Baseball season is right around the corner, as opening day is just a few short days away. This past season we saw some amazing moments as the Cubs finally won the World Series and even saw one of the most beloved pitchers in baseball in Bartolo Colon belt his first home run.

I could go on and on about what we saw from the spectacular 2016 season, but I expect that 2017 season to be just as good, or even better. As the magic returns to the diamond once more, I list some of the best possible things that could take place this upcoming year.

Milestones:

Adrian Beltre reaches 3,000 hits. Currently at 2,942 hits, Beltre is just 58 hits shy of reaching the 3,000 hit club and punching his ticket into the hall of fame. Beltre has been one of the best and most consistent hitters that baseball has seen in the past 15 seasons and hopefully looks to carry his success right into the 2017 season. Unfortunately, he will turn 38 years old in two weeks but that should be no problem as age has yet to slow his game down.

Albert Pujols reaches 600 home runs. Pujols is not the hitter he was in St. Louis, but has not skipped a beat in terms of his power hitting over 30 home runs in his last two seasons. He looks to join the ranks of other baseball legends like Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.  Unlike Beltre, age has caught up to the 37-year old slugger, but will hopefully bring some magic to the plate as he is only 9 home runs away from once again showing us that he is one of the best sluggers this game has seen.

Clayton Kershaw racks up 2,000 strikeouts. Not particularly a hall of fame milestone as the previous two are, but still an excellent feat for any pitcher. As of right now, the three time cy youg award winner will look to lead the Dodgers to their fifth straight postseason appearance. Kershaw’s inability to pitch well during the postseason has been his only drawback, which is why the Dodgers have failed to reach the world series during the previous four seasons.

“Kershaw is the best we’ve seen in awhile,” says Junior Eli Guck. “There is no one more dominant simply because he just goes right after you with his best stuff.”

Jersey retirements:

Red Sox retire #34 David Ortiz, Yankees retire #2 Derek Jeter, Rangers retire #7 Ivan Rodriguez, Mariners retire #11 Edgar Martinez.

Bounce back seasons:

Bryce Harper looks to reclaim his MVP season. After Harper showed baseball what he could do during a great season in 2015, he numbers fell greatly in 2016. This biggest problem that the 24 year old saw last season was that pitchers simply didn’t pitch to him, as he was intentionally walked 20 times. Bad seasons happen, but Harper hit a career low .243, which was 30 points lower than any season he had previously hit. I wouldn’t fret too much about Harper, simply just because he is too talented.

“Harper has shown us his greatness once before,” says Senior Josh Powell. “And I think he’ll come back strong this season, based on sure-fire talent. Even if he doesn’t do as well as we hope this season, he still has whole career in front of him.”

Andrew McCutchen attempts to climb out of his hole. Because McCutchen reached career lows in batting average, on base percentage, and extra base hits, he has officially been removed as the Pirates franchise player. It seems a bit too much, but this off season has been even more rough since he has been relocated to right field and his future with Pirates looks bleak. McCutchen is tough and while I hope he will return to his former self, I along with the rest of us have our doubts.

Greatness:

Cubs repeat. If all goes according to plan, which of course is no guarantee, the most stacked roster baseball has seen since the Yankees of 20 years ago will win 100 games, Kris Bryant repeats as MVP, one of the three Cubs excellent pitchers wins a Cy Young, the plethora of Cubs prospects perform to their ability, and the Cubs win back-to-back championships. The rest of the MLB rosters almost look petty compared to the Cubs, but on given day, even the best of teams could lose. Don’t count your cards just yet, but now that Chicago has one under their belt it looks as if the train will continue to roll.

I love everything about baseball. There is no question about that. I think I have written about 80 baseball articles this school year, and I have loved every second off it. I have nothing but faith this upcoming baseball season will be even better than the last, and I hope you look forward to my upcoming articles.