The saddest thing about the 2012 season to me is that in spite of the Braves’ success, and the emotional fun ride it’s been watching Chipper Jones wind down his career, I can’t really say it’s been the most enjoyable season for me as a baseball fan.  I’ve attended fewer games than I have in previous years, and despite the games I’ve gone with friends that I enjoyed immensely, I’ve pretty much more or less lost the ability to enjoy going to the ballpark by myself like I used to be able to in the past.

In years past, the end of the regular season was often a melancholy time of the year for me.  Four of the last five years, the Braves didn’t make the playoffs, so when the regular season ended, it truly was the end of Braves baseball until April.  The default, the fallback, the always something to do, with watching a baseball game was over, unless I wanted to try and find enjoyment in playoff baseball or fall or winter league baseball that didn’t always include the Braves.  No matter what, the end of the regular season was always a time of the year with an air of sadness attached to it, because something good and enjoyable was going away for a long time.

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