After what seemed to be a lengthy off-season, the 2019 MLB baseball season is about to take off and be underway. Opening day is on Thurs., March 28, and the first pitch will be thrown out by the Washington Nationals versus the New York Mets.

So far, the last few months of the off-season have been the most intense as players like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado each signed major contracts to new teams that many people are excited and looking forward to following. There is no doubt that they have been the hot topic since the start and will continue to be talked about throughout the season.

“Both Machado and Harper aren’t worth the money in my opinion because they both have never been all that consistent and have attitude problems,” junior Peter Kougias said.

Both Harper and Machado signed huge contracts leading fans to believe that they are only in it for the money and really don’t have a care in the world for what team they are playing for.

“The players are definitely in it for the money without a doubt, Bryce was talking about a bunch of their teams and how he loved the city and then out of nowhere comes Philly and they sign him for a ridiculous amount and that alone proves that they are just looking for a big deal and a huge paycheck,” sophomore Miguel Picazo-Marin said.

The Chicago Cubs are also expected to have an eventful season as their division this year is looking to be intense from the beginning all the way to the end.

“I am most looking forward to spending some hot summer days at Wrigley Field and watching what looks to be a great pennant race. The NL Central is looking like a tossup this year so it should be quite interesting to see what happens,” Kougias said.

With the MLB season lasting over 150 games, it is really hard to make predictions on who will make it to the playoffs, let alone which team will sweep the entire thing. With that, Cubs fans already have high hopes for their team to take it all the way again and bring home another championship.

“I think it is way too early to even think about the playoffs but I am always thinking that the Cubs will go far even though this year it might be a struggle for them,” junior Tani Speizman said.

Baseball is going to be nonstop almost every day until October. The Cubs will have their home opener on Mon., April 8, against the Pittsburgh Pirates and will begin their race to the top of the NL Central.