I have a love/hate relationship with baseball. I love all the memories it brings; from the Rally Monkey to a Dodgerdog, from the hot tub in Tampa to the pool in Arizona, every trip to the ballpark is a unique experience. I hate watching five hours of commercials and guys standing around watching two dudes play catch for a sac-fly in the fifth to be the reward. I love how the average Joe can become a star. I hate how he can then get paid $15 million a year into his forties to do what the average Joe could. Still, Opening Day came and I felt myself a bit giddy with anticipation, and all of a sudden I was flipping between games like it was March Madness. Look, I say I hate watching baseball as much as the next guy who’s seen a football or basketball game before; but deep down I still WANT to want to watch. If there was ever a time in the last decade to start getting back into baseball, it’s now. So without further adieu, my Top-3 Reasons to Watch the MLB This Season:

1. Bright Young (American) Stars- Not saying there is anything wrong with foreign-born stars, but there had been a noticeable absence of American position players among the league’s elite. All of a sudden we have the last two NL MVPs in Ryan Braun and Buster Posey, an all-natural bomber in Giancarlo Stanton, a five-tool stud in Andrew McCutchen the best pair of sub-21 stars anyone can remember in Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, and a plethora of more young talent in the minors poised to explode onto the scene this season. 

2. Legendary Pitching- Speaking of young superstars, have you heard of some kid named Stephen Strasburg? With the innings limited lifted, he is ready to be unleashed at full force. Add him to fellow young stars approaching or in the prime of their careers, such as Clayton Kershaw, Jered Weaver, David Price, Matt Cain, ‘King Felix’ Hernandez, and some guy called Justin Verlander, and there’s as much to be excited about on the mound as there is at the plate.

3. Parity- When even the so-called experts have no clue who the best team is, that’s true parity. Unlike most of the professional sports leagues (yea, I’m talking about your league Mr. Stern), the tenth best team in the MLB has as good of a shot at a championship as the top club. Even the worst teams that may have no hope of reaching the World Series (sorry Astros fans, if any still exist) have a fair shot in any individual game- just don’t count on them winning a series anytime soon. One stat can sum up baseball’s parity pretty easily: the players on the New York Yankees’ DL (Disabled List) have a higher payroll than the entire Tamps Bay Rays team… and the Rays are the ones contending for a championship!

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I hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions on how to improve the column or any other topic feel free to contact me at my email address [email protected], on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/adam.colman.9 or on Twitter @AdamRColman. 

Thanks for the support! 

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