“America’s Pastime”
It is hard to think about the United States of America and not think of baseball. Certainly, baseball is a game that is enjoyed by the people of many different countries but it is considered “America’s game”!
I think most every little boy here in the States plays baseball at one time or another…..and many of them dream of becoming a famous baseball player! My husband, Dennis, grew up on baseball and continues to be passionate about the game. During baseball season, his mind is never far from the games and the scores and the rankings. Where I knew nothing about the game before marrying him, I have, by a type of osmosis, learned a bit about it since becoming his wife!
Baseball has been played in this country for many, many years and has been enjoyed and played by all types and races of people. People come in droves to the baseball parks, mostly to see the game, but then there are many who just come for the atmosphere and the yummy hot dogs! A ball game would not be complete without these and we cannot forget the peanuts and Crackerjacks!
You see all types, ages, shapes and sizes at a baseball game…..everyone enjoys them. Unlike most other sports, there is no clock in baseball.
If you have not seen the movie “42”, be sure to do so. It is a true story about the first African American player, Jackie Robinson, to play in the Major Leagues and the prejudices he faced in breaking the racial barrier. Ironically, within two years after joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie was named the Most Valuable Player for the National League, and without a doubt, he had a brilliant ten-year career with the Dodgers before retiring. His uniform number “42” has since been retired by every Major League baseball team and that number will never be seen again on the uniform of an active player once Mariano Rivera of the Yankees (who had been wearing that number prior to the time Major League baseball officially retired it) finishes his playing days. This movie is sure to warm your heart, wrench it and warm it again! It is an absolute “must see” as far as your Two Chums are concerned.
Yes, joy…… baseball brings so much joy to so many people!
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I couldn’t agree more with your post today, dear Jackie!
When I was a boy growing up in Michigan we went to a LOT of the 1968 Detroit Tigers games. They won the World Series that year and Denny McClain won 31 games as a pitcher, a record no one has even beaten. Those are great memories.
I remember all of the delicious things my dad let me eat at the game. He never said that I had had too much to eat, never said that I couldn’t have whatever I wanted. On the long 3 hour drive back to Grand Rapids (we lived 200 miles from Tiger Stadium so we always went to games when it was a “double-header” – two games in one day) I really had a tummy ache and thus I learned the lesson early on as a boy to be a wee bit restrained in my appetite when at baseball games at Tiger Stadium.
County Stadium in Milwaukee, WI still has the best hot dogs and brats of any ball park in this country! That’s easy to say: Milwaukee is a German town. They have the upper hand when it comes to dogs.
I’ve been to some of the most famous stadiums in this country to see baseball games and the enjoyment and the memories are all dear to my heart, like going to The Hollywood Bowl to hear The LA Philharmonic, but in a sporting arena vs. a cultural experience.
Thank goodness baseball is THE AMERICAN PASTTIME!
Thank you for writing this post today, Jackie. And thank goodness for Dennis Page who helps keep it alive in our hearts with his vast knowledge. My dear mother lit up when she would talk about baseball with Dennis. He is one of millions (yet ONE OF A KIND!) who loves the sport dearly and keeps it in the forefront of interest for the rest of us.
So glad you enjoyed it, Dick!
I wish I could say I had knowledge of baseball like Richard. What I love is the country’s love for it, all for one enjoying a fun sport, together There is a small team called the Osprey’s here in Beaufort. We have been to see them a few times. A dear man sponsors it through the American Legion and a golf tournament each year. It is that American spirit which makes it the special game it is!
Yes, we agree – it is the spirit that makes the game of baseball very special!
My husband, too, has loved baseball all his life. He played, in the park, as a kid, and in a Lawyers’ League, when he was older.
I am not a good baseball-spectator: it bores me. But I know that the sport is complex and elegant. I love its tradition, too.
And growing up here in LA as we did, Laurie, you must appreciate Vin Scully. He is without a doubt the BEST announcer in baseball! He is so much a part of why I love the game.