ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The words in concert unleash a flood of emotions.
They’re comforting and reassuring. They’re thrilling and exhilarating. They’re full of new hope for old dreams and new life for dead teams.
This is one aspect of baseball — spring training is another — that remains virtually unspoiled and unsoiled. No matter how much damage MLB has inflicted over the years with civic extortion, inflated statistics, silly labor disputes, tiny ballparks, laughable drug policies, runaway salaries, shrinking strike zones, irresponsible owners and late-night World Series, all seems right again when Game 1 of 162 arrives.