Are you ready for some baseball?

Yep, while the area’s Major League dreams remain unfulfilled and its coinciding stadium renderings continue to seem more and more like an itch we’re perpetually kept from scratching, our baseball thirst can be quenched by way of our minor league option beginning this Friday.

That’s right, it’s time to play ball in Hillsboro and the Hops will do just that when they kick things off against Eugene in the first game of a three-game series with the rival Emeralds at 6:30 p.m. April 4 at Hillsboro Stadium.

Big deal? Yeah, if you’re a baseball fan.

The Hops aren’t a team-to-be-named-later, nor is their new stadium little more than a digital concoction.

They’re real, and they’re spectacular.

In their third full season at the High-A level, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ affiliate will again be the home of some of tomorrow’s MLB players and all-stars.

The 2023 National League Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll, played in Hillsboro.

So did two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson.

As did 2023 All-Star and Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo; Dbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy; Minnesota Twins pitcher Jhoan Duran; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and catcher Daulton Varsho; Diamondbacks outfielder Pavin Smith; amongst others, 11 of which helped lead the Diamondbacks to the World Series in 2023.

In all, nearly 60 former Hops have reached the major leagues, and more than 300 current or former MLB players have played in Hillsboro Stadium, formerly Ron Tonkin Field.

That’s not prospective stuff, but the actual thing, and by convenient means and at an affordable price.

Do I want Major League Baseball in Portland? Unquestionably.

Would I like one of the shiny new stadiums that the Portland Diamond Project has been dangling before us for the last handful of years? Of course.

But while my Major League dreams remain somewhere between a possibility and a pipe dream, my baseball wants and needs can be met over the next six months with a team that actually exists, and directly next door to a stadium I can see knee-deep in construction and nine months from completion.

Is it Dodger Stadium? Of course not, nor are the Hops the defending World Series Champs. But it’s the sport in its purest form, played at a high level, and in what will, a year from now, be a stadium that will provide a viewing experience second to none at the minor league level.

I’m not sideswiping the Portland Diamond Project or diminishing what could someday be the center of Portland’s sports universe — after all, we want the same things. But what I am doing and suggesting to others is that in the absence of what someday might be, why not enjoy what is.

The Hillsboro Hops are fun.

From their mascot, Barley; their regular gameday promotions; commitment to community; intimate environment; and importantly, the relatively affordable price, the team that presents minor league action provides a major league experience for fans who love, people getting to know, and kids getting their first taste of, a game that’s been entertaining this country for nearly 200 years.

So, while you’re waiting patiently for today’s Major League stars to arrive in the Rose City, grab your glove, cap, a friend or your family and enjoy tomorrow’s in Hillsboro where professional baseball is real — and it, too, is spectacular.