m all for that.”
Pickleball has been a staple within the Cubs franchise for years, and some team members were spotted playing pickleball in the bullpen back in 2021.
The Phillies are another team that has embraced pickleball in the preseason. They used inspiration from pickleball to create their defensive drill they call “pacoball”
“It helps with a lot of things. Moving different directions, agility, you gotta drop to get the ball, go in to hit it.
I envision our three outfielders [playing across from another three outfielders, and doing] a lot of communicating—’I got it, I got it’—and you’re switching positions,” Phillies coach Paco Figueroa told Sports Illustrated. “And a lot of it is competitiveness. The more you can compete, the better it is.”
Pickleball Benefits for Athletes to Knock it Out of the Park
It makes sense that pickleball has become such a popular tool in the baseball world, both because of pickleball’s overall benefits for everybody and those transferable skills specifically applicable to athletes.
- Team-building: Besides developing technical skills, spring training is also about connecting with teammates and socializing in a way that translates to on-field chemistry and comradery. Doubles matches and drills encourage teammates to work together toward a common goal.
- Low-impact workout: The main goal of spring training is to get players in good shape for the regular season, but the last thing any athlete or coach wants is an injury. Pickleball blends the best of both worlds–athletes can get a good workout that provides a strong foundation for baseball skills, but the risk for injury is low.
- Mental Health: Pickleball encourages players to have fun, be social, and get outside, all of which improve mental well-being. Preseason can bring up stress and uncertainty for athletes as they begin to feel competitive pressure, and pickleball can help alleviate that.
- Communication: Presumably, most professional baseball players primarily focus on their core sport. Given pickleball’s popularity boom, many have likely heard about pickleball, but some may not. Regardless, pickleball is still a relatively new sport, and there’s much to learn. Doubles partners have to communicate effectively with each other. In general, learning a new game and developing a strategy for that game can increase interpersonal relationships and support positive communication skills amongst teammates that translate to the field.
- Speed and agility: Pickleball helps athletes develop fast footwork and fast reaction times to receive and hit the ball. On the baseball field, this translates to quick baserunners and better fielding.
- Hand-eye coordination: Good hand-eye coordination, developed in pickleball from hitting and receiving the ball, helps baseball players hit the ball as batters and throw and catch the ball in the field.
Check out these pro baseball legends turned pickleballers:
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