Lifestyle: Baseball Lament or a 3 and 2 count, bases empty
Baseball is my go to sport. My first real remembrance of enjoying the game was when I was about 5 and liked the St. Louis Cardinals hat. Clearly I had no idea where St. Louis was but the attraction to the hat made me a fan.
I would change alliances to a team depending on what uniform appealed to me. There was no internet , no national TV broadcasts. My baseball likes and dislikes were based on local TV broadcasts, newspapers and baseball cards.
The first game I ever attended was at Yankee Stadium ( the original one ) in 1958 where the Yankees faced the KC Athletics. Tickets were $3.50 for a box seat on the rail . My father’s friend, Harry Fisher took me to the game and a foul ball landed in his lap which he promptly handed over to me. I was totally hooked and have been a fan of the sport ever since.
I watched one of the first Met’s game in 1962 in the Polo Grounds when the Amazing Mets were so bad , they became a legend.
Fast forward to 2004 when the Red Sox won at Fenway during the famous bloody sock game and I braved the horrible weather to witness the event.
I have earned my baseball stripes for loyalty and enjoy the game as it was.
However, I do not like what is happening to the modern game and its new approach. The spirit of the sport is totally eroding and the soul of baseball has become sterile. The age of stats has made the game mechanical and boring.
Here are some of my observations which may not be novel but are quite annoying to me.
Bunting is either a foreign idea , not taught, or players find it beneath them to learn to bunt.
When do we see a hit and run, advancing a runner one base at time or a double steal?
Why can no one hit to the opposite field? When it does happen , announcers make such a big deal of it , you would think it has never happened before.
Who gives a shit about launch angles or all the other stats that are made up?
Here are the important stats. Wins, loses, runs batted in and ERA. You win with players who hit, know how to field and catch.
Pitchers need to pitch. What is this 100 pitch count about? Does a pitcher fall apart if they throw 101 pitches?
Did Warren Spahn, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford , Mickey Lolich, just to name some pitchers who consistency threw close to 300 innings a year and pitched for over a decade?
Why do so many players get hurt running the bases, chasing a fly ball or not even playing on the field?
Hitting a home run is great but striking out is no big deal anymore. How many players strike out over 150 times a season and are considered elite players?
Baseball is now played by bigger, faster, stronger players but they cannot hit a high fast ball or breaking pitch. Hitting 280 is ok but not anything spectacular, yet they get 15 – 20 million a year to do that.
It should not cost hundreds of dollars to go to a game yet it does it you want a decent seat.
Baseball has become bland, with a brand that falls flat. Even the broadcasters have become dull. I listen to games throughout the leagues through the magic of XM radio and the announcers talk more about some bobble head night instead of the game.
So baseball lords, better do something about it real soon. I will continue to listen and watch but you better not lose me.
Keep smoking