While the spring sports season at Oregon pales in comparison to its fall and winter counterparts, there’s only one reason why: There’s no Division I baseball at the University.
Still, the beginning of the baseball season is my favorite time of the year and here are 10 reasons (in no particular order) why baseball trumps all other sports.
No. 1 – It goes on every day.
While football teams play games once a week for a reason, a week of waiting is too long for an avid fan. Though it may make each game more important, it doesn’t bring the same kind of joy as watching your team day-in and day-out. In that sense, baseball has the most diehard of fans, who will watch all 162 games their team plays compared to a football fans’ 16. Maybe that makes baseball fans a little more unhealthy but I’d say they’re more dedicated.
No. 2 – A bad losing streak doesn’t end your season.
As mentioned above, each football game carries too much of an impact on a team’s season. If an NFL team loses two consecutive games, that’s the equivalent of a 20-game losing streak in Major League Baseball. That’s not fair in an age where a lot of outcomes are decided by penalties or a simple kick of the football. While that may add more drama to the sport, it’s not fair to fans or players who have too much invested to lose so much in a single turn of events.
No. 3 – No Joe Theismann.
While Theismann may go down in history as one of the worst sports commentators (there’s a good reason why he was kicked off the Monday Night Football crew and sent to cover college football), media baseball types tend to be more savvy than their cohorts. Because baseball is an everyday sport, they constantly strive to find new things to talk about during the game to keep things interesting. Excluding Joe Morgan. Both he and Theismann fall into the role of self-congratulating announcers who love to run parallels between modern-day players and their own glorious playing days.
No. 4 – Less hype.
Without the media buildup of waiting until the next game, as in football, coverage of baseball moves at a rapid pace because the games are constantly being played. There isn’t going to be a week of speculation on what’s going to happen in the next game. Too often other sports are drowned in coverage about a particular game that’s too far away and seemingly every media outlet voices its opinion about it. Oh, Shaq and Kobe are playing each other? Again? What, they didn’t get along as teammates? Fascinating.
If there’s any hype in baseball it usually revolves around a new phenom most people haven’t heard of, remaining interesting until he either reaches expectations or flames out. Still, it’s good to hear about new players finally making the big leagues rather than hearing about how Reggie Bush is going to revolutionize football for the umpteenth time.
No. 5 – Fan Involvement
Have a ball hit to you during the game? Keep it. Catch an extra point or an out-of-bounds pass? Well, stadium security is comin’ for you. Fans at least can be rewarded with a memorable souvenir for the expensive seats they purchase.
No. 6 – Taunts can actually be heard.
While opposing teams can usually understand whatever is being chanted out of the Pit Crew, verbal abuse goes unheard by most players – except in baseball. If a Fenway bleacher bum wants Johnny Damon to know he’s a bum for defecting to the Yankees, he can be sure Damon will hear it.
No. 7- Diversity
Where else can you find Japanese, Venezuelans, Canadians, Dutchmen and Americans playing the same sport in the United States? Good luck trying to find out.
No. 8 – Promotions.
Want a bobblehead of your favorite player? Well, it’s likely going to happen at some point during the season. I even heard the Portland Beavers are giving away John Canzano bobbleheads in July.
No. 9 – Longevity.
Ever seen your favorite player have their career ended by a disgusting injury? (I hope you’re not thinking about Joe Theismann again). In baseball, the debilitating injuries are rare and the most common one (a pitcher having elbow surgery) has been cured thanks to the advances in modern medicine. The best players also tend to play even into their 40s. While most people loathe the sight of Barry Bonds, it’s amazing to see the most dominant pitchers of the ’90s (Grjavascript:replaceBreaks();eg Maddux, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine) continue on into their relative old age.
No. 10 – It’s not a glorified party.
Unlike the scene at far too many football games, baseball fans drink in moderation because they’re actually interested in the event taking place. If heavy drinking is taking place, it’s usually relegated to the cheap seats in the bleachers where fans heckle the opposing outfield, and even they are still fun to be around.
That’s the list. It may not even be the primary reasons to like baseball but it’s what I came up with for now. You still hate baseball? I guess not everyone has the patience to understand the underlying themes of America’s pastime. Go watch O.J. Mayo dunk on YouTube so you can have an idea of the direction basketball’s headed.
[email protected]