What I Am Most Thankful For In Baseball

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would discuss some things in baseball I am thankful about.  So here is a list of things for which I am most thankful.

I am thankful for 2005, and the White Sox winning a World Series title in my lifetime.  I am thankful for all of the years Frank Thomas gave me top notch baseball to watch growing up.  I am thankful that Frank Thomas got his ring, even though he wasn't able to play in the playoffs that season.  I am thankful for Mark Buehrle and the number 56 for helping me meet my wife.

I am thankful that there is a DH in the American League.  I am thankful that pitchers don't bat in the AL.  I am thankful that the Yankees do not win the title every year.  I am thankful that MLB has a lot of new young talent that will take the game into the next decade.  I am thankful that some of it might be on the White Sox.

I am thankful that MLB might add two more teams to the playoffs.  I am thankful that the White Sox finally cut Randy Williams.  I am thankful that Jake Peavy "gets it" now, even if it is a little bit too late.  I am thankful for all of Paul Konerko's service in Chicago, you will be missed.  I am thankful that we offered him arbitration, which means we will at least get draft picks from whatever team picks him up.  

I am thankful for keeping Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo, so we might actually have some kind of future.  I am thankful that Alex Rios finally worked out.  I am thankful that I have good friends to discuss the ups and downs of the White Sox and baseball with.

I am thankful that many teams are finally getting new 21st century stadiums; it makes the game better.  I am thankful that the pitching rubber is that extra 6 inches beyond 60 feet from home plate; and so is every batter that has to face Neftali Feliz at 99 mph and not 105 mph.  I am thankful for wooden bats, so we don't hear *ping* everytime a player makes contact at the plate.  I am thankful for college baseball though, it gives the Razorbacks one more sport to be good at.  

I am thankful that the voters finally realized how great Mark Buehrle plays in the field.  I am thankful for instant replay determining fair or foul on home runs.  I am thankful spitballs are banned in the name of good sanitation.  I am thankful for the uniformed baseballs they have used since the 1930s, ending the deadball era.

I am thankful for advanced metric statistics that can help us better determine who is better than who intelligently.  I am thankful that the voters for awards are finally starting to use advanced statistics in their decisions.  I am thankful that Felix Hernandez won AL Cy Young because he had the best statistics and not because he had to win 20 games or pitch for a playoff team.

I am thankful for my wife.  I am thankful that she is a White Sox fan.  I am thankful that she loves the team as much as I do.  I am thankful that I spent my honeymoon in 2008 in Chicago with her, at two White Sox games.  I am thankful that we at least won one of the games.  I am thankful that her favorite player hit a home run.

I am thankful that I have two wonderful children who are becoming White Sox fans like we are.  I am thankful that my daughter can name most of the team.  I am thankful that the White Sox came back from a deficit late to win on the day he was born(September 1st).  I am thankful that he got to watch his first White Sox game with me four days after he was born.  I am thankful that I was able to buy him White Sox apparel to wear.  I am thankful that we found him a Mark Buehrle jersey from Build-A-Bear in a size he could wear for Halloween.

I am thankful for mlbtraderumors.com making it easy to keep up with all the trades, signings and moves that occur during the season and the offseason.  I am thankful for baseball-reference.com making it really easy to look like a genius with statistics.  I am thankful for mlb.com keeping me up on everything happening daily in baseball.  I am thankful for flyingsock.com being the best White Sox site out there.  I am thankful for Pale & Hosed podcast and Facebook group, for being great and bringing a lot of us Sox fans together.  I am thankful for blogger giving me the chance to share my two cents on baseball with the world.  I am thankful for MLB Network, and will be more thankful when my cable service finally gets the channel.  I am thankful that ESPN finally cut ties with Joe Morgan, the most arrogant sports athlete of all time.

I am thankful to be a White Sox fan.  While it may not be easy, it is the best thing in the world every year.  I am thankful for the day that I turn on the TV and hear "Sit back, relax & strap it down.  White Sox baseball is coming up next."  I am thankful that at least 2 or 3 games a month are on WGN, giving me extra games to watch on TV since I live out of market.  I am thankful for all of the traditions the White Sox started, such as singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame, and shooting fireworks off after each home run.  

I am thankful for the way grass smells at a baseball stadium.  I am thankful for the way the air smells like food at the stadium.  I am thankful that the White Sox have the Sodfather, and that he makes our field the best looking and the best playing surface in all of baseball.  I am thankful that the White Sox have the best stadium food I have had at any of the 11 other stadiums I have been to in baseball.  I am thankful for two-for-one hot dogs an hour before the game.

I am thankful for the feeling I get when the pitcher throws the first pitch of the game.  I am thankful for the first time the home team does something good, and everyone cheers together.  I am thankful for the feeling I get when my team gets their first hit.  I am thankful that MLB is doing well, because without professional baseball, my life would be lost.