Sunday afternoon I got to do something that I haven’t been able to do for a long time. I sat and watched the Toronto Blue Jays play ball. Even though it was just an exhibition game, it was great to see the boys of summer back on the diamond getting ready to grind out another 162 game season.

Baseball has to be the most stat-driven sport there is. They have a stat for everything. I can hear the announcer already. “This pitcher pitches best in an outdoor stadium when the weather is between 75 and 80 degrees on Tuesday nights after he and his wife have a beautiful lunch at a seaside restaurant.” What if there is no seaside restaurant in the city that this particular guy is pitching in? Doesn’t sound too promising. Uh oh, better pull him or fly him and his wife out to California for some lobster before the game!

A phrase that is way overused in baseball is “on pace.” You’ll hear that a lot this year, and in all fairness, you hear that phrase in every sport. If someone hits a home run in the first game of the season, and many will, he’ll be “on pace” for 162 homers this season!

The Blue Jays will not be contenders for a couple of years, but with all their young talent back for a second year they should be fun to watch.

The Jays open their season at home against Boston one month from today. I can hardly wait to hear the umpire utter those wonderful words…” Play ball.”