It is just as American as apple pie and the bald eagle. It captures both the traditions of the past and the evolution of the present. It has brought some of the most significant moments in sports history; after all, it is our national pastime. The chase to win the World Series is on, and as I once again rediscover the joys of baseball, it reminds me of all that is good in America.
Like many Americans, I had fallen out of love with baseball for a few years. Between work, school, and other activities, I just had no desire to keep up with what seemed like an endless regular season, the constant “buying” of championship teams, and the prima donnas who tend to dominate the airspace. However, as I have started to once again watch our national pastime, it reminds me of what is good about America. If you look at the landscape of the post-season, there are a variety of teams, each with their own individual stories.
You have your traditional powerhouse St. Louis Cardinals, who made the decision not to resign megastar Albert Pujols, and it has worked out for them. You have an upstart Cubs team with a history of the “Billy Goat's Curse;" the perennial underdog who has overachieved and wasn’t even meant to be in the post-season. Then there are the Dodgers and Mets, two teams that come from a large market and are not afraid to spend, yet have spent years in mediocrity, or, in the Mets' case, as a down-right bad team.
Over in the in the AL, you have the resurrection of the Toronto Blue Jays, a powerhouse of a team that feels like more of the traditional “bought” team. Then you have the Royals, a team who has built itself back up from decades of bottom feeding to build a perennial contender. Both the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers were picked to be last in their division, but both teams overcame the obstacles set in front of them and are threatening to steal away the post-season. This is part of the magic of baseball; as much as we complain about the way teams are bought, you truly never know what can happen once the post-season starts. If recent history has proven anything, it is that money does not buy championships.
The real magic of baseball comes when you look inside the dugout and at the team itself. You have a mix of different races, religions, beliefs, and languages all in one locker room, all working as a team together. Divisions melt away, prejudices are put to the side, and everyone comes together for the betterment of everyone else. In a sense, this is an allegory for the American Dream and America itself. Baseball like the U.S.; a melting pot of diverse populations coming together for a common good. Like the U.S., baseball has had issues with coming into the modern era, but has made strides in doing so and in many ways is ahead of the curve. It doesn’t matter what nationality you are, what language you speak, what God you do or do not pray to, all that matters is one thing: the love of the game.
