Take Me Out to the Ball Game

            Baseball is one America’s favorite and oldest past times. There is tremendous history and tradition associated with the game, and compared to the other major sports in America, it is still mostly governed by its original rules and procedures. For me personally, there are many feelings affiliated with Baseball. When I think back to the late 90’s to mid 2000’s Boston Red Sox, I get a warm feeling of happiness. It reminds me of being in my late teen years and early twenties, watching this incredible group of players make history. It was so exciting, and was a visceral experience. When the Red Sox lost in 2003 to the Yankees, I felt like my heart had been ripped out. It was like time stopped until the next season. I knew they were going to win in 2004. There was zero doubt.

            It’s not just that I feel connected to this team through our shared failures and triumphs. It is also a source of pride for my home city, Boston. I lived in Colorado for a couple of years, and the pizza place I worked at was owned by a couple of guys from New Jersey. Most people from New Jersey are Yankees fans, and this is the rival team of the Red Sox. It was fun, having competitive banter with them. But more to the point, it gave me a sense of home when I was pretty far away from home. I could meet other folks coming into the restaurant who were from Boston, and we were able to have that nice moment of comradery. Being a fan of the Sox gave me a sense of home.

Another way that I engaged with Baseball back then was through fantasy sports. I don’t play so much anymore, as it tends to get pretty intense and laborious, but I had a few good years of playing. Baseball is full of so many interesting statistics, and there is so much more to observe and calculate than most sports. For example; when one is picking his quarterback to start on a given week in fantasy football, he is mostly just considering the health of the offense around the quarterback, and the other team’s defensive skill level. With Baseball and selecting a starting pitcher, you have to consider the stadium, the batting statistics of all nine players against your pitcher (as well as worrying about potential pinch hitters), your pitchers energy level, his teams bullpen, his teams offense, etc. It is more complicated, and there are so many more variables. Baseball appears to attract a more patient and analytic audience. What I enjoy about Baseball is that it manages to steer clear of some of that “meat head” mentality that is often associated with professional sports.