Today is Major League Baseball's Opening Day. (Yankees, Rays, Giants, Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Cardinals fans, I know your teams played yesterday. I don't care. Today is the real opening day.) Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I'd be up for making it a national holiday. (Side note: there are two kinds of people in the world: people who love baseball, and people whom I don't understand.) After about five months, my favorite sport is fully back. Over the next six months, I'll have 162 Brewers box scores to check. I'll keep tabs on batters' BA, OBP, SLG and pitchers' IP and ERA. I'll feed my interest in mathematics by looking up some advanced statistics like WAR, RC, and FIP. I'll start peppering my conversations with phrases like "runners at the corners," "hit for the cycle,""walk-off," and "suicide squeeze." I'll wonder if bringing the LOOGY out of the bullpen will turn those RISP into LOB. The Brewers will probably be terrible yet again, but I'll cherish each time Bob Uecker calls "Get up, get up, get outta here, gone!" and Bernie tumbles down his yellow slide. I'll dream about the smell of beer and brats on a sunny day at Miller Park. And I'll keep hoping that maybe, just maybe, the Brewers will bring home a pennant at some point in my life. For now, happy Opening Day, everyone!
Grace and peace,
BMH
P.S. Here's an acronym guide: BA = batting average; OBP = on base percentage; SLG = slugging percentage; IP = innings pitched; ERA = earned run average; WAR = wins above replacement; RC = runs created; FIP = fielding independent pitching; LOOGY = left-handed one out guy; RISP = runners in scoring position; LOB = left on base. If you'd like more explanation, Google is your friend!
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