For the Love of the Game

By ScottN

It takes a special kind of person to sit there and have someone throw something at your face as fast as he can. Over and over. While someone else stands in front of you swinging a stick. There are damn few of us who do it. But I do it. I am a catcher.

I do it for the love of the game. There's something unique about baseball and its stepchild, softball. Sure, there are basketball and football and hockey fans. Yes, soccer fans are incredibly rabid, and it's played worldwide. But there's something about baseball that's different.

Maybe it's the timelessness of the game. As Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till it's over". There's no time limits, no running out the clock. You simply play until you're done.

Maybe it's the dueling aspect. I mean, let's face it. In the long run, it comes down to two players, each trying to best the other. The pitcher and the batter. That is the ultimate duel. After the duel, then all the other players get involved.

Baseball inspires poetry. It has a sense of romance. Can you imagine the movie "Field of Dreams" about any other sport? It has a huge sense of tradition and history. In America today, names from over 100 years ago are recognized. If you mention the names Ruth, Gehrig, or DiMaggio, anyone you speak to will know who you mean. Everybody knows that "Who" is on First. Hell, it's even part of rock and roll ("Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you...").

In the US, baseball is the ultimate small town sport. Every town has Little League. Practically everyone has picked up a stick to hit a ball... Baseball as it's meant to be is played in hundreds of minor league ballparks across the country. These players don't have zillion dollar contracts. They're chasing a dream...

Lest you think that there is something uniquely American about baseball, let me remind you that wherever it's been imported it has been picked up and embraced. Canada, Central and South America, Australia, China, the Phillipines, and especially Japan. All these countries have fallen in love with the game.

I just turned 40, and now my knees ache, and my elbow hurts after games. I'll just ice them up and keep on playing as long as I can.

For the love of the game.

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