Suggested Soundtrack: “December,” Trey Anastasio & Page McConnell
Hello there.
It’s been (*quick math*) nearly four months since I last wrote. That was not the plan, of course. But exhaustion from [gestures broadly around] and buying a house have distracted me the better part of this winter and something (well, several things) were shelved.
We’re moved into the new (very old) house now and still dealing with the moving chaos and I freak out about something two-to-three times a day (did I mention this is our first home?) But it’s settled down enough to finally find time to write here again.
More importantly, though, today marks the first day of Spring Training 2021 games which will tell us absolutely nothing about how this season will play out but who cares because baseball is being played. And on a relatively normal schedule.
Much has happened since the last time I wrote! A few of the things I can actually remember:
The vaccines are rolling out! We’ve still got a long way to go but HOORAY FOR SCIENCE!
On Christmas Eve, Trey and Page dropped a beautiful collection of Phish songs recorded as an acoustic duet during the pandemic last year (SEE ABOVE!).
Then, on New Year’s Eve, Phish fans successfully crashed the servers of Chess.com which makes total sense if you know the story and seems like a jumble of words if you don’t.
The Cubs dumped Yu Darvish and let Lester and Schwarber walk over to Washington in what isn’t a salary dump, nope not at all.
Cleveland shipped the brilliant Francisco Lindor (and Cookie!) to the Mets in what was essentially another salary dump and I’m really going to miss seeing him play in person.
The Cleveland Baseball team also — FINALLY — said they were dumping their team name a few years after dropping the Chief Wahoo logo. My preference: bring back the Spiders (history be damned).
The Padres, who gave Tatis II a butt-ton of money, got even better.
But! So did the Dodgers. And the Blue Jays! And the White Sox!
The Mariners’ President and CEO said the quiet part loud and stepped in it so badly he’s now the Mariners’ former President and CEO.
Meanwhile, the Rockies’ front office meltdown after getting absolutely (and willingly?) fleeced in the Nolan Arenado deal (DAMN YOU, CARDINALS DEVIL MAGIC) was something to behold.
Official Conference On The Mound Favorite Player Sean Doolittle signed with the Reds and I will do my best to gift him with a basket full of pierogis on his first visit to Cleveland.
Oh, by the way, there will be fans in the stands this year!
A rough 2020 in which we lost many of the game’s legends got a brutal, heart-breaking coda in January 2021 with the passing of Hank Aaron. To say Aaron was one of the all-time greats is still not giving him the full credit he deserves. My favorite tidbit about Aaron I didn’t know before: He was a huge Browns fan and would sit in the old Dawg Pound. Incredible.
There was another League-Union staring contest about the start of the season and it looks like we’re going to have a full 162-game season as the pandemic (hopefully) wanes thanks to widespread vaccination efforts, continued social distancing, and a crawl towards herd immunity. (Nevertheless, a work stoppage after this season as the current CBA expires seems almost a certainty, at least from the outside).
MLB also made good on their threat to reshuffle the Minor Leagues. Here’s what the affiliate system looks like now. Most of the major affiliates remain the same but there were cuts to several lower league franchises.
One big story that I was excited about, though, was when Commissioner Rob Manfred took a break from hating the game to elevate the seven officially-recognized Negro Leagues to full “Major League” status.
Part of what this means is that players from those seven leagues are now officially considered Major Leaguers with their stats part of MLB record.
This isn’t a perfect solution, of course, nor does it make up for baseball’s segregation sin in the first place. Also, the stats will still be somewhat incomplete since so many Negro League players (including stars like Satchel Paige) made a good chunk of their living barnstorming and playing with independent teams besides playing on official Negro Leagues teams. But it’s still a BIG move in the right direction.
And maybe, just maybe, John Donaldson and a slew of other players will get the Hall of Fame inductions they so richly deserve.
Speaking of the Hall of Fame…
The Baseball Hall of Fame chose zero players for the 2021 class in a bid to completely turn off fans and risk a further slide into irrelevancy. On the flip side, another year came and went and Phish once again did not make the shortlist for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (though many deserving individuals and bands did).
That, though, is a topic for next time.
For now, stay warm, stay safe, and enjoy the return of baseball.