or at least a day, let’s forget all the things that drive us crazy about pro sports
Forget that athletes are paid millions to play – and sometimes behave – like kids.
Forget that we help pay for the luxury of their clubhouses and the conveniences in their stadiums that allow teams to “remain part of the fabric of the community.” Forget that escalating ticket prices also help pay for those clubhouses and stadiums.
Forget all that.
Because above all else, baseball is much more than a game played on a financial ledger.
It allows us to form bonds and maintain relationships, with each other and the past. It allows us to carry on a conversation when there’s nothing else to talk about.
It links today with yesterday and this season with 20 seasons ago, not only to the players and the games over the years but also the social and economic state of the country. Can’t get a kid interested in U.S. history? Try drawing a connection with baseball. They’ve played it since 1839.
Most of all, I love this game because …
* My buddy can call me from the upper deck at Wrigley Field and describe how green the ivy is and what the scene is like on Waveland Avenue. It allows me to tell him, “I’m happy for you; enjoy the experience. But as a Cardinals fan, the Cubs still stink.”
* Red Sox Nation overwhelms Safeco Field with chants of “Let’s Go Red Sox!” and for Mariners fans to groan at such enthusiasm for an opposing team in their own ballpark.
* Mariners fans who’d dealt with “Let’s Go Red Sox!” all day rejoiced in Richie Sexson’s game-winning home run.
* Fans can debate the value of Adrian Beltre, who hasn’t given the Mariners close to what they expected offensively. My take: At $64 million over five years, he should be better than this. But trade him, as some suggested before the deadline last week? Thank goodness the Mariners didn’t. Beltre is going to win a few games these final two months, if not with his bat then with his marvelous defense at third base.
* A Class-A player like Mark Lowe can dream in April of someday reaching the major leagues, then become an absolutely dominant big-league relief pitcher by July when the Mariners badly need one.
* Fans call radio talk shows and suggest the Mariners trade a minor leaguer for Greg Maddux.
* Dave Niehaus writes a number in the upper corner on the scorecard of every game he broadcasts. He’s past 4,500, and here’s wishing he reaches 5,000 and beyond.
* Jamie Moyer pitches like an aging 43-year-old when the Red Sox hit five home runs off him, then perform like the timeless wonder that he is in his next two starts (both without allowing a homer).
* Seattle gets excited every time there’s a Griffey-to-Mariners trade rumor, no matter how thin it might be.
* I can play catch in the backyard with my 24-year-old son, remembering what it was like when he was 14.
* Ichiro Suzuki rose past the burden of carrying the expectation of every Japanese fan who wanted him to succeed in the major leagues after he came to the Mariners in 2001.
* Kenji Johjima endures perhaps a more difficult adjustment as a catcher coming here from Japan than any of the previous Japanese players did. He had to learn the Mariners’ pitching staff, opposing hitters, opposing pitchers and, oh yes, the language. All while playing here as his family stayed behind in Japan, where his third child was born an ocean away from Dad.
* Veteran closer Eddie Guardado showed every sign that his career might be ending with the saves he blew with the Mariners, only to find a rebirth after being traded to the Cincinnati Reds, where he had converted all six save opportunities going into the weekend.
* Guardado took J.J. Putz as his protg, not only in how to handle tense late-game situations, but in keeping the clubhouse loose. Mark my word, the shaving cream pie will reappear as the Mariners enjoy the final weeks of this fun ride, and they can thank Guardado for the inspiration.
* I can go back home for a few days every year, sit on the back porch with Mom and Dad on a warm summer night and listen to the Cardinals, just as we did 40 years ago.
Thanks baseball.
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