Alive and Well
October 19, 2004
Bill Veeck, pioneer owner and baseball personality, once said, "Baseball must be a great game, because the owners haven't been able to kill it." After watching about 20 hours of baseball over the last two days, I couldn't agree more.
Baseball is a game few Canadians seem to understand. They see it full of dead time; players stepping out, pitchers stepping off the rubber, and they fail to see the beauty of baseball in those moments that build suspense and bring you to the edge of your seat with each pitch. It mirrors the baseball season, to paraphrase Ken Burns' documentary Baseball, "It starts with the fond expectancies of spring, and ends with the harsh realities of winter."
Did you see the cutaway shots at Fenway the last couple of nights? With all do respect to St. Louis and New York, both great baseball cities, no one loves their team like Bostonians. They could have, maybe should have, packed it in after getting knocked around their own ballpark in Game 3, facing elimination that only 2 NHL teams have come back from in major sports history. But they didn't. They crossed their fingers, peeked through hands covering their eyes, held their crucifixes. Why? Because David Ortiz might just hit the next pitch a country mile as he did in Game 4 to win it, or just enough to float it over the infield in Game 5 last night to score Johnny Damon and send the series back to New York. Can you imagine the atmosphere in the Bronx tonight? Neither can I.
The same can be said of Houston. They are the odd man out here. Boston, New York, St. Louis and...Houston? They had never won a series before beating the Braves, and looked oh so overmatched in Game 1 and 2. That seemed like such a distant memory by the time Jeff Kent hit a ball that might, might have landed by the time you read this post. Think Busch will be a little crazy come Wednesday afternoon? So do I.
Nope, the owner's can't kill it. The "great glory of the game" that Giamatti spoke of will always assert itself, especially in October. NBA finals? Not even close to the drama. Super Bowl? Simply a diversion from the halftime show and commercials. Stanley Cup? Well, we will see when they actually play for another one. By the way, is Hockey a great enough game that the owner's can't kill it?
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Comments
Dad says:
Great article and the sad thing is I'm one of the few people that really remember the names like Bill Veeck and the "old Scholl" guys! If they'd just get rid of the designated hitter, all would be real! The one other thing though, I get sick and tired of hearing about the "playoff" records. In the old days, the playoffs consisted of the World Series, period! so stop with the records stuff!!!!!! Don't even try comparing todays players with yesterdays players. Don't go there and don't get me started!
Yo Daddy (not Pedros daddy)
Kevin Collins says:
Great commentary Brad. I am sitting here watching the Red Sox right now with a 4-0 lead, and I am loving every minute of it. I have stayed up for every minute of the last two games, which has made it pretty difficult to get up and go to work at 5:30 in the morning, but playoff baseball only comes around once a year. Being a lifetime Braves fan, I have accepted the Red Sox as my other favorite team. How can you not love these blue collar guys with overgrown hair and overgrown goatees, although Pedro and Manny need to reconsider the perms. I came into the post season saying that the Cardnals are probably the best team in baseball, but Houston has shown alot of heart taking the lead in that series. Jeff Kent hit a great homerun last night, but I still don't like the guy.
When I was in college, my Sport Management school hosted an annual conference, bringing in students from around the country and top professionals in the sports business to provide us with insight. My first year attending the conference, Mike Veeck was the keynote speaker. He delivered a great address, speaking about how baseball has always been the greatest game, and telling us stories about the things he was exposed to having his Dad as an owner. He also talked alot about his minor league team, and how great it was to go to his office every morning and look out over a magnificent baseball diamond. I have been experiencing that sensation in a sense, going up to our baseball field everyday after school and going through workouts with our teams. My wife and I are going to New York for the week of Christmas this year, and of course I am dragging her to Yankee Stadium for a tour. My greatest hope is that I can stand on that field and look around and say this is where the Red Sox celebrated the greatest comeback in sports history and their first trip to the World Series in 85 years. Maybe I will be wearing a World Champions hat....i'm sure the Yankee Stadium staff would show me great hospitality.
Jim Turner says:
The article was great---I do appreciate the drama of every pitch--which to some is boring.I suppose my Dad gave the game to me and maybe your Dad gave it to you---I would love for everyone to see it like you seem to.
Of course, now that the whole Series is over ,it is hard to go to work and come home tono Series at night.But,that's what makes memories---keep up the blogs!!Thanks!!
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John Hickert says:
I agree, what a game. Last night I was on the edge of my seat every pitch from the 8th inning on. Such drama in this game. I can't wait until tonight. Oh yea, the Cardinals played last night too. Well, hopfully they can come home, get their fans in the game, and pull out a couple of wins. Go Sox.