“Well, it took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball, and I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.” -Hank Aaron
You may fall into the camp of “baseball is the most boring sport known to man.” Fair enough.
It is true that you sit and watch and sometimes nothing, absolutely nothing, happens that merits excitement. A grounder to first. Step on the bag. Out. A fly ball to center caught. Out. Maybe a single hit up the middle. Yawn. Swingand- a-miss strikeout. And the half inning is over without a hint of physical exertion, unless you are vendors walking up and down the steep aisles selling beer.
So, what’s the draw for this sport that has a generational tug for my family?
Let’s start with those expensive concession- stand items. That hot dog does cost a lot, but I promise it tastes better at the ballpark. Many teams put a special regional spin on their particular food items. A glance at the Boston Red Sox concessions guide shows that lobster rolls and crab-cake sandwiches are hot items.
But my family loves baseball for more than just peanuts and Cracker Jacks. This sport feeds our fascination for sports strategy and skilled finesse. Sure, golf has some of the same qualities, but it isn’t a team sport. Football’s emphasis is on strength, size, speed and athleticism. Baseball celebrates a middle-aged man with a gut because he can throw a knuckleball.
America’s Pastime arguably requires more hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes than any sport other than jacks. Not sure how many humans on the planet can hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball while at the same time being careful not to get twisted up like a pretzel while swinging at (and missing) a 50-mph changeup. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a milliondollar hitter in agony after leaving home plate embarrassed by a curveball.
Check the Texas Rangers schedule. Do yourself a favor and spend the $100 on food, sit in the outfield bleachers, and don’t worry about the Texas heat (the new Globe Life Field ballpark has a retractable roof, so I am told).
I have not attended a major league game in years, but that may change this summer. I want some of that ice-creamin- a-helmet.
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thoughtprovoking commentary appears occasionally in several West Texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
