Thinking back, I can’t seem to remember why baseball became my sport of choice, but the game known less and less as America’s pastime has been ever present, as much a part of me as my childhood home. Like the deeper things of human experience baseball’s allure is not always easily summed up, but to those who feel the draw there is no denying its beauty. Well known to fans of the game is a lack of respect from people who simply don’t get it. I’ve grown tired of my usual response to nay sayers, “well, I guess you just have to have played to understand.” It’s time to defend the game that legendary Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell spoke so true of. “Baseball? It’s just a game – as simple as a ball and a bat. Yet, as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. It’s a sport, business – and sometimes even religion.”

To those who say it’s boring, I say you’re missing, well…everything! Baseball is a highly psychological game about details. The drama of it is constantly unfolding in rhythmic nuances, making a foul ball more than a break in the action, but an indication of the battle being waged between pitcher and hitter.

To those who say the season is pointlessly long, I say there is a point! One hundred and sixty two games played through spring, summer, and fall bring a dynamic to baseball that is incomparable to other sports. Just as in life, winners are in the long run those with heart and perseverance. Failure is built in and resilience is a must because there is always a game tomorrow.

To those who say baseball is not made for television, I say you’re exactly right! Get out to the ballpark with people you enjoy, buy a beer and a hotdog, and at least attempt to appreciate something at a level that isn’t immediately obvious. Who knows, you might find that enjoying baseball, like everything that is truly worth it in life, requires a little effort.

“Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem.”

~Saul Steinberg