If you don't, stay with me for a little bit. Yes, this post is all about baseball, but I hope it won't be too boring for you if you're not a fan.
Tonight is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and every year it reminds me of why I love baseball. There are 162 regular season games, and any one of them can be great, just as any one of them can be boring or a dud. The All-Star Game is a one-shot where they players have a good time and show why they're the best of the best that year. While the playoffs and World Series may be more intense and have better quality games, there's just something that makes the All-Star Game enjoyable to watch. Maybe it's because I don't really care who wins all that much, or maybe it's because I know there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. Whatever it is, I really like it.
Many people don't like baseball, and wonder how you can enjoy a game that, in comparison to basketball, soccer, hockey, football, etc., is significantly slower. I like to think of it this way...
In basketball, there are 4 other people moving at the same time. Setting picks and positioning themselves to get open to either take the shot or pass it to you so you can take it. Similar with hockey and soccer. In football the quarterback relies on the blockers and receivers to make their plays so they can get the first down or a touchdown. However in baseball, it's the pitcher versus the batter. One on one. Yes, there are 8 other fielders and potentially men on base. But for that brief moment before every pitch, it's just the pitcher staring down the batter; and the batter waiting patiently for the next offering. Maybe that's why kids like baseball. Kids are inherently selfish, and a sport that offers them the opportunity to be the one star has to be appealing.
Living in North Carolina all my life, we've never had a professional baseball team. Growing up in the 90's it was fashionable to be a Braves fan, but I never really latched on to them. My affiliation for a team always went with little league. The City of Rocky Mount named their teams after pro teams, and when I played for those teams I always imagined myself playing in the big leagues, with people watching my every move. I was a Pirates fan, a Reds fan, and an Athletics fan...never really knowing anything about the teams that carried the same name as my little league teams. I played for three years under a team named after the Expos, and I became a huge fan. I had hats and t-shirts, and always played as them on my baseball video games. The problem there is that they were based out of Montreal, so going to see them play was never going to happen (even when I was in Montreal for a while, sadly the team had moved to DC). I decided that I needed to find another team to pull for.
One Saturday I was over at a friend's house and when we came in from playing outside the TV happened to be on CBS Saturday Baseball (yeah, a long time ago), and the Twins were hosting the Orioles. I kept hearing these guys talk about this one player and some kind of record streak he was chasing. That was Cal Ripken, Jr. I went through my baseball cards (of which I had a ton..) and learned more about him. I watched him play and liked how he handled himself. He wasn't flashy or cocky. He just went out there and played the game. I started to follow the Orioles and have been a fan ever since.
They say that baseball is America's national past time. I believe that to be true, but I think it extends beyond that. Baseball builds relationships, mostly between fathers and sons. Look at last night's Home Run Derby. Robinson Cano asked his father to pitch to him in the contest. Before the last and winning home run, his father looked at him and said "uno mas," to which Robisnon replied "uno mas. I love you dad." After it was over they embraced on the mound, with his father grinning from ear to ear.
Times change. Things change. People change. Places come and places go. Friends are made and friends are lost. Baseball doesn't change. No matter how old you get, as long as the game is around it's something you can talk about.
I think this is best summed up by a quote from the movie "City Slickers." A group of guys are debating about players, when the only woman in the group scoffs about it. They ask her if she doesn't like baseball, and she says that she just can't understand how guys can sit around and talk stats or ask who played what position in what year. They ask her what her friends talk about, and she says they talk about "real life;" relationships and so forth. Daniel Stern's character reflects for a moment and then says this:
"You're right, I suppose. I mean I guess it is childish. But when I was about eighteen, and my dad and I couldn't communicate about anything at all, we could still talk about baseball. That was real."
Now I can only partially relate to this as my dad and I have a great relationship, but we do always talk about baseball. It's timeless.
Before I go and stop boring you with my baseball ramblings, I have to give a shout out to my friend Rachel; an aspiring writer with a blog of her own that is a heck of a lot better written than mine, who gave my blog a plug on her, and who also wrecked face at our last poker night. Visit her blog: I Picked Up A Pen One Day...
Thanks, have a great night, and go out to the ballpark sometime. You might actually enjoy it.
After reading this, I may take the time to watch a baseball game this season... Or better yet, take my son to a game. ~ J.T. ~
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