Baseball's Off Season Begins Today

Last night when Philadelphia Phillies closer, Brad Lidge, struck out Tampa Bay's Erick Hinske on a swinging 3rd strike the 2008 Major League Baseball season was over. Congratulations to the Phillies and all their fans on their second World Championship.

My mom and dad were Phillies fans and if they were still part of this world they would have been thrilled. As a matter of fact the ending of the series was a little sad for me because I would have loved to have gotten a phone call from either of my parents so they could gloat about their team winning and not the Yankees. But wishing they were still here was is a little selfish of me. As I have stated in previous posts my parents right now are in the presence of God and the trivial cares of this world no longer have any merit to them at all. While that's a fact it's not the point of this post.

Today is one of the most depressing days of the year for me as a baseball fan. For the next 5 months there will be no games to watch, no highlights to catch on Baseball Tonight or Sportscenter, no standings or boxscores to review. Baseball's off season has begun. Oh there are still remnants of the 2008 season still to be revealed like the MVP and Cy Young award winners. There is a crop of over 65 free agent players who are going to test the open market to see what kind of salaries they can get. There's the winter meetings in Las Vegas in December and the off season trades that will happen during that time. But those events for me are like giving a thirsty man water with an eye dropper. It's just not enough. I already miss baseball.

During this past season I became a different kind of baseball fan. Instead of just rooting for and following the Yankees I became a fan of other teams as well. I followed the Cincinnati Reds as they ushered in their new youth movement. I pulled for the Cubs as they won more games during the regular season than any other team in the National League. I even had the opportunity to visit Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field in Chicago. I started to watch any and all baseball games that I could find on my TV; not just Yankees or Reds, or Cubs games. I watched the Red Sox whenever I could just hoping they would lose. I pulled for my favorite non-Yankee players like Ken Griffy Jr. and Alfonzo Soriano. To sum it up this season I became what I would categorize as an overall baseball fan with strong Yankees loyalties. That only makes facing this year's off season more difficult.

NFL football will serve as a substitute for me until the Superbowl but only because it's the only other sport I'm interested in. During the winter 3 of the major sports (The NFL, NBA and NHL) play the majority or most important portion of their seasons. But as I said the only one I've got an interest in is the NFL. The main reason for that is because it's so popular with so many other people I know and the Superbowl is like a national holiday every year.

On April 6, 2009 all 28 major league baseball teams will play the opening game of their 2009 campaign. Between now and then I'm certain that God has a lot of things He wants to do in my life and a lot of things He wants me to do. Probably all of them will have a much greater value in the spectrum of eternity than watching a baseball game. But one thing I'm sure of is that 5 months and 7 days from today, God willing, I'll be reclining in my living room watching the greatest game in the world again and being thankful for yet another season of major league baseball.