Monday, December 14, 2009

Baseball Will Always Persevere



The very root of life is persistence; nothing more, nothing less. Baseball is a shining example of this.

As I’m sitting here thinking about how to start this post off, I realize that the thought posted above is perhaps the best way to go. You see, I just got done reading Peter Gammons’ farewell to ESPN and quite frankly, it’s the first thing that popped into my mind. If you haven’t done so already, I highly suggest you take a moment to read it, and you’ll see why.

Gammons is a guy that I have made every effort in the world to read at any given time, and quite frankly, is one of the reasons I got into sports blogging in the first place. Sure, I guess it could be skewed that my respect for Gammons and his work could have something to do with his obvious affinity with the Red Sox, but that would be missing the big picture. My respect for Gammons is more due to his almost childish love for the game of baseball and the need to gather as much information about the game to fuel it

So it’s not without surprise that after reading the aforementioned address, it becomes easier for me to clear away the clouded vision and see the game again. We forget the joy of the game when we get side-tracked by the propaganda that the media gets lost in these days. Sometimes we just need a small reminder of how special the game is in order to forget about the cuts on the ball.

And Gammons got that. He doesn’t go on at length about the scandals that ripped at the game and threatened to destroy it. He doesn't rant on about how money and greed are destroying the game. He doesn't care about the slew of records that have fallen because steroid usage ran rampant for the better part of a decade. Rather, he talks about the memories of World Series heroes, of the games great moments, and of the players that simply went out there to play the game. Gammons talks of these things not as a reporter, but as a fan sitting in the stands with a beer and a hot dog, and he has no regrets about it. He gets it.

And maybe that’s the lesson we need to take from it, as bloggers, as writers, and most of all, as fans. Despite the scars the game has taken or inflicted upon itself over the years in the name of business, greed, or vanity, it is still a game and will always be a game. It has persevered through wars, through depressions, through tragedies, and through controversies. It has risen time and again like the phoenix from the ashes, renewed and reinvigorated. It has not been broken because forever behind it has been the strength and intrigue of wide-eyed youth to keep it going.

Sometimes we just need to remember how to get in touch with the kid inside again.

No comments:

Post a Comment