Start of the Season: Best Part of Waking Up

-Apr 19, 2009 01:10 AM

Who needs Folgers when you have fantasy baseball waiting in the morning? Waking up to the late night, west coast box scores and your updated match-up score? To the brand new moves, be it Jordan Zimmerman's call up (finally) or Jose Guillen's first stint on the DL (finally) or Chipper Jones' first injury (ALREADY!?)?

Whether or not we should even be playing baseball in April, in a month that Cleveland is liable to get snow and is forced to hand out scarves as a door prize, a month in which C.C Sabathia needs 3 heating pads just to keep his obliques warm between innings, and a month played almost solely on the West Coast, is beside the point. We are playing baseball this early and as crazy as I know it is, I love it. So should you.

Already we have intriguing new heroes and and villains. The Yankees are no longer a dominant Darth Vader, Evan Langoria foils an early sophomore slump, Adam Laroche is actually hitting! Ichiro had his first DL stint... ever... and now has the highest hit total in Japanese history, Ken Griffey Jr. belts 500 on OPENING DAY (Oh if only he had hamstrings! Hank Aaron anyone?), Gary Sheffield is first ever to hit his 500th on a pinch hit, Ryan Ludwich is hitting, we have had 2 cycles, and Tim Lincecum threw 8 innings, no BBs, only 5 H, 13 Ks! No R and he still didn't win (in fact San Fran lost)... Oh must I go on?

Today, at the grill, I could taste summer and Joe Buck's voice over the radio fawning over Albert Pujols was a big part of that. As graduation approaches, I am constantly asked, "What now? What are you going to do this summer?" My first, gut reaction? Watch baseball. Even with a down economy, friends struggling to find jobs, even rationalizing extra years in 40K plus schools to be doing something "important," grad school, Law school, whatever, all I can think of is a summer worth of baseball. It may sound insensitive or stubborn, but it's true. Is it so crazy?

Consider how baseball became the national past time in the first place. The 1930s are remembered as perhaps the worst period of American History, aptly dubbed the "Great Depression;" a term that conjures images of shanty towns, eating shoes, railroad vagabonds... But if you were posed with the question "what happened in the 30s?" What might you say?

I'm beating around the bush. What I mean to say is, if someone asked you to talk about the history of baseball, what would you say? You would probably start with Babe Ruth, and naturally the Yankees would follow... then... I suppose from there it depends on the individual, but are my first claims wrong? What does that mean? It means that baseball, the "national past time," was a product of the depression. Sure you can name some of the biggies before the Babe, probably Ty Cobb or Shoeless Joe, and maybe you can even recall the Cleveland Spiders or Hoenus Wagner, but how much do you really know? The fact of the matter is, baseball seems to start with babe, and the depression. The called shot of 1931 in the 10th inning, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, the BACK TO BACK TO BACK TO BACK Championships from 36-39. For most, the 1930s are not only the images of baseball, but its very beginning, dare I call them "The Glory Days"?

Maybe the recession has brought hope as the first decade of the 21st century closes, and I don't mean Barack Obama. Maybe, with the exposure and ridicule of steroids, the youth movement, led by the Lincecums, the Kershaws, Pedroias, Hamels, Howards, Hanleys, etc. is here to lead us into a baseball renaissance. Sure the 90s seemed great. The McGuire-Sosa line was great, Bonds, THE INDIANS! THE BRAVES! THE YANKEES! But they no longer taste that great. The Brady Anderson 50 HR flavor is sour in the mouth. Albert Bell as an icon, running down kids in a car, burns the throat. So embrace the bug! Did you somehow miss WBC fever? Baseball is doing great, so stop worrying so much. If you still have your mortgage and are remotely happy (not necessarily employed), set aside some money and go see a game. In fact, rationalize, say you are doing it for America. A 7 dollar bleacher seat, a 6 dollar beer, and a 3 dollar hot dog are all valuable contributions to the resurgence of the American Economy. I'm not saying the world is peachy or that no one is in trouble, but let's put things in perspective. Chances are, as bad as the recession is, you are better off than a Mumbai street kid or South American textile worker. And have you never heard the stories from your parents, or grandparents? Life isn't all about money, even during the depression you have to have some victories. So even if it means buying cans and recycling them once a month for a mere 7.47 cents (that's 35 lbs), then do it, because there is your ticket. And let's be honest can you even help but be happy and carefree at a ball game?