The telltale signs of spring are upon us – the crack of the bat, the enticing aroma of a fresh ballpark dog, the sizeable swigs off a Snapple bottle half-full of rum. Oh yes, all signs point to the fact that baseball season has begun.

Many Northwestern students think nothing of skipping class and hopping on the El to Wrigley for an afternoon of sun and fun. And why not, there’s nothing better than sitting in the bleachers with a bunch of drunks, watching a team that hasn’t won the big one since the Civil War. But these young fans looking to get their baseball n’ booze fix are missing a golden opportunity right in their backyard. Or rather a purple opportunity, and one that’s a helluva lot cheaper.

“We have a really good team that loves to play in front of people,” says Travis Tharp, a senior first baseman of the NU baseball team, “and it gets us going every time we see a good crowd in the stands. Unfortunately that’s pretty rare.”

Pretty rare? C’mon, Cats fans, the Northwestern Nine have had a lot of success in recent years, including the current campaign. On April 13, the Wildcats thrashed Chicago State 36-10, setting new school records for most runs and hits in one game. Yet if you suggest that people head up to Rocky Miller Park to catch a baseball game, most people look at you like you’re speaking Pig Latin.

You hear students bitching all the time about how “this school sucks.” More often than not it’s an inferiority complex centering around not getting into an Ivy League school and not having sports teams that can compete with our conference brethren. Our football team is, generously speaking, incompetent. And while the basketball team has made strides in recent years, never having made the NCAA Tournament makes it hard to consider it a successful program. Beyond that, gambling scandals, an epic soccer losing streak and the unfortunate death of Rashidi Wheeler have left our athletic department with both our eyes blackened, much like Dolly Parton after jogging without a bra.

When people conjure up images of NU baseball, their first and only thoughts are of Joe Girardi, the stumpy catcher on three of the World Series teams that the Yankees bought in the late 90s (I’m an extremely bitter Mets fan by the way). But in fact, 44 players have been drafted or signed by a Major League team during coach Paul Stevens’ tenure at the school. Mark Loretta currently starts for the Padres and Chris Nichting of the Rockies is on his way up to the show.

Last season the Cats took four-time national champion Miami to the edge of defeat, but lost to the Hurricanes in the 9th inning. Later in the year, they made it all the way to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, which is much more than the basketball team can say for itself.

The problem doesn’t seem to be the quality of play, it’s that students aren’t even aware that the team is playing. “I’ve never been to a baseball game, I don’t even know when the games are or the field is,” says NU senior Jonathan Shapiro. “Everyone knows that Saturday in the fall means football, and winter quarter is basketball, but I just don’t associate Northwestern baseball with the spring.”

Well, now is the time to associate yourselves. The team features J.A. Happ, a sophomore southpaw (um, left-handed pitcher for the newbies) who was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America Team last season. Another sophomore, shortstop Jon Mikrut, is one of the Big Ten’s top hitters this year, hitting above .400 with 12 multi-hit games thus far. And David Gresky and Anthony Wycklendt look to continue swinging hot bats after combining for 13 hits, 13 runs, and 19 RBIs in that Chicago State trouncing.

In addition, these are generally good guys who don’t get into the drunken brawls with Kappa Sig like some athletes, or get hit over the head with 2X4’s after breaking into people’s homes like others. And for the ladies out there, or alternative lifestyle gentlemen, the players are generally considered the most attractive of all of the men’s teams. As an anonymous Northwestern senior female said, “They are definitely the hottest guys out of any of the teams. I haven’t hooked up with any of them yet, but there’s still time.”

To top it off, the games are free, which you can’t beat in these tough economic times, thanks to the Bush administration. There are even give-a-way days and music at the games, which hasn't really been done before. “It's much more fan-oriented than it has been in the past,” Tharp says. “It's just a fun thing to do on a nice spring weekend. I know that when people come to our games they have a blast.”

So head up to Rocky Miller. I’ll even bring the keg and meet you up there for some great baseball action. And if you want to skip class and go down to Wrigley, I’ll even do that too.

Ben Golombek is still bitter about the Subway Series (go Yanks!). He refuses to listen to me, but maybe you can convince him that the Mets suck: b-golombek@norhtwestern.edu.