As winter comes to a close, baseball season is set to begin. The conclusion of the Super Bowl and the NFL season is followed quickly by the beginning of the MLB season, as pitchers and catchers report to spring training in early February.

It was a busy offseason, with many big-name players moving to different teams. The Cleveland Indians fell to the Chicago Cubs in last season’s World Series, and decided to upgrade their offense by signing Edwin Encarnacion, the right-handed slugger who previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays. Many teams were hesitant to sign Encarnacion, refusing to invest a large sum of money into an aging ballplayer. The usually frugal Indians decided to swoop in and make the signing after coming off a World Series appearance, pushing the chips to the center of the table.

The Boston Red Sox traded away their top second base prospect Yoan Moncada for the hard throwing lefty Chris Sale, a trade made in attempt to help their starting rotation. Boston hopes this move will have a significant impact, as Sale has finished top five in Cy Young voting four different times and has been a dominant starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox since entering the MLB in 2010.

Senior Kyle Kling, who has been an avid Cardinals fan for 12 years, was slightly disappointed that his team failed to make the playoffs last season.

“[Last season] didn’t really go how I wanted,” Kling said. “It was actually pretty bad.”

Kling, usually accustomed to his team performing well, was shocked that they fell to the Chicago Cubs in the central division.

“They didn’t win the division, which really surprised me,” Kling said. “They got beat by the Cubs, which I hated because of the rivalry.”

Though he did not enjoy his team’s performance last year, he is optimistic about this upcoming season with the Cardinals’ acquisition of outfielder Dexter Fowler.

“[Fowler] will make a big difference from last year,” Kling said. “I expect them to make the playoffs and win the division.”

Senior Delaina Brown says that she has been a Cubs fan for most of her life because of her parents, but she was hesitant to display support for the team because of their subpar performance up until the last couple years.

“My parents have always been Cub fans, so naturally I am as well,” Brown said. “I wasn’t ever really excited to see them play until last season because they were so bad.”

Brown says that the Cubs’ World Series win was one of the most exciting moments in sports that she ever experienced.

“I was nervously watching the game with my family,” Brown said. “When the final out was made, we all started screaming and jumping around out of excitement.”

Brown is excited for the new season, and expects another great performance from the Cubs.

“I can’t wait for this season to start,” Brown said. “The Cubs are definitely repeating as champs.”