Baseball is community in miniature.
Okay. So I'm a little crazy about this part of my life. I'll own up to it, gladly.
There is just something almost "spiritual"--not trying to offend anyone here, honest--about sitting and watching and scoring and talking out of the side of your mouth so as to not miss a single move on the field.
There is a community spirit at work here. The goal is to complete the diamond. The game demands teamwork, cooperation, confrontation, accountability, constant judgment, outcomes evaluation, forecasting and prayer with every pitch!
Baseball is conducive to meditation, healthy boredom and simply slowing down the pace of things in an out of control world. 
Camaraderie is always afoot at the ball park--on the field, in the clubhouse and in the stands. Why, even the beer, popcorn, hot dog, cotton candy and nut guys are just happy to be on board!
Baseball is urban, yet country. Increasingly shaped by technology, but playing out in a simple, "from the days of yesteryear" sort of way.
I watch the Pirates whenever I can (which is seldom here in Texas)--it started when I was just a kid. Something about Bill Mazeroski's series winning homer in the bottom of the ninth against the Yankees at old Forbes Field when I was 10-years-old . Mazeroski's home run capped an improbable victory by the Pirates, who were out scored in the series, 55-27. The Pirates were shout out twice in their three losses, losing by scores of 16-3, 10-0, 12-0, while their biggest margin of victory in their four wins was three runs.
So, I confess, I'm in Pittsburgh today.
Tomorrow I watch the Pirates take on the Mets. It doesn't matter that they are 18 games out of first place in the National League Central Division behind the St. Louis Cardinals. . .doesn't matter at all!
I'm just glad to be here and I'll be really glad when someone yells "Play ball!"
[Ackerman, wish you were here to show me around!]
9 comments:
I hope yunz are having a great time! Be sure to have some pierogies and a cheese steak Primanti Sandwhich while your at the game for me!
Lets Go Bucs!
Keith Ackerman
Larry -
You and I just might have been separated at birth. Baseball and social justice would probably be two favorite things. Enjoy yourself!
How did you become a Pirate fan? I remember the 1960 Mazeroski homerun. I grew up near Pgh, but never had the money to go to any games.
How are things in Pgh?
Harold Shank
I'm sorry guys, but baseball is the sport of the pastoral past that is all but gone, except as fond memory. Less than 3% of Americans now live on the farm.
When life was slow, we had time for four hour games in the afternoon sunlight and open fields where the outfielders could run forever after the ball.
It's time to move on into the 21st century. Into the city, urban life and the ubiquitous measurement of time by seconds, tenths of seconds and hundredths of seconds.
It's even time to get a cell phone.
This is my favorite series of posts of all time! When do I get to read Ackerman, Field, Shank and Greenan????
Went to Primanti on the strip for lunch, Keith! Fish sandwich was great! Tomorrow it is Michigan State vs. Pitt (this should get an additional rise out of Greenan!).
Chris this is just something about the balance of the game that connects the soul to concern for equity.
Harold, ironically, it was my love for the Yankees that endeared me to the Bucs. I watched the final game of the 1960 series when I was 10. Even though I was a Yank fan, the amazing win by the Pirates hooked me.
Greenan, your analysis is correct, of course. Which is exactly why I love baseball. Let me off the merry-go-rouond once in awhile! A few years ago I enjoyed the process of coaching 4th and 5th grade inner city kids in baseball. None had ever played. By the end of those seasons we had a group of kids who not only were pretty good, they loved each other and were a team.
BTW--it is about time you got a cell phone! Now, when will I get the number!
Larry,
PNC Park is a real jewel. Make sure you check out Manny's Barbeque while you are there.
Shaun
Glad that you made it to the Strip! Hopefully you'll make it over to Oakland - now the Pitt Campus - to stand on the spot where Maz smacked it out 10/13/1960!
Bottom line - baseball is a talkin' sport - one that has 120 plus year old tradition and an under appreciated amount of strategy. Nothing was more fun for me than coming down with "baseball fever" every opening day from 1977 - 1986 and sitting between my father and Grandfather at Three Rivers Stadium - some of the fondest memories of my life! Not only can I recall specifics of those games but also the conversations that were intertwined between a "Pops" Stargell stretch at first and a "Cobra" Parker rocket launch throw from deep right. Baseball truly has served as a positive distraction in my life and a source of "ice breaking" conversations which have resulted in positive results/alliances in ministerial work! Baseball is a talkin' sport.
Baseball… boring! But football… now that’s a different story! I cut my teeth on Alabama football. My dad was finishing his Ph.D. at Alabama and I remember going to the games when I was 3 and 4 years old. (My dad once accidentally ripped the arm off a rocking chair during a tense moment in an Alabama game!)
Here’s a trip down memory lane… Do you remember 1/1/79 in the Superdome? James Ganus gave us all tickets to the Sugar Bowl – Alabama beat Penn State for the National Championship in a great game.
Rhonda Gray
Rhonda, I do remember that game! New Orleans provided amazing memories!
BTW--really enjoyed having Daniel in class last weekend!
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