Opening Day Delight: 50 Reasons to Watch Major League Baseball in 2010

1. Nostalgia: Once again, springtime and baseball season simultaneously re-emerge in intricately interwoven brilliance. Is the sport still America's pastime? Debatable. Nonetheless, for many fans, memories of players and seasons past, abound each April. Meanwhile, the opportunity to reminisce about attending our first Major League Baseball game and other cherished childhood moments remains priceless.

2. Hope Springs Eternal: For strict adherents of the age-old adage, the season starts anew with each Major League club granted the singular dream of post-season glory in October and November.

3. Yankee Pay-Off: Will the Yankees' $200 million-plus Opening Day roster repeat as World Series Champions? Anything less would certainly serve as a major disappointment for the Bronx Bombers...

4. Championship Contenders: The three biggest threats to the Yankees' repeat chances? The Phillies, Red Sox, and Cardinals.

5. Dark Horse Darlings: Keep an eye on the Twins, Rays, Dodgers, Rockies, and Braves as potential World Series surprises.

6. Cinderella Stories: Will the Rangers, Mariners, Reds, and Giants emerge as sleeping beauties or slumbering stragglers?

7. Albert Pujols, period.

8. Joe Mauer, period.

9. Pitch for a Three-Peat: Will the Giants' Tim Linceum capture the National League Cy Young Award for the third consecutive season? Stay tuned.

10. Rivalries Renewed: Baseball's best battles continue, including the Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals, and Dodgers-Giants.

11. Future Phenoms: Expect Strasburg, Heyward, and Chapman to become household names in 2010, and ever after.

12. Chicks Dig the Long Ball: Who will capture the home run crown in 2010? Pujols, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Adrian Gonzalez emerge as the likeliest candidates.

13. Flirting with .400: Every season, a select few players linger around the storied stat line. Mauer remains the most capable candidate in recent history to conquer the elusive feat.

14. Brilliant Base Stealers: Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, and Michael Bourn enter the 2010 season hot on the heels of 60+ steal campaigns in '09.

15. Boom or Bust: In spite of 44 homers last season, Arizona's Mark Reynolds struck out 223 times in 2009, a Major League single-season record.

16. American League Aces: Expect Seattle's dynamic duo of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, Kansas City's Zack Greinke, Detroit's Justin Verlander, and New York's C.C. Sabathia to fiercely battle for the AL Cy Young Award.

17. Best in Show: Which starting staff will claim the title as baseball's best? Formidable frontline front-runners include the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, Rays, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, and Braves.

18. Starting Sensations: After breakout '09 seasons, the league remains ripe with starting pitching stars of tomorrow, such as Atlanta's Tommy Hansen, Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez, Milwaukee's Yovani Gallardo, and Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw.

19. The Replacements: Keep an eye on how the teams most affected by injuries this spring (Twins, Phillies, Mariners, Cubs, Rangers, Rockies, A's, etc.) rebound during the regular season.

20. Cleared for Take-Off: Players fresh off of '09 injuries include Arizona's Brandon Webb, Oakland's Ben Sheets, Atlanta's Billy Wagner, Minnesota's Justin Morneau, and Cleveland's Grady Sizemore.

21. Off-Season Additions, Part 1: Star pitcher relocation projects, such as Halladay in Philly, Lee in Seattle, Lackey in Boston, and Vazquez in New York.

22. Wild Wests: Expect wide-open races in both of baseball's West divisions. Each division should field hotly contested three-team races, at the very least.

23. Kings of the East: The American League remains the most top-heavy division in baseball, spearheaded by the Yankees, Sox, and Rays. Recently, the division's difficulty inspired a curious contemplation of "floating division realignment" by baseball's masterminds.

24. Baseball Blues: Who will the wear the dubious crown as baseball's biggest loser? Washington? Pittsburgh? Both?

25. Better with Age: Veterans Trevor Hoffman, Jamie Moyer, and Tim Wakefield continue to defy age and logic, in remarkable fashion.

26. Off-Season Addition, Part 2: Noteworthy position players in new threads include the Mets' Jason Bay, the Yankees' Curtis Granderson, the Rangers' Vladimir Guerrero, and the Mariners' Chone Figgins.

27. K Crown: Verlander, Greinke, and Lincecum each struck out 240+ batters in 2009.

28. Did I mention Albert Pujols?: Pujols remarkably recorded 30+ home runs, 30+ doubles, 100+ RBIs, and a .310+ batting average for the ninth consecutive season as a Cardinal in 2009.

29. Bad Bud: For better or worse, 2010 serves as one of the final seasons for "What will Bud (Selig) do (or not do) next?

30. Domeless in Minnesota: How will the Twins adjust to outdoor baseball in brand-spanking-new Target Field?

31. 20/20 Vision: Four pitchers won 19 games in 2009, zero won 20.

32. Hanley's Heroics: Do yourself a favor and watch baseball's best shortstop, Hanley Ramirez, as much as possible.

33. CSI: New York: Keep close tabs on the Mets' ongoing downward spiral of overactive thyroids, underachievers, and the latest Big Apple brushes with the bizarre.

34. Catching On: Expectations remain high in 2010 for baseball's highly-touted young talents, such as Adam Lind, Matt Wieters, Ben Zobrist, Andrew McCutchen, and Joey Votto.

35. Dodger Power: In support of a stellar starting rotation, Los Angeles should field its most potent offensive lineup in recent history, including budding stars Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and James Loney.

36. Sports-Centered: After the NBA Playoffs end, the sports schedule remains sparse...

37. Fantasy Baseball...

38. Capital Ventures: Bar bets and other friendly wagers will rejuvenate any regular season matchup.

39. The Grass is Always Greener: Draw inspiration for personal lawn-care duties by fawning over baseball's meticulously manicured greens.

40. Office Conversation: Arm yourself with enough current baseball knowledge to stay dangerous in the office circle.

41. Real Drama: Baseball still trumps contrived television dramas and reality shows.

42. Farewell Tour: Atlanta's Cooperstown-bound manager Bobby Cox plans to retire after the 2010 season.

43. Catch Them While You Can: A myriad of Major League greats also near the end of the road, including Mariano Rivera, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Ivan Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, Andy Pettitte, and Chipper Jones.

45. Talking Heads Time-Out: Take a much-needed break from Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, or your favorite team's suspect 2010 NFL Draft, come the end of April.

46. Mr. 3,000: Griffey Jr., Jeter, Rodrizguez, and Vizquel each possess 2,700+ career hits, although none of the four can realistically reach the 3,000-hit plateau until 2011 or 2012.

47. A-Mays-Zing: Griffey Jr. currently ranks No. 5 in career home runs, trailing Willie Mays by merely 30 dingers for fourth place on baseball's all-time list. Similarly compelling, Alex Rodriguez needs 26 home runs to move into the No. 6 spot, surpassing McGwire, Frank Robinson, and Sosa, in the process.

48. Home Game Homework: Every kid deserves a break from school once in awhile.

49. Just Win Baby: With 11 wins in 2010, Moyer would remarkably surpass four Hall-of-Fame pitchers in career wins, including pitching immortals Bob Feller and Jim Palmer.

50. Anything's better than Tigergate...

References
Baseball-Reference.com, "Baseball Statistics and History." www.baseball-reference.com.