[dallas_collecter84]

It is that time of year again, when I count down the days until I get to see opening day and that first pitch. It is probably the best time of the year for me, and that's counting my birthday and Christmas. I am about to get all of my baseball movies out and have my annual marathon, always ending with Bull Durham. That has been my tradition for the last few years.

I remember my first date with my wife and I had to tell her, "There are two different versions of me. One during baseball season, and one without." She has gotten to meet both and has still stuck around. It also helped that our first date was to a Texas Rangers baseball game. I even got her a Mark Macklemore autograph, even though she has no idea who he is. One of the things I told her that day was, "I love baseball and everything about it, except the Yankees and the Angels. If you are not a fan of those teams we can still date." Her response was, "I am not a fan of either of those teams and as long as you don't cheer for the Cardinals we are good." Needless to say we are still good to this day, but this year will be weird since she is an Astros fan and they are coming over to my Rangers division.

This post kinda was just a rambling but I just wanted to talk about baseball. This was just one of my favorite baseball stories. I am sure throughout the year I will have many more to tell. What are some of your traditions or stories you like to tell before the season starts?

[wolverine74]

I kick off my baseball season every year with my fantasy baseball draft. Gotta defend my title this year!

[uvaspina]

I like your story. My wife and I have been together since college (10 years; married for 3). At first, she was like "you're going to watch baseball again tonight?" And I would say, "yes. Tonight, tomorrow and the day after that until the season is over." Then she figured out I wasn't only watching the Tigers games, but I'd watch the west coast games that started at 10, and on off-nights I was watching the Marlins games (Dontrelle's rookie year; Miguel not too long after). Luckily, she has grown to like baseball. She watches (passively) most games with my on tv and has gotten pretty knowledgable about the Tigers. We go to about 7-10 games a year, including the ALDS, ALCS, and WS last year.

We started dating in the spring of '02 and decided to go to chicago for my birthday in May. -I had never been to Wrigley, so I suggested that might be fun. She agreed and the next day (Saturday) we went to see the Cubs-Astros. Tickets were sold out and we were not flush with cash (college students) so I bought 2 standing room only tickets for about $50. We got there when it opened (about two hours early) to see batting practice. During that time, I waited along the railing with about a dozen 12 year olds to get Mark Bellhorn's autograph. Then, once the game started, we stood on a ramp and enjoyed our partially-obstructed view of the game. -In the 7th inning or so, we did weasel our way into some decent seats in the upper deck behind home plate.

Beyond any of that, my first trip to wrigley was most memorable because it's where I ate my first corn dog. Why I hadn't eaten one before that I cannot explain. Suffice it to say, I've spent the last 10 years making up for lost time,

[nyyankeesfan28]

I want baseball back so bad! This is augmented by the fact that I went to Padre FanFest yesterday.

[mgruber2]

I proposed to my wife at the last game at Tiger Stadium.

[DrMitchJ]

I proposed to my wife at the last game at Tiger Stadium.

And I proposed to my wife in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium before a game, and during the 7th inning stretch I had arranged for the jumbotron to say "Congrats Mitch & Patty on your Engagement!" Later she asked "What if I said No?" And I said, "YOU wouldn't have been here for the 7th inning"

[mgruber2]

And I proposed to my wife in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium before a game, and during the 7th inning stretch I had arranged for the jumbotron to say "Congrats Mitch & Patty on your Engagement!" Later she asked "What if I said No?" And I said, "YOU wouldn't have been here for the 7th inning"

Very nice!

[fulltritty]

I kick off my baseball season every year with my fantasy baseball draft. Gotta defend my title this year!

Me too and ours is on March 17th.

I am looking forward to going to Wrigley Field for the first time this year in addition to my Yankees at Orioles games and maybe a few Nationals games.

The big one will be in September when I take my son to his first ballgame; the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.