Today is (more or less) opening day for the greatest of sports, baseball. A game of strategy, teamwork, skill, and many possibilities to showcase individual stamina and accomplishment, baseball is also, perhaps, the most family friendly and social of games. Playing catch with dad is often a rite of passage into both boyhood and manhood, and the explosion of the sport across environment and gender, and of adaptations such as tee ball in recent decades, here and across the world, attest to the universal appeal of youngsters running, throwing, catching, hitting a ball, sliding in dirt, and being with friends. Not steroids, labor trouble, or a wide variety of childish antics have dimmed the game’s appeal. Football – high speed violence and committee meetings – may be the most popular American sport, but baseball, unregulated by a clock, unspoiled by “penalties,” leisurely in approach, widely adaptable for all talents and aptitudes, interactive with fans, and decentralized in its professional product, is meritocratic, elitist, and egalitarian all at the same time. Its superstars rise from a wide variety of backgrounds by their gifts and hard work, and all kids can dream of reaching the big leagues due to the rather differing skills required of various positions. The game reveres its traditions, values its statistics and great historical figures, and tends to error on the side of simplicity. There is no “replay,” and it is understood that the human element means tough decisions made quickly may or may not be “fair,” but such is life, so pick yourself up and go again. The recently retired Greg Maddux, my favorite player of all time and one of the greatest pitchers of all time, like Cal Ripken and many others exemplified the very best of this beautiful sport: show up every day, do your best, don’t complain about a long season, prepare, don’t show or mouth off, play well with others, give back to your community, and appreciate your many blessings. So go to a game, eat a hot dog, try to catch a foul ball, and soak in an invention that can teach us how to conduct a better life.
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