Hello Baseball!

April 4th, 2010 | 2 comments »

Opening Day is to baseball fans what Christmas is to children. We wait in anticipation for its arrival, certain that it will be even better than last year. We open shiny catalogs by Baseball America and stare in wonder at all the new things we might get this year. We countdown the days with unabashed anticipation. We just know if we wish and hope and pray, we’ll get everything we want!

Well, baseball fans, Opening Day is finally here. Are you prepared?

I’ve set “Centerfield” as my ringtone. I’ve purchased MLB At Bat 2010 for my new iPod Touch. I’ve udpated my nearly expired billing information on XM Radio so I can listen to any game all season. I have plans to attend the home openers for the Atlanta Braves, Gwinnett Braves and Rome Braves. Baseball is finally here, and I’m feeling alive!

Opening Day in baseball is so much bigger than the season opener in any other American sport. Maybe because it represents the true beginning of spring. Maybe because so many of us can remember an Opening Day we spent in the stands. I remember one at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium with my dad and aunt where the wind was howling and we nearly froze. Then there was last year when tornado warnings delayed the game for hours and we got trapped under the upper deck roof at Turner Field with hail pounding the metal roof overhead. As you can imagine, I’m looking forward to the 80+ degree sunny weather forecasted for tomorrow’s home opener at The Ted.

Before I hit up the Braves home opener tomorrow, however, I plan to relax on the couch to watch the Red Sox take on the Yankees. The league’s oldest rivals playing in the league’s oldest ballpark. Early favorites this year (and every year in recent memory) for the AL East and AL Wild Card playoff berths, it’s only fitting that these two kick off the season. It’s sure to be a matchup that will be anything but disappointing.

Since Opening Day is when hopes springs eternal for every single fan from all thirty clubs though, I want to share with you my playoff predictions:

AL East: Red Sox

AL Central: Twins

AL West: Mariners

AL Wild Card: Yankees

NL East: Braves

NL Central: Cardinals

NL West: Rockies

NL Wild Card: Phillies

2010 World Series Matchup? I’m calling both my nightmare and my dream…Braves vs. Red Sox! Although my prized possession is an interleague hat I found last year with both teams logos, I’ll have to pull for the Braves in this situation. I’m also going to have to win the lottery and buy tickets for every game in Atlanta and Boston. I’m heading to the corner store to buy my scratch-offs now in preparation!

For love of the game,

Kristi