Early now the norm at Rangers spring training

The players parking lot at the Surprise Recreation Campus was a bit more than half-full Monday morning on the eve of reporting day for Texas Rangers pitchers and catchers.

Some have been here for days. Some came early Monday and had completed their work by 10:30 a.m. Others worked a little longer, while a few just dropped off their stuff and headed back to the safety of their rental homes or area golf courses.

The trend across Major League Baseball the past several years has been for players to show up early. It’s encouraging, nonetheless.

“It’s pretty typical,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “I know, myself, I try to get out here four or five days early. I wanted to be at full speed or as close as I can by the time we get to on-the-field stuff. I know there’s a lot of other players who like to do the same.”

Pitchers and catchers are required to be in the state of Arizona by Tuesday. They will work out for the first time Wednesday, with position players to follow with their first work out Feb. 21.

Among those who have arrived are right-hander Yu Darvish, who came to Arizona last week to catch up with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters as they trained in nearby Peoria.

Darvish, who threw a bullpen session Saturday, threw off flat ground Monday before heading in for the day.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Early now the norm at Rangers spring training."