It’s beginning to look a lot like baseball
Today is the magical day that marks the beginning of the next cycle of our grand American Pastime! Pitchers and catchers report to Major League Baseball Spring Training and with it comes the hope that springs eternal for baseball fans across the country. While spring certainly feels like a stretch in frozen Missoula, the reality is that spring training is now underway in the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues of Arizona and Florida and the game of baseball will be played in idyllic spring training complexes from Mesa to Vero Beach. Yes, today is a grand day for baseball fans!
In 2022, the Missoula Impact Baseball Club completed a successful inaugural campaign with a 24-17 record against solid American Legion and club competition from Montana and across the Pacific Northwest. The real story, though, was the level of enjoyment that first season brought to the group of high school kids that took a chance on a first-year club team. The energy, enthusiasm, and positive vibe has been incredible in the winter warehouse workouts, and anticipation is running high for a great season in 2023!
We have lots of new things in store to share with Missoula baseball fans. So, with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training today, as suggested by Michael Hutcherson, Impact Manager, we will begin running out a series of articles to stoke the baseball fire in your hearts. This series will continue weekly through April leading up to our first games of the season, a three-game homestand, April 15-16 in Missoula.
We’ll start today with a recap of Impact Baseball Club’s final tournament of 2022 in Billings, followed by an overview by Coach Hutcherson of the 2022 season in the coming days, then some exciting news about current and former Impact players as they advance as baseball players, in many cases working toward their goals of playing at the next level. This will culminate with a preseason forecast of Impact’s 2023 season, highlighting the players and coaching staff that will bring lots of joy and excitement to Missoula baseball fans. Enjoy!
Dave Smith