Cincinnati Reds Used Stuffed Pigs To Practice Tagging Runners

Spring hasn't quite started yet, but Spring Training is in full swing! Pitchers and catchers reported last week and position players report this week. That means all MLB players will be in camp by Tuesday. The Cincinnati Reds catchers did some unique training during Monday's session.

Teams are always looking for unique ways to practice, since games don't start for most teams until Saturday. 

For the Reds, catchers practiced catching throws and tagging runners. However, they don't want to risk injury with actual runners. Instead, the team employed a stuffed pig attached to a rope. Seriously. 

I'm impressed by the ingenuity of the Cincinnati Reds' coaching staff to employ an interesting new training tactic. After all, Spring Training is the time to try some weird stuff. 

I'm not sure any team is taking that quite as literally as the Reds, but here we are. 

This is a big season for Cincinnati, who hung around in the MLB playoff race last season for much longer than most expected. They have a strong core of young players, despite one of the worst ownership groups in the league. 

Obviously, the Reds didn't make any splashy free agent signings this off-season. That would require spending money, which Cincinnati just doesn't do. That's, of course, despite owner Bob Castellini once promising to do whatever it takes to bring a winner to Cincinnati. 

Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini. 

(Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK)

I guess he meant "whatever it takes … unless the ‘whatever’ includes money." 

Still, there are reasons for Reds fans to be excited entering the year. They have one of the best young players in the game, Elly De La Cruz. They got breakout rookie seasons from several other promising young talents like Spencer Steer, Matt McClain, Andrew Abbott, among others. 

But, as Reds fans, we know to always temper our expectations. Stuffed pigs or no stuffed pigs.