In less then a month baseball in the Northwest will kick up another notch as the Northwest League begins play, and I have to say I am more then ready for opening day to hurry up and get here. I have come to realize that some of the best baseball experiences come away from the big major league stadiums. I am a strong advocate for all baseball fans to try and get to spring training in Arizona at least once, simply because it is by far the best baseball experience. I know the games don’t really count but its baseball, its nice weather, and its relaxing. Minor league baseball, especially at the lower levels like single-A, are in a lot of ways similar to spring training. The atmosphere is much more relaxed, its summer so the weather is usually pretty nice, and unlike spring training these games kind of mean something.
This season like the past few seasons, I will be closely watching the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes baseball team. The obvious reason is because I live 7 minutes from the stadium and have been lucky enough to meet a lot of great people associate with that franchise, both in the front office and players on the field. There is more to it then that though. As I’ve stated before I am an autograph collector and I
really feel that getting autographs at minor league games is a great experience because the players are far more willing to sign, as well as taking the time to interact with fans, and in some cases get to know the fans on a first name basis. There is nothing like walking up to a player and having him say “Hey Josh how are you doing today?” Now I know that baseball players are just human beings, and at this level are usually guys just out of college or even high school in some cases, but it still makes me smile to talk with the guys who are living out a dream of mine.
Now the hardest part for me about waiting for the season to start is that I have no clue who will be on the team from year to year. The roster is largely affected by the players taken in the draft each year and since the draft isn’t until June 4th I’m checking every single mock draft that I can to see who might be joining the Volcanoes and other Northwest league teams this season. Regardless of who is placed on the roster I am just excited to get to spend another great summer watching the game that I grew up loving.