Spring Training, the Best Time of the Year

I read 3 papers a day, the Economist weekly and The New Republic bi-weekly.  Today, I found myself incapable of reading anything political.  There were of course seriously written articles by reporters who are seriously proud of their content, but all they are for the most part is a component of the total paradigm of conjecture.  The real world events they observed are in process of playing out however they will and I don't need to read them to have an understanding of why things are the way they are.  Perhaps, I am burned out on politics or at least the unending anger that is in our politics, but I think, rather than that, nothing written today added value to my understanding of the world or challenged any premise of mine in a worthwhile way.

But then I got to the sports pages and amidst the drivel of yesterday's sports news was an article on two Met's pitching prospects.  The Met's somehow know how to draft and develop pitchers.  They do it consistently while the Yankees fail to do it at all.

In most American sports, the aspiring player's fortunes are determined by the college that recruits them, how they develop in college and then the draft is the be-all-to-end-all and they are major leaguers at that point.  That point comes about swiftly and pointedly.

Baseball, on the other hand, requires consistent application of the youthful spirit in the minor leagues that we former little leaguers had when we took to the field and dreamed of being professionals.  Of course, most of us found out this was never going to happen for one valid reason or another.  Every young player goes through the minor leagues to continue to work on improving, avoid career ending injury, and see what their ceiling is.  It is a cruel process but it plays out over time and no one who fails to make it can ever say they didn't get a chance because they either performed or they didn't.

But what joy when a young player achieves his dream and makes the major league.  And we fans can share in his joy because we identify with our own youthful dreams and know how happy each young player is to make the major leagues.  Spring is when hope is eternal.

So, here's to Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard.  These 2 Met's pitching prospects still need to prove themselves at the AAA level, but they are getting their chance to show their stuff at the major league level this spring and that must be a lot of fun.  It lifted my spirits.