2016 Baseball Season- Game #1- Phillies @ Phillies Futures

Last year it took right down to the final day of the season, but I got to 40 professional baseball games. This year, we're getting a fast start, going to the first game of the season that I physically could, the Phillies "Futures Game" in Reading. Tonight's game will pit the Major League Phillies against their "top" 25 prospects. I haven't been down to Reading now in probably six or seven seasons, so tonight will mark a "return" of sorts.

"Baseballtown" is a great ballpark, and this year marks 50 years of the Phillies having a AA affiliate there. Players like Mike Schmidt, Ryne Sandberg, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Dave Hollins have made their way through the ballpark. Tonight hopefully shows us the next generation of stars- Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera, J.P. Crawford, Roman Quinn, and Nick Williams, to name a few. These two teams will do battle again on Saturday in Philadelphia, a game I'm not likely to get to.

The Phillies come in off of a good Spring, having passed the magic 15 win mark in Florida. That means absolutely nothing once Monday comes along, but it does have me feeling better about the season. Tonight they send Brett Oberholtzer to the mound, a lefty they picked up in the Ken Giles deal who had a solid season last year for the Wild Card winning Houston Astros as a starter. Oberholtzer will start the season in the bullpen, but tonight is a bullpen game, and a chance to get a look at a lot of pitchers trying to nail down the last spots.

The goal for tonight? Find some of them good Berks hot dogs. I'll stay the hell out of that pool in right, it's too cold yet, but hopefully tonight we'll get a good look at a lot of the top prospects in the system, especially the ones I won't see all season in Allentown.