Where did April go? Seriously, did I miss the entire month between studying for those last few tests and trying to figure out exactly who Tom DeLay is? I realize that I don’t keep a calendar in my room, but someone should have let me know that we skipped April this year.

If any of you feel like me, fear not. Because while I might not have paid attention to what day it was or what my TA was trying to say, I did keep track of the one thing that’s synonymous with April: Major League Baseball.

Yes, April is the glorious month when ballparks all over America open up and thousands of fans flock to the concession stands to fulfill their much-needed stadium hot dog fix. And while many baseball analysts insist that nothing matters in April, I beg to differ. Plenty of things matter in April. Just not the date.

So you baseball fans who’ve spent too many hours in the library lately to catch Baseball Tonight, this is for you. I’ve compiled a list of 10 things from the first month that made headlines, caught eyes and, most importantly, gave me something to do in my lectures other than actually listen.

10. ESPN seems to have forgotten that Major League Baseball consists of more than two teams. In the first month, I couldn’t find a nationally televised game that wasn’t Yankees-Red Sox. I was willing to believe it may be purely coincidence until the ESPN commentators referred to New York and Massachusetts as “The United States of America.”

9. In a related story, a Boston fan got his season tickets revoked for taking a swipe at Gary Sheffield during a Yankees-Sox game at Fenway. Fortunately for the fan, boxing promoters watching the game were impressed, and he’s now slated to fight Mike Tyson in late July.

8. The Pope of the Catholic Church passed away. OK, so this doesn’t have anything to do with baseball, but I figure if you’ve been curled up in the corner of the Undergrad for the last month, you need to know.

7. Barry Bonds, fresh off speculation of steroid use, is out for an extended period of time due to injury. The injury report claims he will be out for “three months or the amount of time it takes for the steroid allegations to go away, whichever comes first.”

6. In his book, Jose Canseco called out Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and others for taking steroids. Due to the hype surrounding the allegations, Canseco’s book nearly tripled original sales projections and, as of press time, had sold 14 copies worldwide – two of which were to Canseco himself.

5. The Yankees, with a payroll of close to $200 million, have settled near the bottom of the American League East. With other lower salary teams finding success, George Steinbrenner’s team is proving that you can’t buy championships. Steinbrenner has successfully proven, though, that you can buy the souls of grown men.

4. The Arizona Diamondbacks, left for dead before the season began, are currently leading the National League West. One of the biggest surprises of the season thus far, the Diamondbacks are finding success without the help of big names. Nobody knows exactly how the team has been winning, but the 37 fans who have been to games this season think the team is for real.

3. The St. Louis Cardinals, in first place in the NL Central, have picked up where they left off at the end of last season. While the team seems to be cruising, a matchup with the Boston Red Sox looms in the distance. The Cardinals have stated their goal for that series is “to just win one this time.”

2. The Chicago White Sox, another team abandoned by the experts at the start of the season, have sprinted out of the gate to lead the AL Central. The team has gotten it done by manufacturing runs and receiving solid pitching. Apparently the Sox didn’t get the memo about “small ball” going out of style in the 80s.

1. The former Montreal Expos have become the Washington Nationals. The Nationals have enjoyed success in their new home thus far. Credit for their improvement is due in part to the players and managers, but more so to the new nickname. After all, a National could beat up an Expo, don’t you think?

So there you have it. Ten reasons not to miss April. Don’t let it happen again.