By Trevor:
Wanna know why this is my favorite part of the year?
Baseball! DUH!
But it’s so much more than just the return of baseball on TV and in the papers. Baseball means that Spring is here. The smell of the fresh cut grass and fresh dirt. The smell of the morning dew on in the infield. It’s baseball season when you can smell this in the air.
Spring Training has always been one of my favorite parts of the season, and I’ll tell you why. Spring Training is when all of the players get to finally get back out on the field and get back into the “swing” of things (pun intended). There is such a relaxed feel about Spring Training. You see all of the guys putting their work in but they are doing it in such a relaxed and fun way.
The truth is, I’ve been to Spring Training in Arizona and I’d say it’s more fun that a regular season game experience. Spring Training is such a relaxed feel that you see players up close and personal having fun and putting work in. Infielders are taking groundballs and guys are getting their hacks in. Pitchers are going through PFP’s and pick offs. You get to see professional athletes act like little kids in a toy store.
The best part of Spring Training though is that it’s a fresh start. Each team starts the Spring with no wins and no losses. They are starting over from the year before. All those “bad years” that so many guys had can be turned around and forgotten. Each pitcher has a brand new ERA and has given up zero big flies.
It’s a clean slate for not only the players, but also the fans. Us fans love the fresh start. It’s a starting over for us. If we didn’t quite make it into the playoffs last year, we regain our fan “composure” and focus on the upcoming year. We get to see the young guys from double A and triple A come up and show what they got. It’s just a great experience for not only the players but also the fans!
Spring is back ladies and gentlemen, and we’re ready! Are you?