The end of February/beginning of March is a beautiful time. After the long and painful 3 months off, filled with nothing but football, basketball, and hockey, which I suppose is suitable for your average sports fanatic, arguably the most exciting sports season returns, baseball season. Granted it’s a bit of a stretch to say that the season begins when pitchers and catchers report mid-February, but it’s at the very least a small light and the end of that cold and miserable tunnel that is the off-season for die-hard baseball fans. Only a week later and spring training is in full swing, just like the bats at BP.

Being a long time baseball fan, going to school steps away from the Boston Red Sox stadium was icing on the whole going-to-college-in-a-big-city cake. Now, less than a month 'til opening day, where I will most likely be creeping around Fenway again just to experience the excitement of it all, I’ve decided to take my commitment to this local team to the next level, following their spring training progress and preparation for the regular season, which begins April 3^rd if anyone was curious.

My biggest question when looking at this team is how they’re going to manage in their first season without one of their most essential members, Big Papi. David Ortiz was a long time Red Sox player, home run king and overall powerhouse. DH. Hanley Ramirez certainly has some big shoes to fill, but his equally reputable history leaves me to think the Sox’s offense is in good hands. While the loss of Ortiz was a solemn moment, the team retains many of their other household name players for the upcoming season, including Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr.

Pablo Sandaval is another question mark for me, as he only played in 3 games as starting third baseman last year due to extensive shoulder surgery and the year before that he presented none too impressive a record.

As for their overall upcoming season, I believe the Red Sox have all the potential and the talent to easily make the post-season, with none of the other AL East teams showing more promise of consistency than them. I could even go so far to say that they have enough of said potential and talent that is could be the year that they rack up their fourth World Series title in the past 13 years.

I may not know everything about baseball, and I certainly don’t know everything about Red Sox baseball. I can’t tell you Big Papi’s batting average from 2012 or even the team’s record from last year without looking it up. But I’ll tell you one thing—I love the game. And I’m excited to see where the 2017 baseball season takes my new home team, hopefully with me watching from the stands.