Baseball: Why America
Hates Its Pastime.
“Buy me some peanuts and
Cracker Jacks, I don't care if I never get back...”
Get back where, the
ballpark? That seems to be the current outlook from many Americans who have
given up on baseball as America's sport. Ask a good percentage of Southerners
what our country's primary sport is and you will more than likely hear "football" as the answer. These people BLEED college football colors
around here. I'm curious to see if particular Volunteer fans leak a heinous
orange color when cut. As for me, I bleed Crimson. Oh, wait. That's the correct
color. (See what I did there?)
Over the past few
decades, baseball has somewhat slipped off the radar of many sports fans.
Though there are still many devout fans out there, which continue to make this
sport one of the top grossing sports in the nation, many are no longer
convinced. A good chunk of the ones who are self proclaimed baseball fanatics
will admit to rarely sitting through an entire game. Why is that? My argument
here is that America does NOT in fact, love baseball. (Though they should!) Why
has baseball become the sport that is passing time instead of being
our pastime?
As one would expect, I
have a combination of facts and my own conclusions regarding this topic. Here
is a terrible grouping of these bullet points:
- There are FAR too many games. Americans are busier than
they have ever been. The average workday no longer begins at 9am and ends
at 5pm. With most parents working full time jobs, and running a full
household, it is nearly impossible to catch every baseball game. If you
are a fan, such as myself, you realize how true this is. If you have no
idea what I mean, let me put it in simple terms. Opening Day, 2013, was
officially April 1st. The last day of official season for most teams is at
the end of September. This is obviously, assuming, that they do not make
it to the playoffs. In which case, they could easily be adding another
month, give or take, to their schedule. That is 6 months of continuous
pitching, catching, hitting, and spitting. What? Most of them spit. Watch
one game. It happens. Most teams have 162 games scheduled within those 6
months. 162!!!! I can barely keep up with who my two football teams play
each week in the fall. It takes some serious dedication to keep up with
over 160 games. Thank God for the At Bat App. Most used app on my phone, I
imagine. I like that it has the GameDay option, but it seems to be delayed
and you’re stuck watching a digitalized version of the game, without
actual live game coverage.
- Visibility of these many games. One thing that pisses
me off the most during baseball season is not being able to watch the
freaking games!!! "Oh, you should look into getting the MLB package
so you can watch all the games!” THIS IS A BASEBALL WIVES TALE. There is
no such way to see the games because of all the blackouts!!! Will someone
explain to me what justifies their blackout restrictions? For example, are
you aware that ALL of the Toronto Blue Jays live games are blacked out for
the ENTIRE country of Canada? Excuse me?? Oh, you don’t actually want fans
from Canada? That makes a lot of sense. Major League Baseball is a
business. They are selling a product. Ticket sales may only be a part of
the revenue accrued for each team, but it is a substantial part of the
overall money which allows a team to operate. Teams, who have a larger
viewing area and fan base, generally have a higher net profit at the end
of the season. If they could find a way for the closest audience to view
and cheer for the games, wouldn't that actually help revenue increase? Perhaps
I am wrong but the blackouts aren’t helping anything, financially. I won’t
even go into the revenue sharing.
I
currently reside in Nashville. The closest MLB teams to my house are both the
Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds. These teams are both about 4, 4 1/2
hours driving distance. However, due to the placement of blackouts, I am able
to watch almost every Braves game but not even half the season of Reds games. Hard
to get into a team when you can't even watch them play. In case you missed it,
the MLB package still means you are blacked out. No ifs, ands or buts. The
actual MLB network is somewhat worth watching at times. For you football fans,
it is similar to NFL RedZone, only less exciting. You can see highlights of the
important parts of all games being played at the current moment. It is
easy to have a love/hate relationship with this channel though because if you
are in fact under blackout restrictions, you may get some coverage of your game
on this channel, only to be switched to another game right when you start to
get excited.
- It is expensive!! I realize the first argument here is
because of baseball salaries. I am aware that they are some of the highest
paid athletes. I will try and stay somewhat unbiased about this part, but
I can only be partially turned down. You can't mute me, so hear me out.
One of my closest friends in the world is a baseball player. He gets paid
a lot of money. He also works harder than anyone I have ever met. Not to
mention, they are taxed a ‘heart attack amount’ of money due to their tax
bracket. Obviously he works a minimum of over 160 days, almost in a row,
but there is so much more than that. Don't forget that most players train in
the off season, and then there is spring training. This gives baseball
players about 2-3 months, max, to spend time with their families and loved
ones. These people eat, drink, sleep, baseball. In fact, if you go into
this profession, consider a "normal" life to be a thing of the
past. I cannot comprehend how they have normal relationships. These people
work for their money. Trust me.
Addendum to
this point: Fans are not usually made of money. I, like many Americans, cannot
afford to go to a ton of games. From my house, an average fan would have to pay
for transportation, ticket (average Friday night price for a home game, with
decent seats, are about $65,) concessions, and don't get me started on the
beer. A semi-cold domestic beer, at just about every stadium, will run you
about $8 or $9 for around 16 ounces. I still buy them. A baseball game without
a beer just doesn't seem American. But, I will continue to complain! Simple
Googling can show anyone how much a keg of this beer is sold to a park, at
wholesale cost, so the markup is pretty ridiculous.
- · Gambling. We can all sit here and act like this isn’t a big deal but Vegas isn’t a popular getaway destination because of Wayne Newton. Americans love to gamble. I read an article recently that said, “If baseball used to be America’s pastime, it has been replaced with gambling.” I wouldn’t go that far but you may see where I am going with this. How many people put money on the line for a baseball game, outside of the postseason? That’s because it is unlike sports, such as football and basketball, in that there is no point spread. And the over/under is basically a joke. You can actually look up “how to bet on baseball” because so many people don’t even know where to begin, other than my team vs. your team final score. For the majority of my heavily testosterone filled friends, if baseball were made easier or more exciting to gamble upon, you’d have a more attentive audience.
- · Baseball drags. Many non-fans complain that there is too much down time in the game. This baffles me since you can watch an entire soccer game and see only one team score once, but whatever. The average baseball game these days is around 3 hours. That is because batters take longer at bat, pitchers take longer between pitches, and as I have stated before, this is a business. Baseball is an advertiser’s wet-dream. Plenty of viewers, and unlimited ad space. For some of the bigger rivalries, such as the Red Sox/Yankees games, they have recorded over 4.5 million viewers during regular season. There are what, 8 million commercials during a baseball game? It seems that way, sometimes.
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With these things being
listed, I can see why an everyday Joe may have a problem having a marriage with
baseball. However, I think it's time for Joe to have an affair. (A sports
affair that is, obviously.) There are still plenty of reasons to visit your
neighborhood ballpark! Here are 10 of my own:
1. A hotdog at a
ballpark is just better for some reason. Extra juicy fat injection? No idea.
Just tastier. And what place, other than a Logan’s Roadhouse, can you eat
peanuts and throw the shells everywhere? The kid in me is still a fan of making
messes I don't have to clean up. There is a guy at my favorite ballpark
who screams “Get my salty nuts! Salty nuts right here!” so loudly throughout
the game that he tends to have no voice by the 7th inning stretch.
That’s just plain funny.
2. A new season is a new
beginning. It doesn't matter how bad someone bats the year before or what a
pitchers ERA was. April first brings a new start to every ball player and the
stats begin again at 0. You can watch a pitcher have a pretty good season, and
then the next watch him hit bad-ass status and pitch a no-hitter. You don’t get
to see your neighbor hit a career milestone in his cubicle but you can watch a
baseball player set a world record during an average game. And, boy, is it
something to behold.
3. Fans. I have serious
issues with this one. It is one of my least favorite aspects of the sport, but
also one of my favorites. Baseball fans can be some of the worst fans of any
sport. They are the first to be self proclaimed umpires. Just because that wasn't
a 10 pitch inning or a player didn't hit a homerun, you can't be shouting
"take him out!!!" at the top of your lungs. Oh, you're pissed off
because one of their leadoff hitters aren't having the best couple games? You
get out there and swing a bat at a 97mph ball the size of an orange. Go ahead.
Fans are also what keeps
this sport alive! I was able to attend Opening Day at a ballpark last year and
it was insane! Team colors flooded the streets! It was like a Mardi Gras
parade, sans beads, urine smell, and masks. Fans save money and drive all over
the country to see their team play, even if they're not having a great season.
Fans get married at the ballpark. Yes. This actually happens. Spring training
parks, even. To each their own! Fans name their children after players. That is
lifelong dedication. 18 years of dedication, anyway.
4. Knowledge. You don't
have to be a rocket scientist to follow baseball. The basics are pretty simple.
Sometimes it may seem like a game can "drag," but there is still plenty
of excitement in this time old tradition.
5. Variables. There are
a lot of, "If X happens, then we are going to the playoffs!" or
"If X hits this ball, it will be his Yth grandslam!"Yth? That's a
thing, right?
6. Baseball pants. I
know some of you female readers were waiting for this one. Sorry, straight
guys, this obviously does not apply to you. Though the pant has changed quite a
bit since the founding in the late 1800's, there is something to be said for
this part of the game. You don't have to be a "cleat chaser" to
appreciate a good pair of tightish baseball pants.
7. You never know. This
is not one of those sports where you just know it's over when the score runs up
and the other team looks worn out. I have watched teams come back from being
many runs behind, and win in the bottom of the 9th. It’s something amazing to
behold. I celebrated with my TV like I was there, with the team. In 2001, the
Cleveland Indians came back from a deficit of 12, to tie it up in the
last three innings, winning the game in the 11th inning, against the Mariners.
Tell me this sport is boring.
8. Mascots. If you don't
know, Google. Mascots are hilarious. Most of them have nothing to do with the
team. The Tampa Bay Ray's mascot is "Raymond." Is he a devil ray? No.
He is seadog, according to the Tampa Bay website. Huh?? The Red Sox have “Wally
the Green Monster.” I’m sorry, what? Yeah, they named him after the 37 foot
green wall in the outfield. A bit of a stretch, Boston? I think so. Children
love them at the games, and if you’re paying attention, they are usually up to
embarrassing themselves. Carry on, mascots. Carry on.
9. For the same reason
that some people are uninterested in baseball, it can be a huge plus. 162 games
means you can watch your favorite team play almost every day during regular
season! If you have a favorite pitcher, you can see them at least once a week,
generally. Like my mom said, "there is just something about a baseball
game on a hot summer night." If you move away from your favorite team,
chances are, they are travelling to a city near you at some point during the
season.
10. Last, but not
least...Winning. Though there are plenty of fans who endure season after season
of losing or mediocrity, (insert Cubs joke here), there is nothing quite like
watching your team have a winning season.
After considering the
pros and cons of baseball, I hope that America never loses interest in such a
great sport. I am really craving a Bud Light, a hot dog, and a game right about
now. I'm sure there's one on tv, somewhere.
