Baseball Is Back and It Is OK To Be Happy About It

It’s no secret that the year 2020 has been rough on all of us, worldwide and especially in this country.

The pandemic has kept us all in-doors going on 4 months now. On top of that an inevitable revolution has risen demanding racial equality. And may I say, rightfully so. To say it lightly, shit has hit the fan! I know what you are thinking, “That is saying it lightly?” I’d argue yes, considering where we are currently. 

It can be hard to escape the harsh realities of the world at times. One thing this pandemic has taught me is that we all need to stay informed with the news and social issues, but sometimes we need a way to escape it as well. These days it can be hard to escape. Seems like everywhere you look there is something reminding you of the troubles of our current society. That is why we can be happy that baseball is returning. Finally, an escape.

For months, the few things us sports fans have really had to look forward to were UFC on Saturday nights, maybe some Top Rank boxing (if you are into that kind of thing…) and Bundasliga Football (or Soccer for us Americans) in the peak hours of the morning. Luckily, Europe has it’s shit together and all of their major soccer leagues are back. But as a true American through and through, I just miss my game. I miss hearing the crack of the bat when Mike Trout takes one yard in The Big A. I miss the classic pitcher duels between two of the best in the game, Max Scherzer and Jacob Degrom in a sold out Citi Field. I miss cheering “LET’S GO OAKLAND!” at the Coliseum as Matt Chapman walks to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with a man on 3rd. Well, the last one we might not be able to do for a while being that there will be no fans in stadiums this season. But the others we will be able to see in just 25 days. Baseball… IS BACK BABY!

Major League Baseball and its players association approved a 60 game season just a little over a week ago after battling it out through months of negotiations. Players report to what I am calling “Summer Camp”, or Spring Training 2.0 this week on July 1st. Though it may not be the typical 162 game season we are used to, I’ll take anything at this point. Life is tough right now and if it means for a few hours a day I can escape the tyranny that is going on in the world, sit down and just focus on one thing, a ball game, then I think it’s something we can all be excited about.

I know that maybe this take will get a lot of backlash but I just don’t agree with the idea of being upset with people for wanting sports to come back. Look, I know it isn’t fair for us to ask these players to risk their health to entertain us every day. But if they are willing to go and they want to play, then I want to watch. It’s really that simple for me. We know that the MLB has taken drastic measures to ensure players safety this season so that the game can go on. They made a 100 plus page report listing new guidelines. 

For example, there are new rules in place for spitting. Any spitting or finger licking is prohibited. They even added a rule where pitchers can have a wet cloth in their pocket on the mound to get some moisture on the ball. For those of you who don’t know or see it while watching, between almost every pitch a pitcher licks his two throwing fingers. They do this because a little bit of moisture helps them to grip the ball. This is an extremely common and regular practice for pitchers. So, telling them they can’t do this seems like a disaster so that is where the wet cloth comes in handy. I mean a wet cloth! Crazy right! It’s going to look like they sat on a wet seat every inning! With just a fat stain in their butts! But hey, I can’t fault the MLB. They are taking the necessary steps to keep the players safe and still allow them to more or less practice the same routines as usual. But this column isn’t about the nit picking of the new rules it’s about celebrating the return of the game and the things that will help us get that escape we need. So, I digress. 

It’s the little things in life we need to enjoy these days. A lot of people have lost their jobs, some even their loved ones. We should celebrate the things we and those loved ones enjoyed the most. Maybe it can bring some hope into our lives. To quote one of my favorite movies Shawshank Redemption, “Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.” Baseball is too good of a thing to die and we need it now more than ever.

But the real reason we should be excited is, baseball IS America. Literally! It defines us. It has always been so closely associated with our history. It is our oldest pastime. But most of all it has always been a way to integrate change and helped us get through the worst moments in our history. Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier as a stepping stone of movement for the integration in baseball began. The Yankees making their historic run through the post season in 2001 just weeks after 9/11 and showing the world that through bonding over this game we can come out stronger.

I think there is something about baseball that really gets people to feel hopeful. Every year on Opening Day, even when things aren’t looking too optimistic, I always have hope that the A’s can find a way to win it all that season. It’s such a funny game like that because you just never really know what can happen. I’ve seen so many Cinderella stories like the 2012 season with a roster full of young talent winning the division on the last game of the season.  In baseball before that for some reason I never count out a team at the beginning of the season. Every Opening Day I am excited to see what the season has in store for me. I can’t fully explain why, but baseball just gives me that blind hope. Maybe I can use that and direct it toward the world. Though again, I do think some of the change happening is good, other circumstances don’t offer much to look forward to. But now we have baseball.

If your team wasn’t looking promising coming into this season, you have more of a reason to feel hopeful. 60 games is nothing, compared to the marathon of a season we are used to. Your team could pull out a 10 out of 12 game run and be back in the race at any point in the season. Every game matters so much this season. For example, through 60 games last season the two Wild Card teams in the American League would have been the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers (who finished 4 games below .500 last season) instead of my Oakland A’s. In the National League, the Cubs and the Phillies would have snuck in as division winners instead of the Cardinals and the Braves. Isn’t that crazy to think about! This is proof that anybody has a shot this season!

Maybe I’m just a homer for the game (no pun intended). But I really believe baseball is what we need now. It unites us, it’s a celebration of our history and it gives us something to look forward to. Let’s be excited! All of us together! Baseball is back! And I can’t wait to watch from home on Opening Day July 23rd 2020!