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Thread: The Beautiful Game

  1. #1
    Resident optimist OldRightHander's Avatar
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    Sep 2002
    Location
    east of WOY
    Posts
    5,086

    The Beautiful Game

    Baseball really is the beautiful game. I've always believed that on some level, but never really gave it much thought before. It's always been my favorite game for reasons I could never really figure out, or that I had chalked up to the tradition of growing up in Cincinnati, raised by parents who were also Reds fans. But a fan can go years following a team and the game that team plays and still miss the beauty.

    It's so easy to get caught up in what the lineups should be or why so and so really is a good player in spite of what large segments of the fan base and certain announcers believe. It's easy to look at the numbers and quantify the good and bad of the team we love, and there is a place for that, but you have to be careful not to miss the beauty.

    I almost missed it. I have been watching so little baseball recently because I'm always on the road and just able to listen most of the time. I get the information and even get caught up in the emotion of a good win or a close game, but there is beauty beyond that.

    Tonight I saw the beauty of baseball while watching a game I had no real rooting interest in. There was more than just a game going on there. There was the natural beauty of the grass and the blue sky above, the perfection of the checkered pattern in the grass and the perfect symmetry of the diamond itself. There was the artistry in the smooth windup and delivery of a pitcher who has command of his craft and even a certain aesthetic beauty in the flight of the ball from pitcher's hand, to the bat, to the glove of the shortstop, and then to the glove of the first baseman.

    Everything became a testimony to the beauty of this game. A line drive down the line was more than a good piece of hitting. Just the flight of the ball was a delight to behold, as was the perfect synchronization of the defensive players when turning a double play on a two hopper to second. The subtle alignment changes from hitter to hitter or sometimes from pitch to pitch, the route of an outfielder and the flight of the ball meeting deep in the gap, a strong throw from the shortstop to first. All of these things are beautiful to behold in their own way, and should be experienced live to gain a full appreciation of the beauty.

    When you take the time to notice it, there is so much pure beauty in the game of baseball. It really is 18 artists creating a masterpiece on a canvas of grass and dirt, a timeless work of art for all to enjoy. Baseball really is the beautiful game.


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  3. #2
    Five Tool Fool jojo's Avatar
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    Nov 2006
    Posts
    21,390

    Re: The Beautiful Game

    The Reason for Rainbows

    There was an Old Man of Late Summer
    Met a Winter Boy out of the blue,
    And he whisked him away
    From the city one day
    Just to show him what country boys do.

    He taught him three whys of a rooster,
    And he showed him two hows of a hen.
    Then he’d try to bewitch him
    With curveballs he’d pitch him
    Again and again and again.

    He taught him the reason for rainbows,
    And he showed him why lightning was king,
    Then he fingered the last ball—
    A wicked hop fastball—
    He threw to the plate on a string.

    Oh, the Old Summer Man and the Young Winter Lad
    Spent the light of each day—every moment they had—
    In the wind and the rain, or the late summer sun,
    Where he taught him to pitch and he taught him to run
    In the wind and rain and the late summer sun.

    But when that Old Man of Late Summer
    Met the Winter Boy out of the blue,
    He said to him, “Son,
    You can pitch, you can run,
    But to hit here is what you must do:

    Just pretend that the stick on your shoulder
    Is as wide as a bald eagle’s wing.
    You’re a bird on a wire
    And your hands are on fire—
    But you’re never too eager to swing.

    Stand as still as a rabbit in danger,
    Watch the pitch with the eyes of a cat.
    What will fly past the mound—
    Unforgettable sound—
    Is the ball as it cracks off the bat.”

    Oh, the Old Summer Man and the Young Winter Lad
    Spent the light of each day—every moment they had—
    In the wind and the rain, or the late summer sun,
    Where he taught him to pitch and he taught him to run
    In the wind and rain and the late summer sun.

    -J. Patrick Lewis
    "This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner

  4. #3
    SERP deep cover ops WebScorpion's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Oregon City
    Posts
    5,475

    Re: The Beautiful Game

    It's about
    the ball,
    the bat,
    and the mitt.
    Ball hits
    bat, or it
    hits mitt.
    Bat doesn't
    hit ball, bat
    meets it.
    Ball bounces
    off bat, flies
    air, or thuds
    ground (dud)
    or it
    fits mitt.

    Bat waits
    for ball
    to mate.
    Ball hates
    to take bat's
    bait. Ball
    flirts, bat's
    late, don't
    keep the date.
    Ball goes in
    (thwack) to mitt,
    and goes out
    (thwack) back
    to mitt.

    Ball fits
    mitt, but
    not all
    the time.
    Sometimes
    ball gets hit
    (pow) when bat
    meets it,
    and sails
    to a place
    where mitt
    has to quit
    in disgrace.
    That's about
    the bases
    loaded,
    about 40,000
    fans exploded.

    It's about
    the ball,
    the bat,
    the mitt,
    the bases
    and the fans.
    It's done
    on a diamond,
    and for fun.
    It's about
    home, and it's
    about run.

    Analysis of Baseball
    -May Swenson

    "This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann

  5. #4
    You're being very UnDude. sonny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    1,583

    Re: The Beautiful Game

    Put me in coach,
    I'm ready to play today
    I can be
    Centerfield.

    - J. Fogherty
    Witty signature.


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