By: Gavin Reynolds   

     Major League Baseball is back and has started off hot!  This season has many great players and teams. To find out more about the MLB, The Squire interviewed Eisenhower Knights second baseman, Johnny Palmieri. The MLB is one of the most watched sports leagues for a good reason. Baseball is a unique sport and is different from other sports in many ways. Palmieri explained, “The slow rhythm of the game and stopping throughout” is what sets it apart from the other sports. Baseball is a great sport and its back!

     The 2024-25 MLB season has some stacked teams filled with amazing players. “One key stat a player has to be great at to be considered a great player is on base percentage,” said Palmieri. On base percentage is how often a hitter is on base. Some of the top players this year are Aaron Judge, a center fielder for the New York Yankees; Mookie Betts, a right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers; Bryce Harper, a first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies; and, with the suggestion from Palmieri, Shohei Ohtani, a pitcher/designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Palmieri thinks, “He is the best hitter in the league as well as a phenomenal pitcher and I personally think he may become the best player ever.” Some of the strongest teams this year that could possibly win the World Series are the Los Angeles Dodgers, an underrated Pittsburgh Pirates team, according to Palmieri, along with his pick to win it all, “The New York Yankees because of their depth and star power.” This year has some great competition and will be fun to watch.

     Baseball has many positions that all do different things. For example, there is the catcher who catches the ball when the pitcher throws it, the first baseman who catches the ball from the other fielders to get the hitters out, and the center fielder who catches any of the balls that get hit into the center area of the outfield. However, perhaps the most important position is the pitcher, as Palmieri describes, “The pitcher has to throw strikes in order to get the hitters out and stop them from scoring.”

    You can watch this year’s MLB season on many different platforms, including the MLB network, YouTube Tv, fuboTV, and, Palmieri’s favorite, ESPN. Have fun watching this year’s MLB season!