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<\/a>Opening Day … A Gift Waiting to be Opened!<\/p><\/div>\n
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- Baseball comes along every spring, accompanied by sunshine and optimism.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Baseball is the harbinger of better times.\u00a0 It signifies the end of winter (not a small thing if you\u2019re from Minnesota) and the coming of spring, a season of rebirth, new life and abundant optimism.\u00a0\u00a0 Each season, you start with a clean slate.\u00a0\u00a0 Last year\u2019s successes can still be savored but last year\u2019s failures can be set aside (although rival fans may try to refresh your memory), replaced by hope and anticipation.\u00a0\u00a0 On Opening Day, in our hearts, we can all be in contention.<\/p>\n
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- B<\/span>aseball is timeless and, ultimately, fair in the offering of opportunity.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The clock doesn\u2019t run out.\u00a0 No matter what the score, your team gets its 27 outs and an equal opportunity to secure victory.\u00a0 What could be more fair?\u00a0 And then there is the prospect of \u201cextra\u201d innings, bonus baseball for FREE.<\/p>\n
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- Plays and players are distinct (in space and time).<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Baseball, while a game of inches, is also a game of considerable space.\u00a0\u00a0 The players are not gathered along an offensive line or elbow-to-elbow under a basket. They are widely spaced, each with his own area of responsibility and each acting (as part of a continuing play) in their own time frame.\u00a0 (On a groundout, for example, the first baseman can\u2019t catch the ball until after the shortstop throws it.)\u00a0\u00a0 This enables fans to follow, understand and analyze each play (maybe not always accurately) in detail.\u00a0 \u00a0And, baseball\u2019s distinct spacing and timing makes it possible to see the game even when you are not there.\u00a0 A lot of people grinned at President Gerald Ford\u2019s comment that he \u201cwatched a lot of baseball on the radio.\u201d\u00a0 In my view, he was spot on.\u00a0 You can see baseball on the radio \u2013 you can create a \u201cvisual\u201d of the game in your mind with minimal description.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why on summer nights, in parks, backyards and garages across the country, you\u2019ll find radios tuned to the national past time.<\/p>\n
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- The scorecard.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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<\/a>Scorecards piling up.<\/p><\/div>\n
Can there be anything more satisfying than keeping an accurate scorecard at the ball park?\u00a0 It serves so many purposes.\u00a0 The keeping of a scorecard ensures your attention to the happenings on the field.\u00a0 Maintaining the score card also makes you, in a way understandable only to fellow fans, more a part of the game.\u00a0\u00a0 That magical combination of names, numbers and symbols also enables you to go back and check the progress of the game at any time.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Johnson\u2019s up next.\u00a0 He\u2019s walked and grounded out twice.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s also a conversation starter, when the fan in the row behind you asks, \u201cHow many strikeouts does Ryan have today?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And, it leaves you (if you choose to keep it) with a permanent record of the game, allowing you to replay it in your mind (or share it with others) at will.\u00a0 Ultimately, a well-kept score card enhances the game experience and offers a true post-game sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n
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- The long season<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Baseball, as so many have pointed out, is a marathon rather than a sprint.\u00a0 It\u2019s a long season with ample opportunity to prove yourself and lots of chances to redeem yourself.\u00a0 For fans, the long season also represents a test of your passion for the game.\u00a0 Endurance is part of the nature of the true baseball fan.\u00a0 And, and in the end, the rigors of a 162-game season prove your mettle and that of your team.\u00a0\u00a0 Not only that, but like a true friend \u2026 baseball is there for you every day.<\/p>\n
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- The pace of the game invites contemplation<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Although the relatively new pitch clock has altered this perception a bit, baseball still offers a \u201cpace of game\u201d that invites contemplation. Between innings, between batters, during pitching changes, sometimes even during a plate appearance, baseball leaves us time to contemplate what just occurred, speculate on what might happen next and even share those thoughts with nearby spectators.\u00a0 Baseball is indeed a thinking person\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
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- Baseball invites, encourages, even demands, conversation.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Reason number six hinted at the importance of conversation, noting that the pace of the game offers time to contemplate the action (past and future) and share those thoughts with others.\u00a0\u00a0 I love that about the game, but I also love the fact that whenever baseball fans gather, their passion comes out in conversation \u2013 and they find plenty to talk about:<\/p>\n
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- Statistics, statistics, statistics. Baseball and its fans will count anything.\u00a0 Did you know that Yankee Jim Bouton\u2019s hat flew off 37 times in his 2-1, complete-game victory over the Cardinals in game three of the 1964 World Series?\u00a0 More seriously, statistics are part of a common language and shared passion that bring baseball fans together in spirited conversation.\u00a0 As best-selling author Pat Conroy observed \u201cBaseball fans love numbers.\u00a0 They love to swirl them around in their mouths like Bordeaux wine.\u201d\u00a0 I agree, to the fan, statistics are intoxicating.<\/li>\n
- Stories, stories, stories. Baseball and its fans celebrate the game\u2019s history.\u00a0 And, I\u2019m not talking just about statistics.\u00a0 I\u2019m also talking about the stories that give this great game color, character and characters \u2013 from Rube Waddell\u2019s zaniness to Joe DiMaggio\u2019s elegance or from Rickey Henderson\u2019s baserunning bravado to Hamon Killibrew\u2019s stoic power. \u00a0And, there also are moments in time that mark hardball history, like Ty Cobb sharpening his spikes on the dugout steps, Babe Ruth\u2019s called shot, Willie Mays\u2019 basket catch, Dock Ellis\u2019 LSD-fueled no-hitter.<\/li>\n
- Trivia, trivia, trivia. This may fall close to the \u201cstories, stories, stories\u201d category, but fans cherish the trivia that surrounds our national past time \u2013 whether that trivia is iconic or ironic.\u00a0 For example, it\u2019s ironic that iconic Yankee slugger Babe Ruth holds the best winning percentage against the Yankees of any pitcher with 15 or more decision against them (17-5, .773) or that the Bambino stole home more times than base-stealing icon Ricky Henderson.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Basically, I took a long time to say I love the fact that baseball fans will talk with passion about something that happened in today\u2019s game, yesterday\u2019s game, over time or even in a game that took place on August 4, 1947.\u00a0 And, as a bonus, all this conversation \u2013 all the statistics, stories and trivia \u2013 make the games, moments within the games and the characters of the game (heroes, goats and mere participants) as timeless as baseball itself.<\/p>\n
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- The box score.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Box-Score-300x249.jpg\")
<\/a>Today’s box score – a thing of beauty.<\/p><\/div>\n
My mother used to refer to an accordion as \u201can orchestra in a box.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how I view the daily box score \u2013 the symphony of a game recorded in a space one-column wide by four inches deep.\u00a0\u00a0 Some would say the box score reduces the game to statistics, I would say it elevates the game to history.\u00a0 What do you want to know about the contest?\u00a0\u00a0 Who played where, when?\u00a0 At bats, hits, stolen bases, strikeouts, errors, caught stealing, time, attendance, even the umpires\u2019 names?\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s all there and more \u2013 so much information, captured for baseball fans in a compact and orderly space.\u00a0 I am, of course, dating myself here, but during baseball season, the morning newspaper, through its box scores, is a treasure trove of information for baseball fans.<\/p>\n
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- The irony of a team game made up of individual performances<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
While baseball and baseball fans live for individual statistics and, while the spacing of the players drives individual accountability, the game is, ironically, deeply dependent on the concept of \u201cteam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consider the offense.\u00a0 Unlike other sports, where you can deliver victory by giving the ball or puck \u2013 time and time again (particularly as the clock runs down) \u2013 to your best runner, skater, receiver or shooter, in baseball, your line-up determines who will be \u201con the spot\u201d and at the plate when the game is on the line.\u00a0 It may be your .220-hitting second basemen, rather than your .320-hitting outfielder.\u00a0 Yet, even as the team depends on the hitter, he is totally alone in his individual battle with the pitcher.\u00a0 And, achieving individual statistics that signify exceptional performance also demands a sense of team.\u00a0 You don\u2019t score 100 runs without a team mate to drive you in (although the statistic remains your<\/u> measure of performance) \u2026\u00a0 and, you don\u2019t drive in 100 runs if no one gets on base in front of you.\u00a0\u00a0 And, can you think of any other sport that keeps track of \u2013 and honors \u2013 the team-oriented \u201csacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n
On defense, the story is the same.\u00a0 A ground ball pitcher, for example, needs a good infield behind him to optimize his statistical presence in the \u201cwin\u201d column.\u00a0 And the six-four-three double play requires masterful teamwork as well as individual performance \u2013 duly recorded in the record books as an assist for the shortstop, a putout and an assist for the second baseman and a put out for the first baseman.\u00a0 Then there is the outfield assist \u2013 a perfect throw from a right fielder to nail a runner at third earns an assist and the third baseman a putout.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, baseball is a game of individual accomplishments that must be connected by the thread of \u201cteam\u201d to produce a positive outcome.<\/p>\n
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- Baseball\u2019s assault on the senses. (Indoor ballparks fall a bit short here).<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The sight of a blue sky and bright sun above the ballpark or a full moon over a black sky above a well-lit stadium.\u00a0 The feel of the warm sun or a crisp evening breeze.\u00a0 The scent of freshly mowed grass or steaming hot dogs.\u00a0 The taste of cold beer and peanuts.\u00a0 The sound of the crack of the bat, the cheers (or moans) of the crowd, the musical pitch of the vendors.\u00a0 Baseball assaults all the senses \u2015 in a good way.<\/p>\n
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Now, I could go on and on, there are lots more reasons to love this game:<\/p>\n
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- Its combination of conformity (all infields are laid out the same) and individualism (outfield configurations not so much);<\/li>\n
- Its contributions to culture (literature and movies);<\/li>\n
- Its strategy (hit-and-run, run-and-hit, sacrifice bunts, infield \/ outfield positioning, pitching changes, etc.);<\/li>\n
- Triples;<\/li>\n
- The 6-4-3 double play;<\/li>\n
- Knuckleballs; and<\/li>\n
- More.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But to protect myself \u2013 and you readers \u2013 I\u2019ve limited myself to ten.\u00a0\u00a0 I probably could have saved a lot of time and words had I just started with this so-perfect comment from sportscaster Bryant Gumbel, \u201cThe other sports are just sports.\u00a0 Baseball is love.\u201d\u00a0 That says it all.<\/p>\n
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Baseball Roundtable – Blogging Baseball Since 2012.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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I tweet (on X) baseball @DavidBaseballRT<\/h3>\n
- Baseball\u2019s assault on the senses. (Indoor ballparks fall a bit short here).<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- The irony of a team game made up of individual performances<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- The box score.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Baseball invites, encourages, even demands, conversation.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- The pace of the game invites contemplation<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- The long season<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- The scorecard.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Plays and players are distinct (in space and time).<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- B<\/span>aseball is timeless and, ultimately, fair in the offering of opportunity.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n