The offseason dragged on forever with all the late signings. Spring training always drags on too long. Where I live, we've been hammered by a series of Nor'easters. It's safe to say Opening Day has never felt like it has arrived at a better time. With the season about to kick off, here is a rundown of some of the big-picture issues to watch:
The ball
From 2014 to 2015, home runs across the majors increased 17.3 percent. From 2015 to 2016, home runs jumped another 14.3 percent. In 2017, they increased 8.8 percent, resulting in a record 6,105 home runs -- a 46 percent increase over three seasons and an average of 64 more home runs per team than in 2014.