I spent Friday afternoon listening to the radio broadcast of the Red Sox-Orioles game, which could be a common occurrence in 2021.

There will be no Mets baseball this weekend, while every other team (besides the COVID-stricken Nationals) celebrates its opening weekend.

Obviously it’s not the amazing start to the Mets’ 2021 season (and its documentation) that I was hoping for.

But as I thought about baseball the past couple of days (it is important to note that during baseball season I spend the majority of every day thinking about baseball), I realized there’s quite a bit about the upcoming season that I’m looking forward to.

And without the Mets to focus on the first few days, I can give some attention to some of these things that I’m excited about.

So here are a few things I’m looking forward to in 2021, and maybe you’ll enjoy them too:

I think, first and foremost, I’m excited about today’s news that Major League Baseball will pull this year’s All Star Game (and apparently the draft, which I didn’t know would also take place in Atlanta?) out of Georgia because of the restrictive voting laws the state recently passed (and which Georgia state lawmakers inexplicably say are meant to improve voting access…which, if you’re inclined to believe that and you need to hear otherwise, please let me say to you: Otherwise.). Too often it has been embarrassing to watch professional sports handle social issues. Too often they’re on the wrong side of the issue…whatever that issue may be. I am encouraged that Major League Baseball is taking this step, and I hope it means a better record on issues of social justice moving forward.
I watch a lot of baseball, not just the Mets. There are other teams and stories from around the league that I pay attention to - in recent years I’ve been drawn towards the Rays, and last year I spent a lot of time watching the Blue Jays. This year I am certainly intrigued by the San Diego Padres and what they’re building, and I find myself really rooting for the Angels. I don't watch Mike Trout enough, and Shohei Ohtani is exciting, and I watched a couple of innings of their opener and Dylan Bundy looked great so maybe they can make a run. Just so long as, if they win the American League and the Mets are coming out of the National League, their run ends there. So it looks like maybe I’ll be staying up to watch some west coast games this year.
Speaking of which, one other reason I’m interested in watching more Padres games is the fact that Don Orsillo is their play-by-play guy. Orsillo is excellent, and he was super-nice to me in the very little time we spent together back when he was the Red Sox’ play-by-play guy (a story I’m sure I’ll have a chance to tell at some point this season), and he always has such a good time in the booth that it’s fun for the viewer. And as I watched the Blue Jays on Thursday I was reminded how good of a play-by-play guy Dan Schulman is. And we haven’t even heard the Mets’ best-in-the-game SNY booth yet this year. So I’m looking forward to listening to masters of their craft in the booth…and maybe I’ll even bring back an old chestnut from the Mets blog I used to write where at the All Star break I rated all of the booths in baseball.
And maybe I can add a new twist, because this year I think I’ll be listening to a lot more games on the radio. Because we canceled cable and only have Hulu Live TV, we don’t have the Red Sox channel here. And since MLB.TV blacks out the local games, my only option to follow a Sox game (when they’re not on national television) is to listen to a game, either through the app (which I did for their opener on Friday) or on local radio. So I think maybe I’ll give the out-of-town radio crews a listen when I’m interested in a Red Sox game. (Which is less often than other teams but often enough due to local interest and fantasy sports players.)
Lastly, I’m just excited to do some writing about baseball again. There are few things that make me happier than baseball season, and having this outlet will probably be good for me. (And it will benefit the friends who I would otherwise be texting these baseball thoughts to non-stop.) So thanks for giving me an audience for these thoughts.

I’m sure there will be other things that I’ll start to enjoy as the season progresses. Maybe this merits a once-a-week look at what I’m looking forward to throughout the season. It’s kind of fun to make this up as we go.

Notes: Just one last thing, which is to say that it would be cool to hear from you. What are you looking forward to in baseball in 2021? I’d love to make this somewhat interactive so you can use the comments below, I suppose. You can also tweet to me at @jsucich. I will start pushing these posts out occasionally on social media, but you can certainly get the conversation started before then.