Baseball
Somewhere on the tele I heard a talking head describe how much Americans loved baseball. In what other sport do people know who holds the home run record (Hank Aaron in my opinion but it is more than fair to say that Josh Gibson probably hit more HR’s than the Aaron and Babe Ruth in the Negro Leagues), stolen base record (Ricky Henderson), and who won the ’84 World Series (the Detroit Tigers). Ask who the sack leader in football is and no one knows nor cares beyond that immediate season. Baseball fans know their sport. Perhaps some study the sport too much (sabermetrics). Another thing is that regardless of whether your team stinks or not you are loyal to your team and to its players. As a kid my favorite ball player was Alan Trammell, shortstop for the Tigers. My family lived down the street from old Tiger Stadium and the chances that I got to go to the games with my dad were heaven. Like Arjona says about your parents: “te heredan sus complejos, Iglesia y hasta equipo de futbol.” I don’t mind at all inheriting the Tigers as a team, bundled with all the issues up i my head. There’s meaning when you follow your hometown team and not because of the uniform or some other lame reason.
Baseball is democracy in action: In it all men are “free and equal,” regardless of race, nationality or creed. Every man is given the rightful opportunity to rise to the top on his own merits…It is the fullest expression of freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly in our national life.
-Francis Trevelyan Miller
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