Off-Topic: What was the best part of your year?

We asked these questions last year when we thought 2021 would be so much better than 2020. So that’s what we get for optimism. The idea was stolen from Minor Leaguer.

Tell us the best thing that happened to you this year?

Tell us, what was the best part of this past baseball season for you?

The best thing for me this year?

That my immediate family made it through without getting sick, we are incredibly lucky.

Beyond that? Well, the gyms opened again, back in August. Getting to go workout has been great for my physical health, but likely even more for my mental health. I had been doing ok through Covid, going out for runs or walks most days. Then, this past summer, it got hot and smokey, and I stayed inside and ate.

So when the gyms opened, I searched for one that shared my interest in keeping me safe from Covid. It took some looking, but I found one where I felt safe. And I started playing squash and tennis, which gave me a bit of a social outlet and kept me moving.

The best part of the baseball season?

Watching Vlad become a star. He was so good. After having so many tell me that he was a bust, I enjoyed him this year. And hitting .315/.4441/.608 with RISP didn’t hurt.

My favourite part of baseball has always been watching young players develop. Often it doesn’t happen the way you would like it to but seeing young players grow into veterans, learn the game, work on weaknesses, build on strengths and become the player they were meant to be is the fun of baseball to me.

It is a lot like life, but quicker and with numbers.

Vlad became the player we thought he’d, but it happened suddenly.

Happy New Year.

I hope the New Year is a damn sight better than the old one and that, by the end of it, life is back to normal for all of us. But, I’ll admit, I’ve come to think that normal is a sliding scale.