A Look into Baseball Fans: What It Means to Play Baseball in America

I can happily and adamantly admit that I am a baseball lifer.

By the time that it is my time to go, I hope to have played, coached, taught, and explained the history, inter-dimensions, and theories behind the game that we proudly call our "National Pastime". Right now, I've completed two of the many things on the long list of "things to do in baseball": coaching and playing.

So what does it mean to play baseball? Is baseball a profile of the average American? Why is baseball uniquely American?

These are some of the questions that I have asked myself while playing and watching baseball. I can't help but think that baseball is a global force that is gaining popularity throughout the world. Baseball, to me, is a part of the so-called "American Dream".

So, what does it mean to play baseball?

In the "metaphysical" sense, to play baseball means that you are both intelligent and strong. You can discern and analyze a situation in a instant and you know what to do, where to throw, when to bunt, and when to swing away.

Baseball, unlike American football or ice hockey, relies mostly on mental ability, and not just physical strength.

But to play baseball also means that you are of strong body as well. Even though the game itself is about 95 percent mental, that extra five percent is pure physical ability.

Having the mental ability of a ageless, crafty veteran is nice, but so is having the physical ability of a youthful 21-year-old kid.

To play baseball is to be part of a deep and rich history. A history that has produced so many American icons. Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Foxx, Johnson, Young, Alexander, and Wagner just to name a few, have become integral icons in American society. And teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, and Phillies have become fixed parts of our society.

I believe that baseball does profile the average American. The sport may be hard to play, but if you give a kid a baseball, he or she would instinctively throw the ball. Baseball has been bred into American society by previous generations.

Personally, I believe that baseball was a hard sport at first to learn. But once you learn the sport, mastering the sport is as easy as practicing at it.

The profile of an American includes baseball, the two or three kids, and a house with a car, garage, and the white picket fence.

Why is baseball uniquely American? It is uniquely American because it is the sport that defines the United States of America. To lose at any other sport means nothing. But to lose at baseball, our "National Pastime," is like spouting sacrilege and blaspheme at the same time.

But, yet, no emphasis is put on the United States losing at baseball because to the rest of the world, it is just the United States losing at another sport. Nothing new, nothing old.

Over twenty or more countries play America's "National Pastime" around the world. It is because of the United State's influence that so many countries play the sport.

For me, to play baseball is life itself. My life is surrounded by and practically REVOLVES around the sport. To be American, to me, is to be a baseball fan. To be American is to be called a Yankee, not a Cub or Red Sox, or a Dodger or even a Phillie, but a Yankee.

Baseball for me has been an escape at times, allowing me to escape my life and the problems that follow it. It has been a hobby, a pastime, a sport, and something to write about. I love learning and hearing about the history surrounding it, as well as learning the skills behind the sport.

Pitching is a battle between the hitter and the hurler. Not just a physical battle, but a mental battle. It is a challenge between that guy's fastball and the other guy's bat. The outcome is always as random as it is different.

When you strikeout, it means that you get back out there and try again. The pitcher may have won the battle, but the war goes on.

When you give up a home run, it means you tip your cap to the hitter and go after the next guy. The hitter may have won the battle, but the war goes on.

When you make a fielding error, you always have a chance to redeem yourself, much like outside the game.

That's what it means to play baseball in America.