MLB

Dontrelle Willis, who became an instant sensation after debuting with the Florida Marlins in 2003, has reportedly decided to retire for the second time at the age of 33.

According Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, Willis gave word to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday that he was done:

The Texas Rangers announced starting pitcher Yu Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow next week and will miss the entire 2015 season.  

Everyone loves a comeback story. And in MLB this upcoming season, there are many players on the trail back to greatness. Which players will bounce back from injuries or poor play and dominate once again?

This is just a checkup. It's only a glimpse into faux baseball, one where starters routinely exit after two at-bats and the final score is irrelevant. This is just to provide a sense of who isn't quite performing well when nothing matters, so read into it what you will. 

Last year, Chris Heisey finished the spring batting .310, while Skip Schumaker hit .441. Spring training performances aren't indicative of much, but it's interesting to check it out.

Forget your chores and homework or your nine-to-five responsibilities and honey-do list. With fantasy baseball drafts getting underway in the coming days (that is, if you haven't had yours already), nothing is more important than preparing for your player picking.

(OK, maybe fundamental stuff, like food consumption and basic hygiene, but you get the idea.)

The Cleveland Indians are making waves early in spring training and have a legitimate shot at winning the American League Central in 2015.

If they're going to do it, though, they'll need all hands on deck. That hasn't been the case so far in spring training, and three players in particular are turning heads for all the wrong reasons.

We remind ourselves every year not to worry about what happens during spring training. It's Major League Baseball's practice season, so it's typically a good idea to heed the wisdom of Allen Iverson.

But who are we kidding? A lot of the time we just can't help ourselves. Though patience is advised, sometimes spring training makes us PANIC.

FORT MYERS, Florida — Nights were the worst. You think of a major league baseball player, you think of a dreamy life with plush hotels.

There were no dreams for Mike Napoli. Only fear. In the middle of the night. Alone. When he would jolt awake, several times each evening, because he could not breathe.

Spring training statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt, as the MLB preseason is as much about shaking off the rust and working on specific things as it is about actual on-field performance.

That being said, we as baseball fans love us some statistics, so there's no sense pretending they don't exist.

Here in mid-March, there are already a handful of players who have stood out, albeit in less than 10 games.

The expectations placed on George Springer have never been higher. 

As a college player at Connecticut, they were already on the rise. After the Houston Astros drafted him 11th overall in 2011, those expectations again grew, and by the time he finished his second full minor league season in 2013 with a .303/.411/.600 line to go with a 1.010 OPS, 37 home runs and 108 RBI, he was a potential star.