The season is over. The ending this year feels 100% different than last year. I must admit, I was not ready for it to end. The void is not welcome this time. (Not that the void is ever really welcomed.)
The transformation of the team through the season is the difference. For the first time in quite a while there are players that I have new expectations. Is Chris Johnson going to be a flash in the pan or a consistent hitting third baseman? Is Castro going to be able to handle catching and hitting for a full MLB season? Can Bud Norris continue to make strides? Will Brett Wallace be given the chance to start at first base and will he be able to hit like he did in the minors. There are so many fun questions going into the off-season this year.
I was thinking of what I would recap for my last game, but my little life got in the way. So I decided to write something about the end of the season as I did last year. So, this year I was thinking of how we mark baseball seasons with the changes in our life. For such a simple game of catching, throwing and hitting it brings a lot of people together.
Baseball becomes such a huge part of our life. Quite often we plan or cancel events around games. We even categorize friends based on which team they root. I have friends from Pittsburgh, Chicago and New York who root for teams from those cities. It is always fun to go to games with them to learn more about those teams and their experiences watching them. And sometimes you will not go to a game with those friends for similar reasons.
We make so many milestones by going to games. It can be something as simple as the first time you see a particular team or player. The first time you take your kid to a game. I remember the first time my mom and dad went to Minute Maid Park to see the Astros. It was Mother’s Day 2009. My mom and I ran the bases, very awesome time.
Then there are the times you remember because you cannot see or go to the game for one reason or another. Maybe you (or I) had to attend a wedding or some other life changing event. Many remember how the Astros did the day their son/daughter was born. Whether the Astros won/loss the day you got married.
This year and probably next year we will mark our special events by new milestones by the many new players on the Astros. Hopefully their and our milestones will be great ones.
Have a great winter and see you at Spring Training.