Spring is Near – and Hope Springs Eternal

While much of the country still deals with remnants of snow and frigid temperatures, promise of the coming thaw already has arrived: Spring training.

Millions remain huddled indoors, trying to keep warm, but the so-called “boys of summer” have converged upon Florida and Arizona, merging the crack of the bat with the smack of baseballs and leather. Major League Baseball’s season is less than a month away.

Long regarded as “the American pastime,” baseball has slipped somewhat from that lofty perch, usurped by the NFL and college football. For today’s fast-paced, instant society, the Major League season drags on too long and games continue to progress at snail’s pace. But the sport remains central to our national culture.

The thing about spring training is at this moment, every team holds high expectations. The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians have as many regular season victories at this point as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox: Zero. In April that will change, but right now, hope springs eternal (or for another three weeks, whichever comes first). Whether you’re a fan of the Marlins, the Astros, the Diamondbacks…or even the Cubs, you’re thinking, “This could be our year.”

Spring training also is the time when we hear and read so much about the next phenoms, the sure-fire Hall of Famers yet to play their first major-league games. This year the list includes Washington’s Stephen Strasburg and Atlanta’s Jason Heyward. Whether they will one day join baseball’s “Who’s Who” or fade into “who’s he?” remains to be seen. But one thing they have for certain – potential. And that’s what spring training is all about.

So if you’re a baseball fan, enjoy the moment. Come September, things will probably be very different, but for now your team’s as good as the next!