So, Why DO You Like Baseball?

I've seen nine stadiums I had never seen before, and met a whole lot of people I would never have known if it weren't for having this game to bring us together. I like that about baseball. It's a team game that requires individual efforts. On the field and off, it brings us together. It's made meeting people easy, and I've loved learning what everyone comes up with as an answer to the question I asked everyone: "Why do you like baseball?"

I’ve discovered that the biggest fans of the game have the hardest time with this question. I’ve discovered that there is no such thing as a former baseball player. I’ve discovered that this question makes most men a bit wistful, and most women a bit flush. I’ve discovered that no matter where in this country a baseball fan lives, his affinity for the sport is about more than just the game. It’s about his past, his identity, his hopes, and his ability to always say, “Maybe Next Year.”

I’ve discovered that this is still America’s Pasttime, and that however complicated the intricacies of the game may be, people will always want to have a place where the object of the game is as simple as getting back to home.

A sample of the answers I’ve gotten from fans everywhere:
PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN ANSWER AS A COMMENT BELOW.

“I’ve played the game since I was a kid.” (By far the most popular answer)

“It was always a part of my life growing up.”

“It’s a thinking man’s game. You can’t be dumb and be good at it.”

“I just like to watch it. I like that baseball players, for the most part, are better citizens than other athletes, and it’s easier for me to root for them. I like that my grandsons look up to them.”

“Baseball players are hot.”

“I like that no matter how well you know the game, you can always learn more about it.”

“I like its continuity. It’s about playing well for an entire summer, but everything your team does one day affects what could happen the next day.”

"It's the only sport my wife will watch with me."

“It’s just a great game.”

“In any game, you can see something happen that you never saw before. Even Tim McCarver said the other day that he saw something new. How many games has he played in or seen as an announcer? And still, the game has surprises.”

“Well, it won me over slowly. I used to think it was boring, and I’d go to the games just to drink with my mates. But in the ten years that I’ve been in the U.S., I’ve learned more about it, and come to see that it’s a great game, and that it’s not just a lot of waiting for someone to get a hit. There are things happening with every pitch. You have to be looking for them to see them, but those things are what really make it great.”

“I like the battle between the pitcher and the batter. It’s a show-down every time, with the pitcher saying, “Take this,” and the batter responding, trying to take the upper hand.”

“It’s cool that the defense always has the ball. It’s the only sport that’s like that.”

"Wow, that's a great question. Do you want a beer?"

"It's the only game that matters. I don't care about football, but if my baseball team loses, it affects my mood until they turn it around."

“Baseball has always been the way my family has connected. I can watch a game with my grandmother and my father, and feel a connection to them and to the past.”

From Timothy B. Shutt, author of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A History of Baseball in America”
(I am a big fan of Shutt’s work. I sent Professor Shutt a message telling him about my trip, and that I was reading his book first on my trip. I was thrilled that he actually wrote back!)
“It’s had a unique and long-lasting impulse on American self-identity. Baseball is the game that we play, we made it up. All of those ideas have given it a peculiar resonance. Football and basketball now give baseball a run for its money, but in terms of long-term history, baseball stands first.”

From Ken Burns, Writer and Director of “Baseball” the nine (soon to be 10!) part documentary on the history of the game. (Ken Burns threw out the first pitch in Pittsburgh to promote the “10th Inning” installment, showing on PBS on September 28, 2010)
It is played everywhere. In parks and playgrounds and prison yards. In 
back alleys and farmers' fields. By small children and old men. Raw 
amateurs and millionaire professionals. It is a leisurely game that 
demands blinding speed. The only game in which the defense has the ball.
It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of
springtime, and ending with the hard facts of autumn. It is a haunted 
game, in which every player is measured against the ghosts of all who 
have gone before. Most of all, it is about time and timelessness. Speed 
and grace. Failure and loss. Imperishable hope. And coming home.”

(Thank you Tommy for giving me that quote...By the way, I'm still waiting for your answer.)