Baseball! It's Coming. And Coming Soon.

I have been asked if I will cover baseball. How could I not? There are almost 1,000 area grads playing NCAA baseball. If the other sports are a guide, I will be reporting on some amazing performances.

All baseball practices and game warmups start with the same sounds. The first thrown ball sails silently through the air until it comes to a sudden stop in a waiting glove. Plop. That is followed by another. And then another. Until it takes on the cadence of popcorn popping. Arms warm up. Bodies stretch. Minds focus. The time away from baseball is finally broken. Whether that break extended back to last season, last week, or even just yesterday, we are once again playing baseball.

The anticipation of a new season seems more intense for baseball than other sports. That is part of the tradition of baseball.

People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for Spring.

Rogers Hornsby

There are 894 Missouri and Kansas grads playing baseball in the NCAA. They come from 285 high schools. From big schools like Shawnee Mission East, and from small schools like Crystal City. They come from the cities and the most rural of areas in these two states. And they have found baseball homes all over the country. They are in all three NCAA divisions, 205 colleges and universities, and in 69 conferences. They are playing in the Pac 12, the SEC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, and in the Ivy.

Now, don’t step on the foul line or talk to the pitcher in the dugout. But, get your lucky bat and draw in the batter’s box dirt. Not that we are supersticious or anything.

And importantly, subscribe and send to a friend because it is time to Play Ball.