* Crossposted in SPORTS
* Crossposted in ML-BASEBALL
                     Baseball, the cure for what ails you.
In this age of on the go meals and remote clickeritis, I've seen young men
and women with a harried look that was once reserved for people many years
older. As I've gotten older, I've seen life become more urgent in nature.
"I want it done yesterday" has replaced "I want it done right" and a lot of
people are running around looking like they're candidates for coronaries at
age 25 and some of them look 10-15 years older than they really are. I've
heard some people who are my age complaining about some of their younger
co-workers and yet, I've seen them as more mature than I was when I was
their age but I've also noticed that they don't enjoy themselves after work
like I did. Oh, some of them play some kind of "racket" sport after work to
"relax" them but from their reactions while they're playing and their
aggitation after the match is over, I don't see how they can be "relaxed" by
what they're doing. Most of them watch the NBA or NFL and maybe even a few
of them watch hockey and they all but ignore baseball. For them, baseball is
a bore and they don't have time to watch it on TV, much less play it. If
only they could be kidnapped by their elders in the office and forced to
watch the game at the ballpark. Maybe, just maybe, the younger generation
might understand why baseball is still popular among the elder generation.
Forget the so-called bad boys of baseball because if THAT is going to turn
you off then you're the biggest hypocrite in the world because baseball's
bad boys are far fewer in number than they are in other sports. Baseball
isn't an MTV sport because it isn't as fast-paced as the other 3 of the
"Big 4" of sports and yet, a game can last as long as a football game or as
short or shorter than a hockey or basketball game. Yes, there are games
that are longer than 3 hours, however, it's not a big problem. Think about
it: just where did much of the problem with length of games come from. A long
game only disturbs TV mogels and 95% of the complaints come from them OR the
press who have a deadline to meet. When people were talking about long games
in the NFL, most fans didn't see it that way but the press and TV stations
were successful in waging a campaign that turned the perceptions of many
people toward their point of view and the NFL made changes to the game that
cut down the time (and number of possessions) that teams played a full game.
Since it was harder for baseball to make the kind of changes that could be
made in the NFL, it became a victim of the thought processes that allowed
them to shorten NFL games. Fans who once enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of
watching a game of baseball unfold were suddenly complaining that it was
taking too long for the game to finish. Like so many things, it was no longer
the "in" thing to stop and smell the roses; baseball was expected to speed up
or be left behind. If only those people would stop being so foolish.
Baseball is a social event that allows father and son, mother and daughter to
get a little closer or in some cases, give them something to talk about. I've
known guys who didn't have a close relationship with their father but when
they think about it, they can remember that the best times that they had was
when they were at the games and they had something to talk about. You go to
an NBA, NFL or NHL game, you don't have as much time to sit back and enjoy
the game or your company but you do at a baseball game.
The first thing that happens is that find yourself either "dressing down"
before you go to the park or unbuttoning your top button and removing your
tie because you've got to be comfortable for the next 2-3 hours. Maybe you've
paid for a scorebook or you've brought your own and you spend several minutes
getting yourself situated so that you'll be ready for that first pitch. A guy
on your left is showing his son how to score his first game while an old man
on your right is telling his grandson about the time he saw the Mick hit the
longest home run that he's ever seen in his life. The speakers are blaring
out a parade of rock and roll songs and the announcer takes time between the
songs to make general announcements. Maybe you got your hotdogs and beer
after you got your ticket or you've decided to wait until several minutes
before the anthem so you can make that last bathroom call before the game
starts. Either way, you're about ready for the game.
The game starts and you begin to keep score and that deal with XYZ Corp that
went bad suddenly doesn't matter anymore. Hell, you couldn't remember your
own mother's name now that you're immersed in tracking each pitch and that
tightening in your chest isn't there like it was 10 minutes ago. The first
pitch is a curve that is low and outside and the guy on your left tells his
son that the batter likes to hit high fastballs and he couldn't hit a curve
if his life depended on it and that's why he's been at AA for the last 3
years and he's probably on his last legs with the organization. You chuckle
softly because you've been thinking that for several years now and wonder why
the organization even allowed him to come back this year. Oh well, it's not
YOUR organization so you know that he won't be hurting your team any time
soon and there's a lot of comfort in that. You unconsciously note a ball in
your scorebook while this is going on and take a sip of your beer. The second
pitch is right down the middle but the umpire says that its low for ball two
and the crowd boos him. Pitch three is on the inside but the batter takes a
swing at it and the third baseman makes an easy play on it for the first out.
The rest of the inning is uneventful and for the next 3 innings, neither team
is able to get a man on base. Two guys behind you and to your left have been
talking about everyone that's come up and comparing them to some of the minor
leaguers that they've seen in the past while a kid in front is still babbling
proudly to his dad about how he made a catch of a foul ball. The beer man is
coming by but you're more interested in making a trip to the bathroom so you
head up the steps and make it back with 2 men on and no outs. You score the
rest of the inning and when it's over, you ask the guy on your left about the
two batters that you missed. He turns to his son and tells him that he needs
to change places with him so he can update you and his eyes get as big as
manhole covers. After you're finished, you thank the kid and he gets this big
smile on his face and another right of passage had been traversed. The man
beams proudly and you knod at him, knowing how he feels. The next inning is
about to begin so you turn your attention toward the field and you drift into
the zone.
For several more hours the game goes on and so do the events both on and off
the field. Several people have drifted closer to the field when it was
apparent that the seats weren't being used and your new neighbors bring new
insights and new conversations. A woman is busy wiping off the mustard from
her son's face and he looks more and more annoyed with each wipe. Two kids
wrestled over a ball that rolled down from several rows back and then one
finally gets control and his brother chases him several rows until he finally
gives up and positions himself several rows back so he can get his own ball.
A couple of guys in front of you are looking at their schedule so they can
make plans for next week and they look disappointed when they find out that
the team will be out of town for the next two weeks after tonight.
After the last out has been made, you look around and see that most of the
people that are left have scorebooks with them. Several of them begin to
talk with each other about the scoring and several are seen erasing lines
or filling in the gaps in their books. Jim Davis, the guy on your left, is
telling his son Roy that he did a pretty good job even for someone who had
been doing it for years and you can't help but share in the kid's pride
because you remember how you felt when your dad said the same thing to you.
As you walk out the gates to your car, you're not thinking about the dog or
the kids or XYZ Corp and you've made yourself a couple of friends in Jim and
Roy. Maybe baseball isn't as "sexy" as the NFL or the NBA, however, for 3
hours it's all that there is in the world and from what I've observed, the
fans walk out of the gates far less keyed up and more relaxed than they do
the other sports. I think that people who whine about baseball being too
slow haven't ever seen a game in person and don't understand what baseball
is all about and its social impact on this country. If you're one of these
people, take my advice and go to a couple of games. Don't do a scorebook
the first time that you go; just observe the game and the people around you.
Strike up a conversation with some people around you and get their slant on
the game. As you're going out the gate, take a look at the people coming out
with you and notice that most of them don't look like they've been in a high
pressured situation and years melted away from what they looked like when
they first walked in. If more of you watched baseball, we might not have as
many people walking around looking like they're one "Boo!" away from a major
coronary.
--- TrekEd 1.00
---------------