On Your Mark: Hope reigns supreme as baseball clubs report for spring training

Like the pretty girl in class whose attention is sought by all the boys, it seems every sport has its eye on the month of February.

The infatuation is rather interesting, particularly with knowledge the month is the shortest on the calendar – with 28 days most years, and 29 during a leap year – and is void of a major holiday. And no, Valentine’s Day doesn’t count.

May has Memorial Day, while the summer truly pops off on the Fourth of July. Thanksgiving and Christmas make the holiday season worthwhile, and New Year’s Day offers the perfect potion to wash ourselves and rinse again for another go ‘round of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

But during none of the previous months does the sports calendar truly converge like February, where week after week it seems the sports fan in all of us has reason to jump for joy.

Just take a look at what this month has offered:

▪ Super Bowl 50 was on Feb. 7;

▪ The NBA All-Star Game was held Feb. 14;

▪ NASCAR waved the green flag on another season with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21;

▪ Europe’s top soccer clubs take to the pitch for knockout stage play in the UEFA Champions League.

By the end of the month, college basketball will have rounded the bend toward “Championship Week,” in which a host of small schools vie for the “Big Dance” while their larger counterparts jockey for position or sit helplessly as their bubble bursts. Also, the NFL calendar takes a subtle pivot toward the future as it welcomes the next crop of future gridiron stars to Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine.

Hockey is seemingly the only sport that unloaded its clip this past January, the annual NHL All-Star Game held a week prior to the Super Bowl.

However, a few days ago in locations scattered in areas across Arizona and Florida, 30 baseball teams welcomed a clean slate, using the next few weeks to prepare for a 162-game marathon they hope leads to glory this fall.

Following the flight pattern of birds months earlier, a host of pro baseball players packed their bags and headed south over the course of the past week, reporting to spring training.

Pitchers and catchers were first to camp, doing so late last week. Position players are scheduled to join them some time this week.

I’ll tell anyone … football is my favorite sport, and basketball tends to provide the constant action a thrill-seeker craves. But for many, baseball was our first love.

Few sports appease the senses like baseball can, the smell of popcorn and beer in the air, the crack of a bat meeting a baseball along with the sound of a ball solidly hitting a catcher’s mitt.

But most of all, it is the hope the baseball season brings that is most refreshing. Whether clubs are large-market ones with a robust payroll or those in smaller markets with a creative budget, there is that belief that “this may be our year.”

With that said, I already know of at least one team eliminated before the season begins: my Atlanta Braves. After spending most of the past two decades enjoying my share of division titles and postseason disappointment, I guess it’s best for us to shed that label for a little while before starting another run.

Since that business is out of the way, expect the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros in this year’s “Fall Classic.” Both clubs made the playoffs a year ahead of schedule, and have further boosted their rosters this winter through free agency or the time-honored method of plucking young talent from the farm system.

But, what do I know? All I’m hoping for is a fun few nights at the ballpark.

Cracker Jacks, anyone?

Of note

Coastal Carolina wraps up its final season of Big South regular-season play with a pair of games later in the week. The final home game of the season for the Chanticleers is on Thursday, when they host Charleston Southern at The HTC Center. Two days later, the team wraps up the 2016 slate on the road in a key matchup with UNC Asheville, a game that could play a key role in the Big South race. … Keeping with the theme of Coastal Carolina athletics, the Chanticleers baseball team hosts a bevy of games this week, as the school hosts the Caravelle’s Baseball at the Beach. Among the teams it will play in coming days include Duke, Marshall and Ohio State. … Four local teams remain in the high school basketball playoffs. The Myrtle Beach girls host Crestwood on Monday, while Carolina Forest and Carvers Bay hit the road to take on Irmo and C.E. Murray, respectively. Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach also seeks to continue its playoff run on Tuesday night, taking on Spartanburg Christian Academy in the second round of the SCISA-Class AA tournament. That game will take place at Wilson Hall in Sumter.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "On Your Mark: Hope reigns supreme as baseball clubs report for spring training."