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Baseball: America’s favorite pastime. Hot dogs and apple pie. You all grew up playing baseball; maybe your dad was even your coach. You played on a team whose name should have been in “Backyard Baseball” — Go Wombats! Maybe you were the kid chasing butterflies in the outfield, but you loved it anyway because at least you got snacks after the game. I was that annoying kid who wanted to play every position at the same time. Baseball has been a passion of mine since I was little, and here are a few reasons why you too should pay attention to this year’s Major League Baseball season:
5. The Up-and-Coming Stars
We’ve seen Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig and Bryce Harper electrify baseball recently. Instead of guys who just go “ya-ya” (hit homeruns) we’re now seeing more five-tool players — guys who can do it all: both at the plate and in the field. This year, watch out for these three players — Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins (Fla.), Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs (Ill.) and Taijuan Walker of the Seattle Mariners (Wash.).
4. The Cubans
Yoenis Cespedes, Puig, Jose Abreu and Aroldis Chapman. Over the last six years, we’ve seen an influx of talent from Cuba and we shouldn’t expect anything less this year. Jorge Soler of the Cubs is my guy to watch this year. He played outstanding in his call up to the show last year (.292 average, 5 home runs, 20 RBIs in 24 games) and won’t be distracted by all the attention that other Cuban stars will be getting because the Cubs are filled with young, exciting talent.
3. The Father-Son/Daughter Moments
Go to a game with your dad or grandpa. They grew up loving baseball even more than our generation. Ask them about the Big Red Machine, the Miracle Mets of ‘69, or Hank Aaron breaking the home run record. Ask them how baseball helped America heal after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One of my best memories from childhood was going to Camden Yards with my dad and brother and seeing a doubleheader that went till 1:30 a.m. when I was 10 years old.
2. Parity! Your team could win it all … or at least make the playoffs!
According to fangraphs.com only two teams are projected to win more than 90 games this year. That leaves four divisions to be decided in the last week of the season and four wildcard spots to battle over. Due to a rise in large local TV contracts, small market teams have more money to spend. Maybe the hapless Houston Astros or San Diego Padres will sneak into the playoffs this year.
1. The Cubs
Everyone’s really excited for the Cubbies this year. They haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and haven’t had a winning record since 2009. This will change because of new manager Joe Maddon, who keeps his teams relaxed with road trips and bought the media a round of drinks at his inaugural press conference. The emergence of Kris Bryant will be a sight to see. He hit .325 with 43 homeruns in the minors last year. Once the Cubs call him up to the majors, I see him having an Abreu type impact. If the Cubs are able to jive with Maddon’s style, we could see a wild card run from them this year. Just hope no Billy Goat or Steve Bartman shows up!
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