No matter what baseball team you root for, this time of year is special. Hours from now, quasi-reality will strike and somebody will go 0-3 and some pitcher will serve up a home run. But for now, everything is magical.

To date, every report coming out of Arizona and Florida has been glowing. Every pitcher is hitting 100+ on the radar gun, position players are faster, stronger and seeing the ball better than ever.

I don’t know if it’s purely the existence of fans in the stands, but somebody is going to look rather ordinary when players take the field for the first time today. I’m not complaining that all of the news coming out of spring training thus far has been positive. Even before the first pitch in a Grapefruit League game is thrown, it’s all about fresh starts, and possibilities. Every team doesn’t really have the same chances of winning it all, but everyone has hope.

I’d love to hear how some outfielder looks like they’re dragging a piano uphill, or that some pitcher looks so bad that he should consider throwing with the other arm. No matter how the broadcasters try later today, there are going to be some blemishes they can’t hide with concealor.

The better broadcasters admit to needing a few games to get settled in, but I expect it might take a little longer to adjust to the new pace of play rules.

Play Ball!