Baseball is the greatest invention in the history of homosapiensapiens.It is the greatest metaphor for life yet contrived by the human mind. It embodies the myth of the eternal return. It challenges individual excellence and communnal cooperation while holding out the promise of victory and acceptance of defeat. It is as real as it gets!
Just think. We prepare (gestation) for the big game (life) under the watchful eye of the coach (mother and father). We enter the stadium as a team/community. We sit together on the bench waiting our turn to make our individual contribution for the good of the cause. We step to the plate (home base, safety, warmth of the womb, arms of loved ones) with one objective: round the bases and return home adding to the team score. Sometimes we get a pass (walk) and sometimes we fail (strike out). Sometimes we get a base hit and progress through the journey. Sometimes our trip is cut short. We get to first, advance to second, round third, and head home. There are no guarantees and there are plenty of obstacles standing in our way, such as a hostile world (good opposing pitcher, excellent fielders, poor preparation and execution on our part, you name it). But when it is all said and done, we celebrate or suffer together. Supporters and distractors can only sit and watch. We participants experience the joy or pain. Baseball asks for the best from each of us for the common good. Yes, there are winners and losers, but the game, the game goes on.
If you're interested, there is no better history than Ken Burns' documentary done for PBS. He just needs to take us into the extra innings now. A short and poetic book by Bartlett Giamatti (commissioner who banned Pete Rose and a past president of Yale) entitled A Great and Glorious Game. It is a MUST read. Allen Barra has a very intersting comparison of Mickey and Willie (I don't have to give last names for real fans) entitled Mickey and Willie. Ron Gidrey's Driving Mr. Berra is delightful, especially for Yankee fans.
Peace to all.
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