Summer is not my favorite season. I am not a person who enjoys the heat. 65 degrees sounds like an ideal temperature to me. That said, I always look forward to August each summer. Not to go swimming or water skiing or boating, but to watch for a few weeks 11 – 13 year olds play baseball in the Little League World Series. For many years, it has been the only baseball I watch.
When I was growing up, I played baseball all the time. I mean all the time! You know, playing until it got so dark you couldn’t see the ball anymore. I played with my cousins and neighborhoods friends. We even had all the equipment, catcher’s mask, bases, etc. We were serious about our baseball. I played in the summer leagues, then some in high school. After that, it was softball in college. I also coached and umpired. I simply could not spend enough time with the game. Then, in 1981, the major league players went on strike. No baseball that year. I was angry and promised to never follow the game again. And I didn’t. The game I loved had been reduced to an argument between millionaires over who got how much. It seemed traitorous to me and I was done.
The, in the 1990s the Little League World Series began to appear on television. At first, it was just the championship game, then the preliminaries. Now, you can watch all the regional games and every game from Williamsport leading up to the championship. I watch as many games as I can, regardless of who is playing, U.S. team or from around the world. Why? Because these youngsters still play the game I grew up with. They don’t play for money, but simply the pure joy of playing the game. Sure, they want to win and are heartbroken when they lose. But that is because they love the game so much. Every player gives his or her all with every at bat. And it shows on the field. Honestly, I think these kids make more great plays than the big league players do. They haven’t learned yet how to go through the motions in anticipation of the big play. Every play is a big play to them. And that’s what makes watching so enjoyable. All out, all the time the way any game is supposed to be played.
Many of the baseball movies have touched on it, but none can describe what makes baseball special like the youngsters who gather from around the world each year in a small Pennsylvania town and play the game. The players are not paid. The umpires are not paid. The fans don’t pay to come see the games. That is as pure as it can get. I watched one of the most amazing things during a recent game. A player hit a big home run to put his team ahead. After he touched home plate, he went over to the opposing coach and apologized because he felt he got carried away celebrating and that wasn’t good sportsmanship. All too rare a quality in sports these days.
Going to the Little League World Series is on my bucket list. I can’t think of a sports scene that would be any better to experience.
One response
Mark this post stirred up a lot of precious childhood memories of summertime. We would round up neighborhood friends, cousins and anyone else we could get to play a game of baseball. We were miles from anything resembling a real ball diamond so consequently any open field minus cows or horses, had potential for hosting a game. We shared gloves, bats and whatever we could find would serve as bases. Of course everyone appreciated how critical it was to never lose site of a foul ball as well!!
Do you see kids outside playing neighborhood baseball anymore? Or, how about kids doing anything outside? Sad how some things have changed in one short generation.
Like you I had an absolute passion for the game and when organized baseball was no longer available to me, softball became my drug of choice! League play two nights a week and then tournaments on the weekends. Car washes to raise money for uniforms and entry fees. You know your girlfriend, fiance truly loves you when you drag her to game after game and tournament after tournament, and she never complains. Oh those were halcyon days. I must admit, I would love to feel that passionate about anything again.