The 2024 season is behind us... yes really. This week, pitchers and catchers will report to Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues to get ready for the 2025 baseball season. And all is well in the universe. Yet, here I sit in my pajamas on cold winter's morning, with snow on the ground, and ice on the roof on Super Bowl Sunday. Guess what? I am not happy. I don't feel ready. And I feel like all the groundhogs on this earth are against me. And here's a big reveal: this is the first baseball season I start as a Dodger-hater. Perhaps that is enough heat to melt all of the ice and snow around me. But I am sure the Yankees are faring much better in sunny Florida. And the calendar days ahead will make them the team to beat this year.
"Pitchers and catchers report to spring training a few days before the rest of their teams, allowing hurlers a bit more time to get their arms stretched out. This year, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are playing two regular season games in Tokyo the week before opening day proper, and will get an even earlier start for spring training," reported USA Today.
And for the Yankees, they will have closer Devin Williams with them along with high leverage reliever Luke Weaver and their established player Jonathan Loaisiga hopes to return to his past form after longstanding injuries and UCL surgery. All this and more beginning Feb. 12th. That's this week! Even though we have about three more winter storms ahead.
The Yankees have upgraded their infield with MVP first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and maybe they will be able to bring in his counterpart at third base with Nolan Arenado. Aaron Judge will have his new baby daughter likely dressed in pinstripes this season- maybe she brings that extra magic the Yankees need for a championship. I am trying to find optimism in everything.
As the final days of the off season close out, the anticipation for baseball is great. The Yankees have all the chance in the world to look and feel like champions. It is a fresh start, with a new team. Once that Super Bowl clock winds down, it's officially baseball season. The memories of 2024 are dwindling and the opportunities for 2025 are mounting. Now if the snow can just melt already, and we can rip off the final days of winter from the calendar, the Yankees can begin their road to the Fall Classic.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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