Hope Springs Eternal on Opening Day

I would argue that hope is the most powerful feeling in the world. The possession of hope, or the lack thereof, can be equally invigorating or demoralizing. It doesn't matter what area of life it is whether it is personally, professionally, as a fan of a team whatever, hope makes you believe that no matter what the odds are there is a chance you can get something done.

That's the beautiful thing about the Opening Day of Baseball, 30 teams covering the country all have hope. Now this hope isn't always the same, for example Cubs fans are hoping for their 2nd World Series Title in as many years, while Braves fans are just hoping for a competitive team. But that hope is still there. And for some reason, and I've never been able to put my finger on why, the start of the baseball season feels different than the start of other sports leagues. Maybe it's because Opening Day is the official day that marks the change from Winter to Spring - and summer is right around the corner, but the euphoria surrounding a baseball stadium on Opening Day cannot be match anywhere else.

I've been lucky enough to attend many Opening Days throughout my life, none being more memorable than when Jason Heyward made his debut at a packed Turner Field and subsequently hit a three-run homerun in his 1st at bat off of Carlos Zambrano - I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it right now. But the return of sitting in the stands during sun-filled days, eating hot dogs, and drinking an ice cold beer is just a feeling that cannot be equaled anywhere else. This Opening Day is even more special as Braves fans since SunTrust Park will be officially christened as the new home of the Atlanta Braves, and even if the product on the field has returned to early 2010's levels yet, I am confident that the Braves' new crop of talent will help kick on the rebuilding process in the near future.

Without further ado, here are my predictions for the 2017 Major League Baseball Season, if I didn't pick your team to make the playoffs I'm sorry and I promise I don't hate your team. Unless your team is the Cardinals, in that case I actually do hate your team.

American League

East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
West: Houston Astros
WC: New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers

National League

East: Washington Nationals
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
WC: New York Mets and San Francisco Giants

ALCS: Cleveland Indians in 6 games over the Houston Astros
NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers in 7 games over the Chicago Cubs

World Series: Cleveland Indians in 6 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers

Go Braves! (Please be competitive that's all I ask)

Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18