The game of baseball is known as “America’s Pastime”, “America’s Sport”, “As American as Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevy”. Have you ever asked yourself the question, why? Is baseball really America’s game, or one of the most successful public relations and media coups ever pulled off?
There are people, very knowledgeable people, who can provide statistics that clearly demonstrate that football has supplanted baseball as America’s number one sport.
Others attest to the fact that Golf, through the number of amateur players, revenue and name recognition, has a valid claim to the number one spot. Let’s not forget America’s frenzy to enter and become a valid competitor in the global sport of “Football,” soccer as we call it.
The adage “Numbers don’t lie and liars calculate,” meaning that anyone can twist numbers to substantiate any claim they want, probably explains the debate, as well as any other hypotheses. It is not the numbers, fan attendance, revenue, television exposure, or any other subjective form of evaluation.
As they say on late-night TV shows, these are my top ten reasons why baseball is, has been, and always will be America’s sport.
1. Baseball originated in the United States as an American game. I know there are some petty arguments about the game having roots in the Old World and some pretty far-fetched exaggerations to compare the sport to an obscure game that involved a bat and an object being hit, but America made baseball, period.
2. Baseball is not really history. The history of baseball is a collection of thousands of individual stories of struggle, fear, sacrifice, and hard work by players of the game.
3. Baseball is probably the most color blind institute, including court systems, in America. A person’s worth is determined by their talent, not by skin color or nationality.
4. Baseball involves the same nature of rewarding “hard work” as Americans. Practice long enough, long enough, and you will succeed.
5. Baseball embraces America’s contradictions. Americans are fiercely independent, but they form extremely strong bonds with one another when placed in a team situation. An opponent may be despised today, but he instantly becomes a valuable teammate when he is acquired via trade the next day.
6. Baseball and the Marines have a lot in common. Much as the Marines adapt, improvise and succeed, so too does baseball adhere to this creed. If a team lacks home run hitters, they create runs with their speed.
7. Baseball ethically cannot and will not tolerate cheaters, as a sense of fair play and honesty is ingrained in the sport, just as it is in Americans themselves.
8. Baseball can create fierce loyalty in people. A Chicago fan can criticize the Cubs team all he wants, but a St. Louis Cardinals fan, even if he says the same thing, would end up with a swollen lip.
9. Baseball holds history in high regard. The vaulted New York Yankees are on a slightly higher pedestal than all other teams due to their history and famous historical players.
10. Baseball is the champion of the underdog. Teams, or players, that beat the odds against them and prevail are easily accepted as champions, not someone or something lucky.
These are my 10 reasons why baseball is America’s sport. You probably have 10 different ones.