With the sun finally shining and only a couple of weeks left in my college career, it's been really tough to concentrate on classes. And now there's an additional -- albeit pleasant -- distraction.
The Phillies are winning ballgames.
This is not something to take lightly.
Granted, there are still about 155 games left in the season, but forgive Phillies fans if they have a tendency to grasp onto any ray of hope after a painful decade of losses and letdowns.
After winning the first game of the 1983 World Series against the Orioles, the Phillies fell off the face of the baseball world. They lost four games in a row to Baltimore -- including the final three at home -- and suddenly and without warning, Philadelphia was thrust into a new baseball era.
The Pathetic Years.
The death of the Phillies was slow and painful. Pete Rose shuffled out of town. Steve Carlton wound down his great career in a pitiful fashion and, after being replaced by rookie phenom Bruce Ruffin, went on a whirlwind farewell tour with San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland and Minnesota before his ballooning ERA forced him to hang 'em up.
Into the City of Brotherly Love came a new set of heroes -- or so the Phillies' front office wanted us to believe. The middle and late 1980s were the years of Glenn Wilson, Von Hayes, Juan Samuel and Ozzie Virgil. And don't forget Phil Bradley and Lance Parrish.
The offense was never quite horrible, but the pitching certainly was. From Shane Rawley to Mike Maddux to Charles Hudson to Joe Cowley, the Phillies put forth some of the worst staffs of all time in the 1980s.
Sure, there were a couple of highlights in the past 10 years. Mike Schmidt won a third MVP award. Steve Bedrosian won the Cy Young. In 1986, the Phillies even finished second -- but, of course, they were about 25 games behind the eventual World Champion Mets.
For the most part, Phillies fans have really had to stretch to find something to cheer about for the past decade.
I found myself strangely drawn to Steve Jeltz, the much-maligned shortstop who could barely post a .200 batting average. Maybe it was precisely the fact that Jeltz was so universally scorned that made him my hero.
My friends and I went ballistic in founding the Jeltz Fan Club. We started a newsletter. We wrote to local newspapers. We took "Jeltz for MVP" and "We want Jeltz" banners to Phillies games. (We all had far too much free time during high school.)
All this because it was just too darn painful to ponder the fact that the Phillies were annually one of the worst teams in the majors. It took a morbid sense of humor to make it through the 1980s as a Phillies fan.
But now, there's a ray of hope. At this early stage, the Fightin' Phils have the best record in all of baseball.
And, perhaps justly, the resurgence is led by Darren Daulton. Daulton has been around since the early '80s, and has endured more losing seasons than anyone should ever have to. Now, he's playing the part of team leader and MVP candidate, as he's become one of baseball's most unlikely stars.
With the likes of Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk, Dave Hollins and Pete Incaviglia, this is a down-and-dirty version of the Phillies that you can tell hates to lose.
More importantly, this team appears to have the necessary pitching to contend. Terry Mulholland and Curt Schilling are dependable workhorses. Danny Jackson can probably give them six good innings a start. And Tommy Greene might turn out to be the best starter of them all.
The Phillies might not win the World Series this year -- they might not even win the division. But for the first time, after a long, dark decade, it looks like they're ready to contend.
So forgive Phillies fans if they look a little starry-eyed here in the early days of spring. Secretly, we're already thinking that maybe the Phillies can go all the way, especially if they get some middle relief help and pick up a real shortstop. . .
Hey, maybe Steve Jeltz is available.
