This week marks the beginning of sports’ longest season. The journey of 162 games of professional baseball from April until October began as this week began.

Opening Day for baseball is a very significant day, not just for the sporting world. Many people whose annual schedules are tied to sports see this day as the beginning of Spring. I refuse to acknowledge that it is cold anymore since the first pitch has been throw in ballparks around the country.

Baseball is America’s pastime. There are few experiences that relate to a day at the ballpark. I will agree that a game of football or basketball is more entertaining to watch on television, but I don’t think that going to contest in either of these sports can compare to going to a baseball game. From the peanuts, to the seventh inning stretch, to the ridiculously overcharged beers (for those who are of age) and the five dollar hot dogs. There is simply no experience as unique as a day at the ballpark. Thank god, I am an Orioles fan….can you say CHEAP SEATS?

One reason why I love the baseball season is that it is on every single night. As an O’s fan, and a subscriber to a cable package that includes MASN (the channel that shows all 162 Orioles games), every night I have something to watch on TV. Every night there is a contest to be enjoyed. Every night there is the possibility of a walk-off home run, a no-hitter, a player hitting for the cycle, or an extra-inning thriller.

Many people think baseball is boring, to which I respond that there is so much to every single play that such a statement is made on very weak ground. Every pitch has significance, even if the batter just watches it with his wooden tool resting on his shoulder. From the high, tight “chin-music” fastball that scares the hitter, and moves him a little further off the plate, to the nasty, sinking, 12-6 curveball that looks to a hitter like a juicy tee-ball to send into the left field club seats, only to end up in the dirt in front of the plate. A team can lose a game, but gain momentum because they hit the ball well, but couldn’t perform with runners in scoring position. A team can win a game, but it hurts them in the long run because they had to use eight pitchers to retire all 27 opponents. There is so much to the game when you have to look ahead not only to the next play, the next inning, but the next game, and the next series.

Baseball is a beautiful game. So, without further ado, let’s PLAY BALL.