Why I love baseball and some 2012 Storylines

To me, baseball is more than being just a fan. It is a lifestyle.

The things baseball brings to me are more than just memories. It’s great times. It’s the struggle you go through when rooting for your favorite team. It’s watching young talent grow up and become great players.

It’s listening to the stories of all baseball fans, young and old. It’s the memories that come from going to games. It’s the ups and downs of the season, the intense passion that baseball brings to me.

That baseball goes on for 180 days and we get to see 162 games from our favorite team is special.

I love and embrace baseball and have ever since I was a kid. I always had that dream of one day playing in Major League Baseball, or just being a part of MLB.

I take pride in being not only a Mets fan (by the way, I bleed blue and orange), but also being a baseball fan in general. That’s why I feel I would be an ideal person for this position. I embrace all aspects of baseball, and it’s not just a game to me.

To me there are more than just three storylines in MLB this upcoming year.

First, it’s the Marlins.

Living here in South Florida, and seeing the lack of passion by the baseball fans here, upsets me; but now, with their seemingly new idea of how to win, and willingness to spend money, the Marlins are trying to create some passion for baseball in an otherwise anemic market. I hope and believe this is a new direction for the Marlins, and I hope people here in South Florida are just as excited to see this team play now.

It helps that their new stadium is amazing and will keep out all that bad South Florida weather, from rain delays to hot days.

The Marlins’ organization did try to spend big in 1997, only to have a fire sale immediately thereafter.

Fans who think that this will happen again are crazy.

The new ballpark and more revenue that the team will earn now will allow them to compete in the NL East not just in 2012, but well beyond that.

The second storyline is the Mets. Being from Long Island originally, and living here in Port St. Lucie – the spring training home of the Mets – the loss of shortstop Jose Reyes signals to me, at least, that this team is now officially rebuilding.

In the past, the Mets have always tried to sign that one guy who should put them over the edge, and yet, it hasn’t worked for them in decades, and it’s sad to see Reyes go. But I think in the end, the Mets well be a better team without him.

I understand the disgust Mets fans have now with him leaving, but think about this Mets fans: What has he done for us lately – if ever? He has missed a huge number of games in the past two years, and as electric as he could be, at time, they can and must go on without him.

The third and final big storyline for 2012 has to be the Boston Red Sox.

If you look at all the talent on that team, it was shocking to me, and I’m sure all baseball fans, to see their collapse in 2011. They are too talented to have that happen and with the addition of manager Bobby Valentine, there is going to be an amazing improvement this coming season over last. There could be no better face for that franchise than in Valentine.

I’m confident Sox fans will ultimately see this once the 2012 season gets underway.