The Beauty of Baseball

For well over 100 years the game of baseball has captivated audiences across America and even amid steroid allegations the popularity of "America's favorite pastime" continues to grow.

So the question must be asked, what makes baseball such a special game to watch? The answer is simple, all it takes is a ball and a stick.

Growing up I lived on a street with a cul-de-sac and daily during the summer all the boys in the neighborhood would come out and play baseball until we only had a sliver of light shining down upon us from a nearby street light. Countless summer hours were spent lobbing a tennis ball and smacking it around the street. Sure we played other sports like football or hockey, that was the time everybody owned a pair of rollerblades, but getting a group of people who were skilled enough in those sports was not as easy as finding somebody to just fill a spot in the field of a baseball game. Eventually, people started to move away and we all grew older and the game started to fade from the street and now only the ghosts from my childhood continue to play during the summer months.

Baseball might not have this meaning to everybody, but one cannot the deny the influence baseball has had upon our country's history. Babe Ruth, Willy Mays, Jackie Robinson and countless others continued to carry the flame of baseball for more than a century, which is why players of today like Ken Griffy Jr., Randy Johnson and Albert Pujols have been given the opportunity to play. All these individuals have transcended time after leaving their mark upon society. But it takes more than players to carry on baseball lore, it takes fans who attend a major league ballpark with a bag of peanuts in one hand and a hot dog in the other.

Since baseball is an individual game which requires a team, it's a beautiful thing to watch a hitter try and catch up to a 95 mph fastball. It's beautiful to see a player come to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and hit a walk-off home run to win the game. It's also beautiful to watch diving plays and double plays.

Baseball might not have the colossal hitting seen in football or the high-scoring games of basketball but sitting in a baseball stadium watching nine players run out to the field and a lone batter walk into the box is something unique. That hitter knows he will fail at least 70 percent of the time, which is a good ratio since some players are even less successful. Few sports can make the claim that the product they produce can be so effective when a team is only successful 30 percent of the time on offense.

Baseball works because it means summer has arrived and its time to shed the winter coats in favor of a pair of sun glasses, a t-shirt and a baseball cap. Going to a Major League Baseball game during the summer and hearing the roar of the crowd, the crack of a wooden bat and the countless number of vendors yelling "Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, get 'em here!" is something special. It's special because the game transports the audience back in time to the days of childhood games. Baseball also provides a place to spend an afternoon or evening with family and friends. Baseball is Americas favorite pastime.