8 Baseball Related Easter Egg Surprises from So Far This Season

Easter is upon us and with that comes plenty of traditions that have been carried on for many generations. Within those traditions are little colorful eggs that seem to liter households and yards every single year around this time, otherwise known as, Easter eggs.

Given the Easter theme this weekend, it's only right to connect it to the greatest game ever invented, baseball. When you open an Easter egg, there is a moment of surprise that comes because you don't know what you'll find inside or the emotions that will follow afterwards. As a kid when you opened an Easter egg, you were either happy and delighted because of what you found inside or disappointed and sad because you didn't like what was in there.

The same emotions can be said when it comes to baseball. So, here are 8 Easter egg related surprises that have happened so far this year.

1. Boston Red Sox disappointing start. - With this Easter egg, there have been plenty of moments of dread and frustrating moments as a Boston Red Sox fan. Frustrating due to the pitching struggles and now the concern regarding Nathan Eovaldi and dread because of the fact that the Tampa Bay Rays continue to play at an elite level, while Boston stays stuck in the cellar dweller of the American League East, seven games back of first place. It's still early and you have to think this bad start will eventually turn around, but nothing is guaranteed. The same can be said for an Easter egg hunt where there are no guarantees about how many eggs ( cough * wins * cough) you might get.

2. The New York Mets bullpen lack of shining under the spotlight. - Heading into the season, many fans around the game and New York Mets fans alike, expected the Mets to have one of the best bullpens in the league. However, to this point, that has certainly not been the case, as the Mets bullpen has combined for a 5.72 ERA over 74.0 IP, with the second most earned runs in all of baseball, 64. This example would be almost similar to a kid expecting a Reese's inside of an Easter egg, but getting a handful of sour patch jellybeans instead.

3. Rockies struggles to get on-base. - Granted, the Colorado Rockies have had a handful of impactful injuries to start this year, but still at the beginning of the season, they looked poised to be one of the more dangerous lineups in the game especially with the addition of Daniel Murphy. However, as it stands right now, the Rockies currently have the third worst on-base percentage in baseball (.274) and are tied with the, Toronto Blue Jays, for the fifth worst slugging percentage (.360). Connecting this to Easter, it's one of those Easter eggs that has been anything, but a delight.

4. Defensive obstacles for the Chicago Cubs. - On paper, you would expect the Chicago Cubs to be one of the better defensive teams in baseball, but that hasn't necessarily happened. To date, the Cubs currently have committed 18 errors, which ties them for the second most in all of baseball, with the Boston Red Sox and their neighbors on the Southside, the Chicago White Sox. Overall, that gives the Cubs the second worst fielding percentage (.973) and an overall Defensive Efficiency Rating of (.672), the third lowest in baseball.

5. M's star studded, powerful lineup. - Easter eggs might not necessarily make you gain muscle mass, but normal eggs do and that's exactly what has shown thus far for the Seattle Mariners. While some of the other offensive categories haven't necessarily went in Seattle's favor, they do lead all of baseball in home runs (49) and RBI (146) as it stands right now, and have the potential to continually outscore their opponents with the likes of Jay Bruce, Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham, and Edwin Encarnacion. The Mariners performance so far would be like expecting there to be 20 Easter eggs at an egg hunt, when in reality, there are twice as many making the hunt even more exciting.

6. Buccos loot on their surprise battleship. - Going into this year, many predicted or expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to likely play for the 4th or 5th spot in the National League Central, potentially the 3rd spot if everything clicked, given the competitiveness of the division. With that being said, heading into play today, the Pirates currently have a hold of first place in that division and have a 1 game lead over their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers. The loot might be there year in and year out for Pittsburgh, but their eggs are filled with pure gold this Easter.

7. Tampa Bay Rays dominating starting pitching. - On Easter, you might open up one of your eggs and find a candy that you weren't necessarily expecting. Well, for the Tampa Bay Rays that dream has come into a reality this Easter, as the team currently boasts a starting pitching cumulative ERA of 1.47 over 91.2 IP, nearly a half-a-run better than the second place team, the aforementioned, Pittsburgh Pirates. When you think of an Easter basket, it not only has eggs, but includes colorful grass at the bottom which is exactly what the Rays have laid so far this season.

8. Los Angeles Angels - home to the fewest strikeouts. - If Easter eggs were in the shape of strikeouts, the Los Angeles Angels would have the least amount of inventory. To date, the Angels lineup has struck out (116) times over the span of 644 at bats, the fewest in baseball. Whatever approach the Angels are using is obviously working, but this Easter if your looking to find a strikeout in your egg, don't look to the Angels for any help!