I Miss Baseball

Some might say "what do you mean that you miss baseball? We're only halfway through the first round of the playoffs. When they conclude, we still have the AL and NL pennants to decide and then the World Series. This is the exciting time of the year, what everybody plays for." That's true. The playoffs are exciting. The Rays, Dodgers, Bosox and Phils all lead 2-0 and overall the games have been competitive.

But there are so few games. In the first round, the most played on any given day will be 3. During the pennant playoff games, the most will be 2 and 1 during the World Series. Many days during the season you have as many as 15 games being played, 8 in the 16 team NL and 7 in the 14 team AL. Even on Mondays and Thursdays, the usual off-days, you may have a half dozen games being played. Those who know me may think that I'm just disappointed since my Yankees didn't make the playoffs. I am disappointed about that to be honest. Some might guess that I'm in a fantasy baseball league and I miss the action. I'm not.

I can watch my Yankees almost every evening during the regular season. (One of the few bad things about living in middle Tennessee is that Fox Saturday Baseball will almost always show a Braves, Cubs or Cards game when the Yanks are the other regional game. In addition, if the Yanks play an afternoon game that is not one of the Fox options, my Direct TV MLB sports package doesn't cover the game. Guess they have a deal with Fox. I hate Fox baseball.) If the Yanks are losing badly or sometimes if they're winning big, I can switch to another game. I can watch the Red Sox, hoping they'll lose. Once they get a big lead over whoever they're playing I can switch to another game. My choice may be determined by a particular pitching match-up or some new young hitter (e.g., Evan Longoria) or pitcher (Todd Lincecum) I want to see. It's fun to check out the 8th or 9th inning of a close game and when it ends go to the end of another close game. Since regular TV with few exceptions is a waste of time (sorry, but I have no interest in reality shows), this is my main entertainment. (Did I mention I'm retired?) While I'm watching the game, my wife is usually watching House Hunters or some similar show.

Besides the TV aspect, there's the newspaper and internet to consider. I love to pore over the baseball section of the sports pages while I have my morning coffee and toast, eggs, whatever. The internet is great but there's also something about having all the box scores, standings, today's schedule with pitching match-ups, league leaders, transactions and "this day in baseball" on one page for perusal rather than having to flip from screen to screen. I can see who were the stars the night before - who had multi-hit games, who threw 8 shutout innings only to have the closer blow it in the 9th because of the manager's pitch count obsession or his need to pump up the closer's save totals, what the pitiful attendance figures were for the Florida teams, etc. (I get the Tennessean delivered. It's pretty good about getting most of the late games into the paper.) I think that "this day in baseball" is used as a space filler rather than as an everyday feature. An example would be: June 24, 1962 - Jack Reed hit the only HR of his career in the top of the 22nd inning to give the Yankees a win over the Tigers. I remember seeing that game on TV.

The internet has a few advantages too. The box scores are much easier to read on-line and there are much more detailed write-ups of the individual games than the sentence or two you get in the paper.   In addition, the espn stats on line are much more comprehensive and you can just click on a player's name and get his whole career record. Besides ESPN.com I can also check the write-ups in other papers. I read the NY papers - the Times, News, Post or Newsday - and on occasion I check the L.A. Times, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, etc.

Now the sports section of the paper stinks. In two minutes, I'm finished reading. I have no interest in college football. I'll watch a pro game now and then but I don't read about it. Next is hockey which I have no interest in. My second favorite sport, basketball, doesn't get rolling til November 1st for the pros and a few weeks later for the colleges. I miss baseball.

Comments

[Eileen]

I think it will be a great day for the sport when baseball starts losing money. Maybe then, they will go back to day games, so more kids will be exposed to baseball, prices will go down at ball parks, maybe? How about real home teams, with guys making only good salaries, not exhorbitant ones, but having a home for years and years. Hey, everybody, read Doris Kearns Goodwin's baseball book!!!!! Those really were the days, and whether we know it or not, we are all poorer for their demise.

[bob]

I don't have much hope for more day games or lower prices but I agree it would be nice. I read the Doris Kearns Goodwin book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, "Wait Til Next Year". It was excellent as were her books about FDR, LBJ and Lincoln.