The Beauty of Opening Day

MLB's Opening Day has come and gone.

The beauty of a new season is not only new hope, but also a chance to see new faces, and changed teams.  This season, for the first time in memory, the Yankees didn't make a huge acquisition.  They added an outfielder and a starting pitcher who promptly went on the DL.

Everyone is a contender right now.  No one is more than 4 games back with 158 games to go.  The AL East is being led by Baltimore.  The West? Seattle.  There are no overlying controversies to sully the new season (shut up, Ozzie).  Everyone has a shot at the playoffs and the World Series.  Ball parks are still full as people pack stands even during weekday day games (a form of hooky I fully endorse) and night games are enjoyed just as fully with dinner at the park.  I'll probably have to wait until May to get to see any game.  (It'll be the Mariners against whoever happens to be visiting at the time I'm in Seattle).

The newness of the season hasn't allowed us to become bored of the grind, when we stop paying attention to most of the teams in late July or August.  We tune back in if our team is still in the hunt in September or if there is a particularly close pennant race (although, it won't be as much fun this year with the stupid "extra wild" wild card).  But for now, we look forward to seeing the new faces.  We want to hear the crack of the bat again.  We want to smell the hot dogs, popcorn, and beer of a ball park.  With baseball finally here, we are reminded that summer is close.  That summer vacations are coming.  We are reminded of counting down the days and being young again.  Kids of all ages will go to the ball parks.  Kids of all ages will watch the new pitchers.  Kids of all ages will relish in the game during the birth of a new season.

And it doesn't get any better than that.