Every post on this blog so far has been about me and my recovery from something. Well, tonight I'm going to take a break from that and blog about one of my favorites things in life.
Baseball.
I didn't play the game well as a kid, but I will always love the game. It's a beautiful and manly thing for a pitcher and catcher to take on a batter; to load the bases and battle for either a grand slam or a triple play; to lay down the suicide squeeze. There's true art in Tony Gwynn's swing, Mariano Rivera's cut fastball, and Torii Hunter leaping to steal a homer.
So why are today's stars not more famous? And don't tell me it's because there's too many games, and they're not all on Sunday. It's because, I believe, the people running the game keep telling themselves that the game's best days are behind it.
I say, hogwash. Yeah, Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson are long gone. So why not work towards getting young fans to the point where they'll want to tell their grandchildren about Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw? I see interviews with certain players, especially pitchers, and see celebrity personality shine through. Take Justin Verlander. When he takes the mound, it's almost guaranteed to be a treat. He could have Tom Brady-level fame if the Tigers win a World Series. Why, when discussing Detroit's decline and struggle to rise again, are only the Lions used as a metaphor?
It's because the NFL is run by people with their shit together, and baseball is not.
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