Baseball Is Back!!!!

Let me show you something.  Watch this video. Go ahead, I can wait. You watched it? Okay. BASEBALL’S BACK! BASEBALL! BASEBALL! BASEBALL!

Now that I got that out of my system, I want to tell you about my recent trip to a Spring Training Game between our Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium in Orlando. I has such a blast! In the end the Marlins lost 7-6, but I got to see some great baseball and hang out with some great people. Isn’t that what baseball is really all about, having fun?

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, I have more fun when my team wins; but I know no team is ever going to go 162-0. With that being said, when we do lose I can still enjoy the majesty of the game and the company of the great people around me. Today, for example, I went to the game with my wife and a co-worker. My wife is a die hard Yankees fan and my co-worker is a die hard Braves fan, not a fun mix right? Wrong, they both love baseball! During some of the down time in the game we just started talking baseball. How are the Upton brothers going to do this year? How many times do you think Dan Uggla is going to mess up a play at 2B? What are the Yankees going to do about Curtis Granderson? How many HR is Giancarlo Stanton going to hit? Things like that. Of course, our conversations took a pause when the game continued, but then we picked right back up where we left off. It was great!

Feb 23, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Miami Marlins players celebrate their victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

To make things better, we weren’t the only ones talking. When I go to a game I like to crack jokes. Who doesn’t? My only rules are that they have to be tasteful and not crude. So when I see Dan Uggla misplay 4 balls in a row and then finally make a good play, I razz him a little bit. Mind you, I’m in the Braves facility surrounded by Braves fans, but they all had a good laugh and agreed with me, which then got them to start talking to us. They told us stories about the Braves of yester-years, which then got the Marlins fans that were around talking to us too. We all were laughing and joking about our teams. What other sport can have two teams’ fans talking and joking with each other during a game? Not very many.

What finally made this day amazing was that I got to thank one of my Twitter followers in person who was a big help with supporting me for the MLB Fan Cave this year. His name is Danny Morales. Let me tell you, he is a big fan! Starting from the 4th inning on we were talking about nothing except the Marlins’ past, present and future. He is a very brilliant young man who really knows his stuff. Since I live so far away from Miami, it’s always nice to meet a fellow Marlins fan and pick his brain about our team. It was a breath of fresh air to talk about the Marlins with someone in Central Florida and not have it be all negative.

In the end, as a fan, baseball is supposed to be a form of entertainment. I pay money to go see a game and enjoy my time at the park. With the “Marlins Family” that is what is going to happen. No matter how bad we lose, we can always find solace in the fact that we will be surrounded by our baseball family. We can talk about the past, the present, and the future of our team, and we can even play bleacher coach for an inning or two. Do I want to win? Of course, but in the end as long as I have my Marlins, friends, and family around me at a game, it’s a win in my book.