Here it is... the first series of the season, and teams all across the country are starting off with one goal in mind - a World Series title. But there's another reason I'm excited today... another new beginning... the beginning of my partnership with weplay.

I'm here in Philadelphia, getting ready for a game with the Washington Nationals and there's a lot of excitement all over town. No matter where you go, you see fans all over Philly wearing their Phils hats, which is real cool. This is my fourth year here and the city expects a lot out of us after we made the playoffs last season. And we also expect a lot from ourselves and there's a lot of optimism in the clubhouse.

But no one is forgetting how last season ended, and that's what we're going to be playing for all year long. We've gotten a taste of the postseason, but now we want to the whole steak dinner... a World Series title. In the meantime, I'm going to keep this updated here on my blog and hope you all check it out from time to time.

Meanwhile, my family back in St. Louis is gathering some of their favorite home movies and pictures of me as a kid, so I'll be posting that soon...

Alright all, it's time to play ball so I'll check back with you all later,

Ryan Howard