Baseball / Slant | Baseball is Born in the 1800s; Dead in the 2000s?

We have all heard the story start out like this; “A long time ago, someone hits a ball with a stick to pass the time, pastime becomes game, game becomes competition, baseball is born.” That slogan could be noted as America’s historic expression of the festivity that is baseball. It takes you back to the days prior to the existence of a remarkable competitive outlet.

I spoke with my grandfather, Raymond Stammers, today about the joy that baseball has bestowed upon him. “As a child, I used to play ball with all the neighborhood kids and we would be out at the park all day long.” My grandfather explained. “Baseball was a way to entertain ourselves even during those times when nobody else was around. I still remember throwing a tennis ball against the garage and simulating a pitching match-up against the ’27 Yankees. If you spend a few hours every day pitching to your garage, you take in a lot of practice with your throwing and fielding. Sure enough, in my own mind, I became the greatest pitcher that ever lived. You know what I used to call myself? I was Raymond ‘Ace’ Stammers, the greatest pitcher there ever was.”

It amuses me that baseball literally was used to pass the time and entertain yourself all at once. I thought about when I used to go to the park and play home run derby and over the line with my friends and how much fun it was competing for a victory that will not be recorded anywhere but within our memories. It would seem like I gained fundamentals for the game in the same manner as my grandfather. Yet I am positive that his activities within the game were much more defined.

With the new generation of vidiots (video game idiots) and coach potatoes, many of our youth today have lost interest in any form of competition that does not put all their effort in their thumbs. It is as if they would rather gain entertainment by playing a video game instead of running out the door with their glove in hand and telling their mother that their homework is done and they will be home by dinner. It is a vast difference between my grandfather's generation and what we see as our future today. I find this alarming, but more than that, I find it hard to believe that professional baseball players are still making those milestone records that steroids do not have an effect on. Records such as the 56 game hit streak or young pitchers coming up trying to beat Nolan Ryan's strikeout record. With these records having the possibility of being broken and competition being extremely high, how then can we feel like baseball has lost its swagger?

I just took a poll of everyone in my work center, out of five people; each one of them said they enjoy baseball. But only one of my coworkers could tell me who won the 2006 World Series. If my grandfather were to take that same poll when he was my age, I would bet those five people would know who baseball’s current champion was. Baseball has suffered an outpouring of disinterest. Without putting a finger on an exact reasoning for this polluted way of thinking, I am going to attempt on putting an optimistic spin on the situation.

With the talent likely to decrease as many young kids are in the pursuit of becoming the greatest Final Fantasy player on the planet, the competition to become the next Albert Pujols will decrease as well. If there are children out there who take on the Raymond “Ace” Stammers attitude and practice fundamentals every day with their friends and family and a lot of the time with their garage door, it is likely that they will have an edge toward having the ability to be as good as anyone else striving to achieve the same dream.

Right now, a professional baseball player is what a child dreams of becoming. So how can he mold that dream into chasing a reality? He has to work hard at perfecting his craft, right? Of course this is right; anyone trying to be a professional in any career has to be gifted in that area. But how talented do they have to be? Of course there will be extremely gifted athletes that stand out above all the rest. There will always be the next great prep All-American stud that destroys competition at every level. But what about those guys who had to take what little talent they had and turn it into something. There are hundreds of professional baseball players who fell under this category when growing up. It is my belief that these hundred or so ballplayers would find the road to the show a lot easier if growing up in this new era.

The only question that follows is this; a game that was invented by Alexander Cartwright or Abner Doubleday (choose your inventor) may be tampered by those who do not find competition on a playground as enchanting as we did when we were their age. With the lack of affection toward the game we have grown to love, how then can we expect it to be as great as it is today? Is the future of baseball finding its way to a dark place? “A long time ago, someone hits a ball with a stick to pass the time, pastime becomes game, game becomes competition, baseball is born.” Does this well known slogan end with this; "But then someone invented the playstation."

I truly hope we do not find our future of this great sport at a loss. Many people may already fear it is nothing it once was, and they are already sour on the game and have made a turn for the worst. But for the still reigning fans of the game, what does our future look like? It may be a lot easier for the dads out there to provide their child the necessary tools to become a great competitor considering the talent level will be decreased. But you still have to be concerned about how less often we will see a record broken because the next Nolan Ryan never knew the talent he had on the baseball diamond. His interest has been invaded by a different form of entertainment.

This is not a challenge to turn the playstation off, because I will admit that I play mine from time to time. But even still, unless we change our children's activities a bit, we may see the death of the greatest sport that was ever invented. The challenge is for all the fathers out there who have not taken the time to teach their child about baseball. Going out and having a catch with my father will be one of the greatest memories that will be cherished for the rest of my lifetime. That is your challenge as a father. Go out there and teach your kid this game that has united so many fathers and sons for so many generations before. I challenge every child that does not have a father to find that garage door and have it beat up by a tennis ball. Or go out there and get the kids in the neighborhood involved in a game. These practiced forms of entertainment will become some of the greatest times in your life. Do not let it waste away sheltered from the sun. Baseball was born in the 1800s; do not let it die in the 2000s.

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Baseball is Born in the 1800s; Dead in the 2000s?