Guest Author - Mona McKenzie

Ahhh, the smell of spring is just around the corner. Spring training, that is! 2008 saw the Phantastic Phillies win their first World Series since 1980. I grew up watching Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, and Steve Carlton. I’ll never forget the voices of Harry Kalas and Ritchie Ashburn doing the television play-by-play. Although I wasn’t there to celebrate, I just know the City of Brotherly Love was ecstatic and in love with the Phillies.

It was a long, long winter for fans in other cities…they were biding their time until spring training. Well, now it’s here. Hope is renewed and every fan of every team thinks their team will win it all in October. The truth is, like the lottery, every team looks good until their number is drawn. Spring training is great because every team starts at 0-0. Personnel moves were undoubtedly made during the winter in hopes of producing a stronger team. If a team has a strong spring training camp, dollar signs and MLB trophies will be dancing around an owner’s head like sugar plum fairies.

Team owners make sure their players and coaches gather in some nice, warm part of the country to begin showing the world their prowess. Owners want their organization to come into the new season relaxed, free of the frigid weather many regular folks have to endure when we go to work, and ready to work their tails off. We, the dutiful fans, see pictures and video from training camp, on a daily basis, of the old guard and newbies alike who are trying to make the team. Some of us actually venture down to camp to get a behind the scenes glimpse of our favorite team. What a great road trip!

The most important thing about spring training is…drum roll please… listening to the media prognosticate about who will win the World Series. Almost every year, the media talks about the two most storied MLB franchises, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, as the main contenders. I think those journalists are trained to do so, even if those teams aren’t that great. Las Vegas has their thoughts too. Right now, odds are in favor of the Yankees, with the Cubs a close second. The Cubs? Anyway, the point is, every team theoretically has a shot to win.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet. I’m not sure about one facet of that slogan, but, I am sure that spring training is just the beginning of the best season of the year…baseball season. So no matter who you root for, Enjoy!