Just my opinion...

The movie “Field of Dreams” has nothing to do with baseball but uses baseball as it’s backdrop – but I was sitting watching the movie recently, when it dawned on me that I have genuine and deep sympathy for anyone who isn’t a fan of baseball.

I know it’s not a fast moving game like basketball, hockey, football,  etc.  I know to some, professional baseball’s reputation is poor because of strikes and scandals.  But the game is still a wonderful game.

I can’t recall the writer or commentator who said that baseball is a game of beautiful pauses but I agree.  If you’ve ever faced a genuinely good pitcher, you feel one of these pauses as you watch the pitcher peer over his left shoulder, looking your teammate back to first.  His focus shifts from you and to the edge of of his eyes…  There it is…  The pause.  In the silence of that pause, there’s poetry.

A frozen moment of anticipation.  I loved that moment as a batter.  The pitcher could lazily throw to first to let the runner know he’s watching.  Snap a throw to first in an attempt to “pick off” the runner.  Step off the “rubber” to halt all the action and reset.  Or…  His eyes shift back to me, his knee lifts as he begins his kick, the ball remaining hidden in his glove so I can’t read his finger position.  Now he’s committed to delivering the ball to the catcher and I watch his arm coming over the top so I can acquire the ball as early as possible and possibly see how his fingers are positioned on the ball.

He releases the ball and it’s on its way to me now.  Are the laces turning?  Which direction?  How fast?  The ball is coming “high and tight”, the laces are rolling forward and inside, curve ball…  “It’ll break, don’t take your head out of the box.”  My torso starts the swing, arms and hands follow, eyes still on the ball, “Turn into the swing; runner on first – pull this ball.  Stay ahead of it.”  My swing is good.  There’s a pop as the ball strikes the catcher’s mitt.  Strike.

We all reset and start the ritual again.  It all happened in less than a second.  All preceded by that pause.  Every game has many of these pauses and if you never played, the pauses bore you.  If you played you feel each of them.

Had I hit the ball, that wonderful crack of the bat and ball would sing out, there’d have been a coordinated effort in the field to stop the ball, every member of the opposing team would be moving.  My teammate and I running.  And THAT feeling when I made contact…  As a kid it was pure joy. 

I watched both my sons play and watched as each hit the ball and saw one of them sail a ball or two out of the park for that great trot around the bases.  I was grateful that I knew what my boys were feeling in those moments.

If you never played baseball, you have no idea what any of what I just described feels like.  I wish you did – it’s great and I feel sorry that you don’t know about it.  Your life is slightly poorer.  You don’t know but I do and it makes me a bit sad for you.  I’m certainly not condescending to anyone, many have experiences I can’t share and my life is poorer because I missed what you have felt.  Baseball is just one experience that I have had.

I’m not a religious guy – but maybe “Field of Dreams” has it right…  Heaven has a baseball diamond nearby.

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