What
is it about baseball that enthralls so many people? It isn’t the fastest moving game, and it certainly is not a
game of much physical contact -- in fact, there are some players that would not be considered to be in the best physical condition -- games can last for over three hours, and they even have a time to stand and stretch after the seventh inning. So,
what is it about baseball that attracts fans from all over the world?
I started playing the sport at the young age of six, and I would continue to play throughout all of my teenage years. With every sport that has come and gone in my life, baseball has stayed. The love of baseball was handed down to me as a tradition. I did not choose to become a Giants fan, was born into this. From a very young age, I was going to baseball games with my father, wearing Giants gear, and rooting for my favorite players. And I am still doing those same things so many years later.
But baseball is not just a favorite for those of us who had the chance to play; there are diehard fans that have never even felt the dirt of the infield on a new pair of cleats, or smelled the fresh cut grass of the outfield. But all the same, they love this game.
Us fans don’t look at our team as being some separate entity, we think of ourselves as being a part of the team. We are right there in the dugout with the rest of the team, and when they win, we win. You can feel the anticipation of every pitch, feel your muscles twitch as the batter readies to swing. It is an emotionally charged game; that is for sure. But it is also a game that is played in your head. Baseball is also all about the numbers. The statistics that are on paper off the field are just as important as the skills that are on the field. Each and every at bat is a small battle that is being played with both mind and body. A pitcher is not just thinking about throwing the ball as hard as he can, he is thinking about a batters on base percentage, how well does he hit against a right hander, or a left hander, how well does he hit behind the count, how many runners are already on base? These are all just some of the factors that go into one of the maybe one hundred pitches a pitcher will throw in a game.
I started playing the sport at the young age of six, and I would continue to play throughout all of my teenage years. With every sport that has come and gone in my life, baseball has stayed. The love of baseball was handed down to me as a tradition. I did not choose to become a Giants fan, was born into this. From a very young age, I was going to baseball games with my father, wearing Giants gear, and rooting for my favorite players. And I am still doing those same things so many years later.
But baseball is not just a favorite for those of us who had the chance to play; there are diehard fans that have never even felt the dirt of the infield on a new pair of cleats, or smelled the fresh cut grass of the outfield. But all the same, they love this game.
Us fans don’t look at our team as being some separate entity, we think of ourselves as being a part of the team. We are right there in the dugout with the rest of the team, and when they win, we win. You can feel the anticipation of every pitch, feel your muscles twitch as the batter readies to swing. It is an emotionally charged game; that is for sure. But it is also a game that is played in your head. Baseball is also all about the numbers. The statistics that are on paper off the field are just as important as the skills that are on the field. Each and every at bat is a small battle that is being played with both mind and body. A pitcher is not just thinking about throwing the ball as hard as he can, he is thinking about a batters on base percentage, how well does he hit against a right hander, or a left hander, how well does he hit behind the count, how many runners are already on base? These are all just some of the factors that go into one of the maybe one hundred pitches a pitcher will throw in a game.
So this is why we love this game so much. It is more than a simple game of catch; it is strength, speed, endurance, and numbers. Baseball is a cold beer and a hotdog on a warm spring day, it is a pile of empty peanut shells at your feet, and a voice that is hoarse from cheering on your favorite team. And most of all, for me, baseball is memories. It is my brother and I playing catch on the street, pretending to be our favorite players Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell. It is my first baseball glove that I got to break by placing a ball in it and wrapping it with a rubber band, sleeping with it under my mattress for a week. Baseball is my youth, and it is the youth of many of us. It has the ability of unifying people who might not have otherwise had a single thing in common, but we are all behind our team. And we all came to win.
This blog is my attempt to pay homage to this great American pass time. I will share stories from others about their love of the game, explore what motivates players, look at the numbers side of baseball, and maybe try to bring a new found appreciation of the sport to a few non-believers. Comments and personal stories about baseball are always welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment