I loved to throw the ball around in the street with my dad, and was intrigued by the smooth, wide leather mitt he kept from his teenage days. We played in P.E., of course. Too much pressure when up to bat. Not enough excitement out in the field. My preferences leaned towards kickball, tetherball, swinging on the bars and running like the wind. Action.
Earlier this summer, I finally had the chance to attend my very first baseball game. Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. I was the token girl amidst seven of my public broadcasting colleagues. We were lucky enough to score seats in the third row right behind home base. And I was informed that these were VERY good seats, which made it that much more enjoyable as we ordered beer and hot dogs, sat back, visited, and watched the game.
As a novice, I found that it's helpful to have an enthusiastic and informed explainer. Your explainer will tell you which player is good at what. He'll share important information about how the batting order is determined, how players have specialties that matter, and how to read the stats on the scoreboard. He'll talk you through what's happening, and sometimes even predict correctly what will happen next. Plus, you can ask all sorts of questions about how people hold the bat, and stand funny, and do other quirky things you notice.
Then in the middle of it all, the most important thing that nobody ever told you comes clear. Baseball is a head game. It isn't really about action. And they're not trying to hit home runs every single time. Aha! So now it starts to get fun. Especially when you discover the added bonus, that the seventh inning stretch really exists -- that even in our era of too-much-coolness, thousands of people are still willing to laugh it up together while singing a silly song.
So when I received an invitation to the second game of my life last week, I jumped at the chance. Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers. Ichiro! Quite possibly the only baseball player I actually know by name. So those seats in the first game... yes... they were good. But this time around, we had the pleasure of purchasing our high-up seats from a scalper on the street outside the stadium, which was its own special thrill.
My assigned explainer for this game had enjoyed a pre-event Bloody Mary, so he wasn't quite up to full-time explaining duties. But I did get some new insights, learned some good lingo, and was told that Ichiro has a crazy batting style that "should never be copied by anyone." There was an exciting home run, some wild catches, a broken bat that flew across the field, and some dippin' dots to snack on. And it turns out that being high up somehow makes you feel more a part of the excitement.
The Mariners won. We leaped up and cheered, then watched the brilliant red sun illuminate the water as it dipped behind the Olympic mountains after the game. I'm not sure I completely understand baseball yet. But I like it. I'll bet Ken Burns can help me fill in the gaps.
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