We have to look really hard to find an overnight success story in baseball.  It's a journey and not a sprint, and teams know the marathon 162-game season will be full of ups and downs.

At this time last year, very few people thought the Astros could win a World Series, and they did it, proving that good things come with some grit and a whole lot of hard work.  

I can't think of any other sports where the champs lose 61 times during the season.  That's how many losses the Astros had during the 2017 regular season, and they went on to win the World Series.  And oh by the way, they had 101 wins during the regular season to win the AL West.

Even if they get smoked, baseball players have to let the losses go quickly and get ready for the next game.  Football players might be a little jealous that baseball players get to play again so quickly after a loss and get that bad taste out of their mouths the next night.  As Cowboy fans know, 7 days of waiting after a loss can make a person a little crazy.

It's not just the season itself that's grueling, but even making a Major League roster can be a marathon and not a sprint.  It can take years to get that call up to the majors, if it happens at all.  And then if the hits don't come, players get sent back to the minors and they have to scratch and claw their way back up again.  Can you imagine if all of our workplaces had that strategy?  Talk about stress.

The Houston Astros' J.D. Davis is one example that hard work can pay off if you stick with it.  MLB.com says Davis learned the news last Saturday that he made the opening day roster after spending a whole lot of time the past couple of years at Double-A Corpus Christi.  He'll be playing first base, left field and third base for the Astros after kicking butt at spring training and earning a spot on the opening day roster.  Against the Rangers!  It's an all-Texas series to open the season, starting Thursday in Arlington.

With the fresh start, every team has hope that this will be their year.  The Rangers and Astros both want to start the season with a win, we'll see which team accomplishes that tomorrow.  Win or lose, there will be a lot of baseball left this season.

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