Story by Anna-Marie Comden, Guest Writer
For years, baseball has been a part of everyday Americans’ lives. From ages as young as four or five you will find kids out on the diamond at T-Ball practice or throwing balls around in their front yards. But where did it all go wrong?
Somehow we went from kids practicing day and night to get on to the high school baseball team to teenagers and twenty somethings that go to the ballpark with their girlfriends just for the photo opp.
Picture this: you convinced your mom to buy you tickets to a Detroit Tigers Game. It’s a beautiful sunny day, not too hot and you have seats right on the baseline. You can’t wait to hear the sounds of the game as it starts: bats hitting the ball, men shuffling around in the dugout, cleats on the rough dirt of the diamond. But instead of these magnificent sounds what you hear is all the latest gossip from a high school you’ve never even heard of because the two girls who came to the game just for a tan and to prove to boys that they are “sportsy” are sitting behind you, not paying attention to the game and being way too loud.
When did America’s pastime become such a joke? Many people liken it to watching paint dry when I tell them that it is my favorite sport. It is my opinion that baseball, even more than football, really brings Americans together and needs to be appreciated more. In a world full of fast-paced movement, baseball gives you a chance to slow down and pay close attention to everything that is going on around you. Sometimes it may seem like nothing exciting is happening, but you just need to look somewhere else. It also teaches the lesson of being always vigilant because the second you get bored and look away might be the second that someone hits the game winning grand slam.
It saddens me whenever I go to a game to see so many people on their phones, especially younger people. We can be on our phones anytime and anywhere so why, when you spend way too much money on tickets to a sporting event, do you choose to be scrolling through Instagram or TikTok. Yes, pulling out your phone to document a fun day in your life is not a bad idea, but next time you go to the ball game maybe wait until it is over to snap a pic. Instead, live in the moment, enjoy one of America’s treasures and eat a hot dog.
The Saint 