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 The Cubbies, who have gone 107 years without a World Series title,
head a list of Cinderellas hungering for a taste of postseason
success and open the season on Sunday against the visiting St. Louis
Cardinals.
All the other clubs begin their 162-game season on Monday.
The Royals ended a 29-year playoff drought with an inspiring battle
all the way to a thrilling Game Seven of the World Series before
falling to the San Francisco Giants.
Their level of past frustration pales in comparison to the Cubs, who
last appeared in the Fall Classic in 1945 and lost six other times
in the Series since their last MLB title in 1908.
After years of floundering, the Cubbies have collected the best
group of prospects in baseball and added to their promising core in
the offseason with the signing of ace pitcher Jon Lester and a new
manager in Joe Maddon.
Third baseman Kris Bryant, rated number one prospect by Baseball
America, led the minor leagues in home runs last year and paced
spring training hitters with nine roundtrippers.
Shortstop Addison Russell is ranked the third best prospect and
Cuban slugging outfielder Jorge Soler is 12th for the Cubs.
Bryant, Russell and young power-hitting second baseman Javier Baez
will not open the season in Chicago in order to extend the Cubs'
hold on them for an extra year, but could join the team later in the
month.
While the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers loom as
potential NL powerhouses in the East and West with loads of hitting
and pitching talent, other Cinderella candidates are also dreaming
big.
The Cleveland Indians, whose last title came in 1948, hope Cy Young
winner Corey Kluber will help them overtake perennial AL Central
power Detroit and the Royals, who lost key pitchers in Max Scherzer
and James Shields, respectively.
FRESH HOPE
Boston, last in the AL East in 2014, beefed up their offense by
adding Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, but the loss of Lester
leaves doubts about their pitching in what could be a wide open
East.
Toronto, suffering the longest current stretch of 21 years without
making the playoffs, added offense with third baseman Josh Donaldson
and catcher Russell Martin, while Yankee hopes rest on the delicate
elbow of ace Masahiro Tanaka.
Last year's AL East winners Baltimore lost slugger Nelson Cruz and
Nick Markakis giving the others fresh hope.
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Seattle beefed up by signing Cruz, last season's MLB home run leader
for the Orioles, in a quest to reach their first World Series since
joining MLB in 1977.
Baseball fans will also be subjected to the renewal of the Alex
Rodriguez soap opera with the 39-year-old slugger back with the New
York Yankees after a one-year doping ban.
In South Florida, focus will be on Giancarlo Stanton, whose $325
million, 10-year deal with the Miami Marlins is the largest ever in
North American sports.
Stanton will be adjusting to a special protective helmet after
missing the end of last season after getting hit in the face with a
pitch.
Opening Night marks the beginning of the first season under new
commissioner Rob Manfred.
Manfred moved from deputy under long-serving commissioner Bud Selig
to the sheriff and among his first orders is to speed up the pace of
play to appeal to younger audiences.
In an effort to quicken the pace of play, a countdown clock for
breaks between innings will be used while umpires enforce a rule
requiring hitters to stay in the batter's box rather than step out
between pitches to adjust equipment.
"We're not looking to fundamentally alter the way the game is
played," Manfred told New York's WFAN radio. "We're looking to
remove the dead time."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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