Basically, I took a long time to say I’m thankful 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. \u00a0And, 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

\u00a08.\u00a0\u00a0The box score.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BBRT editor\u2019s \u00a0mother 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

\u00a09.\u00a0The irony of a team game made up of individual performances<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\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\u00a0 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 yourmeasure of performance) \u2026 \u00a0and, you don\u2019t drive in 100 runs if no one gets on base in front of you.\u00a0 \u00a0And, 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 \u00a0duly 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 \u2013 even if the third baseman drops the ball and earns an error.\u00a0 Two individual results (one good \/ one bad) highlighted, but without the necessary team work \u2013 a good play on both ends \u2013 a negative outcome in terms of the game.<\/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

10. Baseball is a treat for all the senses<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 (Indoor ballparks fall a bit short here).<\/p>\n

The sight<\/em> 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<\/em> of the warm sun or a crisp evening breeze.\u00a0 The scent <\/em>of freshly mowed grass or steaming hot dogs.\u00a0 The taste<\/em> of cold beer and peanuts.\u00a0 The sound <\/em>of the crack of the bat, the cheers (or moans) of the crowd, the musical pitch of the vendors. \u00a0Baseball assaults all the senses \u2015 \u00a0in\u00a0 a good way.<\/p>\n

Now, I could list lots more reasons I’m thankful for this game: its combination of conformity (all infields are laid out the same) and individualism (outfield configurations not so much); its contributions to culture (literature and movies); its strategy (hit-and-run, run-and-hit, sacrifice bunts, infield \/ outfield positioning, pitching changes, the double-switch, etc.); triples; steals of home; the 6-4-3 double play; knuckleballs; Eddie Mathews (my boyhood hero); the 1957, ’65, ’87 and ’91 World Series; The Baseball Reliquary; hots dogs and cold beer; Twins’ Game 163 in 2009; The Society for American Baseball Research; and more.\u00a0 But to protect myself \u2013 and BBRT\u2019s readers \u2013 I\u2019ve limited myself to ten.\u00a0\u00a0 I probably could have saved a lot of time and words \u00a0had I just started with this so-perfect comment from sportscaster Bryant Gumbel, \u201cThe other sports are just sports.\u00a0 Baseball is love.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong> That says it all.<\/p>\n

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT<\/p>\n

Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) ; The Baseball Reliquary; Baseball Bloggers Alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Thanksgiving fellow baseball fans. \u00a0Just thought I’d share ten reasons why I am thankful for baseball (originally published here a few years ago under “Why I Love Baseball”). \u00a0Now, if a Thursday baseball game was only a Thanksgiving tradition (even if it had to be played in a domed stadium), turkey day would \u00a0be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n