I think I'm Catching Baseball Fever

It is that time of year again. Soon the weather will be turning, the trees will be green, the flowers will bloom, and baseball will be played on fields across America. Today, many Major League Baseball teams had their pitchers and catchers report to spring training, including my beloved Orioles. For us baseball fans we are only seven weeks away from being able to go to the ballpark, drink a cold one, sing take me out to the ball game during the 7th inning stretch ("Thank God I'm a Country Boy" for Orioles fans as well) and chow down on our favorite ballpark meals.

The reason this time of year is so magical is because EVERY team has a chance. When I say every, I mean every. There has been some criticism in the past about the League being controlled by those who pay the most, however last year provided at least two examples how that is not always correct.

For us Oriole fans, it is even more of an exciting time. We are coming off our first playoff birth and winning season since 1999, when I was only nine years old. This means our hopes are no longer just to beat the Yankees and the Redsox or having a winning season, our hope now is being able to watch the Orioles play late into October. We must remain seated in realistic expectations, though. Let's enjoy the ride of a baseball season and not put to much pressure on our favorite teams. Not every season can be like last years. They have a job, they know their job, and they know when they are not doing their job.

This year has an even more exciting feel to it! WHY? Because at the beginning of March, the World Baseball Classic is going to be played. For those who are not familiar with the WBC, it is much like the FIFA World Cup for soccer, but for baseball instead. This will be an exciting time for baseball fans in America. Instead of rooting against some of the major league players you love to see fail, you will have the chance to root for them as they wear the Red, White and Blue against the other nations of the world including Japan, China, Canada, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Baseball is just as American as Apple Pie so lets "root, root, root for America, if they don't win its a shame." 

I will have more about the WBC, MLB, and of course the Orioles in the days and weeks to come, but for now I think I am getting sick, not with the Flu or Chicken Pox, but with the best illness that there is, BASEBALL FEVER!!

-JM