It's Autumn, and that means Fall Ball/Postseason/Playoffs- Babay. I'm delayed in writing this post, seeing as the first round of the playoffs is already in the past, but boy was it great! Last Sunday I spent five (5) hours watching a back-and-forth game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the Boston Red Sox. In twelve solid innings, the Angels' score surpassed the Red Sox' score, and they won (that's usually how sports work). There will be more on the specific postseason in later posts, but for now I want to just express my love for baseball. First off, every pitch is a furious battle between the pitcher and the batter. An absolute battle. The well-studied catcher calls the shots, and the pitcher approves them. Meanwhile, the batter does his best to avoid getting deceived and strike out. He has less than half a second to see the ball leave the pitcher's hand, determine where it's going to be when it arrives at the plate, decide if he wants to swing or not, and then take action. If he is too late or too early, he will hit a foul ball or receive a strike. And that happens with every single pitch. Now, once the ball is in play, just think of all the possibilities! It could go to the outfield, stay in the infield, get caught, foul off, blast out of the park or be grounded right to a player. It's amazing to me that there are so many close plays at first base. I mean, think about it, who knew, or how many trial and errors did it take to know that if 1st base was exactly 90 feet away from home plate, there would always be a close play at the bag? It's genius! Baseball is just a perfect hybrid between individual effort and team effort. You can't win by yourself, but you certainly can sway an entire game the other way with one swing of the bat. Each team has 162 games spanning six (6) months to improve and prove themselves worthy to keep playing for a seventh. Right now, there are only four teams that have proved worthy. Go Red Sox! Obviously this post is just scratching the surface, but I hope it gives you an idea as to why October is one of the twelve best months of the whole year, easily!
1 comment:
What a great description of baseball, Dave. It's impressive to hear someone so excited about it, since I know many a person who thinks baseball is boring.. Not me, of course. At least I like going to the games... Anyway, I like the way you like it. :)
Post a Comment