Jason Ross: When Do You Allow Yourself To Get Excited About Your Team?
The baseball season is a long grind. 162 games that take you through some cold early weeks of the season to some blistering humid days in the Summer and wraps back up in the cold. So with that said we have a long way to go.
As a lifelong New York Yankees fan I am really starting to get fired up about what I see from the guys in pinstripes. The season is still in its infancy but this team wasn't supposed to be doing this at all. I realize that there are still over 100 games to be played to decide the fates of the teams, but I sure do like what I am seeing from the Yankees.
My relationship as a fan of my teams is to always be there. I am not a front runner by any means. Inside that "fandom" though comes expectations and certain levels of love for the team. If your team isn't expected to be as good, it doesn't mean you quit on them at all, but you believe it could be a long year testing your support for the team you love.
As a Yankee fan, I have been spoiled with many years of success and with that comes an understandable overall dislike from non-Yankee fans. This organization has had many different runs as the best team in baseball. This group though was still turning over from Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera a few years ago, to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez last year, to this hodge-podge of youth and veteran players.
That mix so far has produced some magic.
After the first 31 games of the season, the Yankees have the second best record in baseball. They have had some injuries and started out 1-4, but since have worked their way to an impressive 21-10. They have navigated their way through a difficult schedule and worked their way to the top in a lot of statistical categories.
The Yankees are near the top in runs, home runs, slugging percentage and ERA. They have enjoyed win streaks of six and eight this season and witnessed veterans Starlin Castro, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Chase Headley and Matt Holliday all play well. The young guns of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge are getting a ton of attention, and understandably so, for what they are doing and for what they can become in the future.
So for me, I am always a Yankee fan, but I find myself pleasantly surprised at what I am seeing on a nightly basis. I am not sure how long this will last but I am enjoying every minute of it.
Go Bombers!
