The baseball season is upon us, what with the MLB season starting on Thursday, March 31st. It's sometimes difficult to explain the grip that baseball has on the casual fan, of which I am one, because in many ways it's a seriously neurotic way of observing the passing days of Spring, Summer, and if your team is lucky (or good), Fall. The season is too long, the games too many, but somehow every year I look forward to congregating in Oakland (sorry Giants fans) with my brothers, my nephews, my own son and the occasional female member of our troupe just to reconnect with the first stadium and, indeed, team that I ever felt compelled to support as mine.

Check out the book Baseball: An Illustrated History to get an overview and, if nothing else, a reason to remind yourself of the enormity and importance that baseball history provides in our country's identity. Another title worth giving major props is From Asahi to Zebras: Japanese American Baseball in San Jose, California by the library's own Ralph Pearce.

So whether your team is from Maracaibo, Chicago(Cubs or Sox), Hokkaido or Oakland(!), it's time to root root root for the home team and praise the glory of neurotic affiliation and loyalty to your baseball colors!

p.s.: New SF Giants' dvd The Magic Inside is available in case you want to relive last season ... again.