"Baseball" or "We did it!"

"Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify. Because the players are always changing, the team could move to another city…you’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it. You’re standing and cheering and yelling for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city. Fans will be so in love with a player, but if he goes to another team, they’ll boo him. This is the same human being in a different shirt, they hate him now! Boo! Different shirt! Boo…"

— Jerry Seinfeld

This post is about baseball. Not just scores and stats and whatever, but I want to touch on why I love it and why I think "we" love it. 

Yesterday the Chicago Cubs made it official. They made the playoffs. They are having the best season they have had in a very long time. They have the 3rd best record in baseball. Unfortunately, they other two best teams are in their division They are going to have to play the Pirates in a 1 game playoff for the Wild Card spot. If you don't like baseball, this information may mean very little to you. Thats fine. Just know, that after a decade, the Cubs are in the playoffs.

I have loved the Cubs for a long time. When I was much younger I was a White Sox fan. I loved some of the players: Black Jack McDowell, Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas, Ozzie Guillen, Jason Bere, etc. (I was "that" kid,  with the baseball cards, who knew all the players on the team and some their stats). After going to see a Cubs game, though, I fell I love with them. They played the Expos, who don't exist anymore, in a 13 inning, low scoring game and won. 

Its a weird thing being a fan of one team for so long. Seinfeld is right. You are rooting for the jersey. You are rooting for a place and a stadium. I root for the players in that stadium in the correct jersey, but I am willing to get rid of you if you stink and get someone new so that jersey can be a winner. I am OK with this, though. I think I am really rooting for Chicago and the idea that is the Cubs. I love old things the way the are after being used and loved. I love the feel of something after it fits your hand perfectly from years of use like the way a car seat access you after 10 years as if it was made for you. I used to love the way my baseball glove felt after a season. The leather would bend and fold and shape the the exact specification of your hand. I think that's one of the reasons I love Wrigley Field and the Cubs. I love how Wrigley refuses to compromise. Yes, its been updated, but the ivy wall, the green steel girders, and the fact there is no parking anywhere are all part of the charm of the place. I also love their story. The lovable losers. It would be easy to abandon them and root for someone else, but that's not what its about. When they finally win a World Series again, after well over 100 years, the payoff of that feeling will be amazing.

The real question can be, "Why baseball?" Why do we love it so much in America? Why do people get attached to it? Its not as smash-mouth as Football, not as nonstop and exciting as Hockey, or as athletic as Basketball... so why so we still love it after so long? The answers to this actually lay within a 10 hour documentary on the subject by Ken Burns. I made time for that, but you may not have that kind of time. Its a strong commitment one must make. I think I will only try to answer the questions with my own personal experiences. 

I love baseball for the same reason may people do many things. I started young and fell in love. Its hard to describe exactly why one falls in love, but I will try to make a list of some reasons I can think of.

I always loved being outside on a sunny day, standing alone in the outfield with a sense of anticipation, but not fear. there was a calm readiness. I loved screwing around with team mates, laughing and making jokes, all while playing a game. Something very hard to do in some other sports. I loved that baseball is made up of a series of moments. Something might happen on each pitch... or nothing. You have to be ready for all outcomes. You prepare for all scenarios of "what if". I love that you get to hit things. There is almost nothing like the feeling of hitting a ball solid. Its as if the universe has aligned for this split second to allow you to become one with bat and ball and send it rocketing on its journey. The elation and excitement that comes the moment right before you make a diving catch is addictive. Once you see the ball leave the bat on a trajectory that is going to require you to dive, but you know you can make the play.... it's exhilarating. The mental head space I used to get into while pitching was crazy. The feeling you get after throwing the ball as hard as you can and watching the batter whiff and hearing that glove pop is like you just punched them in the face and knocked them out. The feeling you get from throwing a curve ball and watching their knees buckle before it moves back into the strike zone is like you just stole their car and got away with it. The sights and sounds of the game are things I miss. The light chatter of encouragement from your teammates was always comforting, even when they were just trying to get you to laugh. I loved when my third basemen, Jorge, would bring me the ball after a play, pop it in my glove with gusto, and give me a look and a nod. No words were needed. I love the rituals and routines involved. I love the superstitions and traditions.

I'm going to be having a little boy. I don't know what he's going to be like or what he will be capable of or want to do. I will not push him one way or another. I do think its important for kids to do things that are difficult and take a lot of practice and work and failure. In baseball, if you fail at hitting 75% of the time, you're still doing pretty well. If my kid doesn't like baseball, that is fine. But, if they do, I cant wait to sit in the stands and watch him as he experiences all those things I loved.