MLB Season Close At Hand

As the Major League Baseball exhibition season draws to an end and the the regular season is about to start, I find myself reevaluating which teams I will be following this year. Last year, I concentrated on the American League Central along with the Chicago Cubs and the two Florida teams. But it didn't work out: I rarely had the opportunity to watch AL Central teams play and consequently didn't get to know them very well (except perhaps for the Chicago White Sox). So this year I'm trying something different.

I will follow these teams this year:

Tampa Bay Rays
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
New York Yankees
New York Mets
Cincinnati Reds (maybe)

Tampa Bay, Florida, and the two Chicago teams were all regularly featured on TV last year; getting to know them through their many televised games should be no problem. Atlanta has traditionally been the team I followed in years gone by, not to mention the fact that I can get them play-by-play on the local radio (WRUF-AM 850). As for the two New York teams, well, that's partially due to the fact that they are commonly shown on TV due to their huge markets and partially a matter for another blog article in the not-so-distant future. The possibility for me following Cincinnati depends on circumstances developing a certain way.

Not that I plan to spend every free waking moment of my life following baseball this spring and summer. I don't even picture myself planning to watch a particular game and sitting through it from beginning to end. Most likely, I will find an ongoing game while channel-surfing and enjoy it for a little while before "moving on". I think that's the best way to enjoy baseball, a sport that can become mind-numbing if left on too long.