A new baseball season starts today, and I enter the season with one hope — a World Series for my beloved Nationals — and one ambitious goal.

This arose from a discussion with my brother Pat at a game last year about celebrities and their engagement with fans.  Too much of the season was already gone to try it then, but with 2013 fresh, I’m giving it a shot.  I’m going to try to get all 23 members of my fantasy baseball team to sign a single baseball.

This baseball, to be exact:

I haven’t figured out all of the logistics of making this happen, but it will involve both contacting teams and engaging with players through social media.  My hope is to get a few of the more-likely-to-help guys first, and have that snowball to help convince the more reluctant.

As for the players, I naturally wanted guys I generally like.  So I drafted two teams to be safe, allowing myself to make two roster changes to each one.  After careful consideration, and consultation with another adviser, here’s my squad:

-Ryan Doumit C/OF Min
-Adam LaRoche 1B Was
-Howie Kendrick 2B LAA
-Ryan Zimmerman 3B Was
-Ian Desmond SS Was
-Bryce Harper OF Was
-Adam Jones OF Bal
-Michael Morse OF Sea
-Josh Willingham OF Min
-Nick Markakis OF Bal
-Wil Myers OF TB
-Jason Kubel OF Ari
-Jed Lowrie SS Oak
-Logan Morrison 1B/OF Mia
-Stephen Strasburg P Was
-David Price P TB
-Ross Detweiler P Was
-Sergio Romo P SF
-Tim Lincecum P SF
-CJ Wilson P LAA
-Tommy Milone P Oak
-Josh Becket P LAD
-Tommy Hanson P LAA

I feel pretty good about this group, both about the chances of this project being a success and also my team doing well in the fantasy league.  Naturally, I cannot make any changes as the year goes on, so I’m rolling with what I’ve got.

Of course, this being related to fantasy baseball, my team needs a cool name.  This one is called RutherfordMaysHayes:

The other squad, which I will be comparing at the end of the year, has an even better logo to go with the name GrumpyNat:

I will be posting regular updates here as the season goes on.  To make it simple, this link will bring everything from this project, with the latest post on top.  I’m also creating a separate blog specifically to track it, which I envision also including a little talk of how the team is performing.

Now go enjoy Opening Day!  I’ll be taking in the Nats’ opener at this wonderful spot: