If you know me well, you were probably already anticipating this blog. Yep, it is my annual blog where I remind you that being a fan of baseball is the best type of fan to be. For starters, the gap between the Super Bowl and Opening Day is close to non-existent. Within two to three days of the Super Bowl, dedicated baseball fans watch their equipment truck take off from home base, and land at their team’s designated Spring Training site. Then within days of that ‘holiday’, it is time for pitchers and catchers to report. Just the mere thought of the players on the diamond creates anticipation of a new season, and Opening Day just around the corner. With a new baseball season, comes spring, summer and everything else that makes baseball ‘America’s sport’. I often hear people complain that baseball is ‘boring’ or that ‘the season is too long’ or the ‘game is too slow’. To that, I DISAGREE and thus beg to differ. I perceive it as a challenge to change your opinion, and make you appreciate every pitch, anticipate every play, and enjoy each summer night spent in a ballpark. Where the casual fan experiences boredom, the baseball fan experiences excitement and suspense.
If you think that baseball is boring, I want you to think about a few things that may help you gain a better understanding of the game and thus appreciation for the sport. Yes, the season is long: 162 games long per team and 2430 games long per MLB season. It is not realistic for anyone to watch every game, unless of course you are a lucky cave dweller in the MLB Fancave, which I strive to be in 2013. However, you need to realize how much work the players and coaches put in each day to keep up with this volume of competition and strain on one’s body. There is no time to rest, recover from a cold, go on a vacation, or ‘take your head out of the game’. Thus, the life of an MLB player is admirable and says a lot about one’s character. In addition, once the season starts, baseball is always there for you as a fan. Once you fall in love with a team like the Phillies, you can look forward to a game almost every day of the week. The Phillies play after a bad day at work, they play on a boring Sunday afternoon, they play on a 70 degree Friday night. They are friends in your living room day after day, regardless if you screamed obscenities at them the night before. Of course, I am not promising that your team won’t break your heart once, twice or 100 times…but that is all part of the fun. It isn’t exciting if your squad always wins 10-0.
Once you discipline yourself to actually ‘watch’ a game, you start to realize how hard it is to play baseball. It takes a lot of precision and concentration to throw a ball in the strike zone at 90 mph; and not just once, but sometimes over 100 times per game. Keep in mind that the strike zone changes for each player that comes to the plate. Have you ever tried to catch a foul ball at a game? Think about having to dive for one in the outfield, with the sun in your eyes, as it is carried by a 20 mph wind gust. Then having to stand up while seeing double and have to make a split second decision as to where your best play is…This is NOT easy and takes a talented and focused player to do so on a major league level. There is a ton of strategy in each play of baseball. As a player, you have to know your opponents individually. Who is a likely steal? Who covers a lot of ground in the outfield? Who throws a nasty sinker? Who should be walked intentionally? Instead of watching a game and feeling bored, think about all these things and appreciate each play. Learn what a balk is, ask why a pitcher would intentionally load the bases with two outs in an inning, understand why a pinch runner would come in the game in the ninth. Don’t just be a passive fan; become part of the game. Once you start to appreciate multiple aspects of the game, you will realize that what once made baseball seem slow, is really what makes it intense and suspenseful. You have to wait between pitches to see the next play, you have to pay attention at all times to catch a good steal, etc. Eventually you will find yourself biting your nails off or plowing through a bag of peanuts to help with the feelings of angst when watching a game.
On top of all that the actual game has to offer, there is nothing like spending a summer afternoon or evening in a ball park. As a friend and I have embarked on our mission to watch a game in every MLB park, I have learned to appreciate the things in each park. The museum of Yankee stadium, each seat facing home plate in Citifield, the bar in the outfield at US Cellular, the Liberty bell that rings at The Bank every time a home run is hit, the good ole Fenway Frank, the fans and traditions that each park holds…These are all things that keep a fan coming back day after day; year after year.
I realize that everyone isn’t going to fall in love with baseball as much as I have, but as the 2013 season unfolds, promise me one thing. Slow down, take a look around the diamond, take a deep breath in, and try to appreciate the little things the game has to offer. And at the end of the day, becoming a Phillies fan may also help you learn to love the game.
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