Baseball needed to help heal our country

Here is my Sunday Column in the Athens Banner-Herald.

We are now four days away from the start of the most twisted baseball season in history. We are five days away from the Braves starting a season that could be very special.

Let the Braves win the World Series. Who cares what people will think. They have a great team and a great chance to be special this season.

The Braves need Will Smith back. They need Cole Hamels to get healthy. They need Freddie Freeman to not have lingering issues from his missed time due to the COVID-19 virus. They need no one else to test positive.

This will be a challenge. It will not be easy. There are likely going to be interruptions, whether it's having delays due to the virus or even governments forcing changes due to the cases in their communities.

But let's just throw the first pitch and see what happens. This country has had a horrible four months, with people sick, dying and also out of work. Plus, think about the stress that people have gone through, worried about getting sick or having their jobs impacted by the virus.

And that's when baseball comes into play. That's how it can be helpful, even to those who may not like the sport. If this is pulled off and there are no interruptions this week to jeopardize the start of the season, there will be a sense of normalcy that is desperately needed for a country in need of a band-aid, even if it's temporary.

Baseball can help do that. Let's hope they can pull it off. Let's also hope the Braves have the chance to show how good they could be this season.

Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on Middle Georgia’s ESPN. You can listen online at TheSuperStations.com. Follow Bill on Twitter at @billshanks and you can email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.