Why do you love baseball?

[Cedric]

A secretary at work asked me today why I loved the Reds so much. I answered in about five minutes and I'm curious what you all think.

Some of my answer revolved around nostalgia. Some of my answer revolved around the fact baseball isn't an "instant gratification sport."

[MikeThierry]

There is no clock. It is the perfect summer game. I also don't think any other sport has the emotional appeal to it as baseball does. When I smell the leather of the glove, it takes me back to my childhood playing catch with my bro. That hotdog smell at ball parks brings you back to your first game as a child. It is also a timeless game. A .300 hitter is just as excellent now as it was in 1900. There are just so many things to love about baseball.

[Cedric]

There is no clock. It is the perfect summer game. I also don't think any other sport has the emotional appeal to it as baseball does. When I smell the leather of the glove, it takes me back to my childhood playing catch with my bro. That hotdog smell at ball parks brings you back to your first game as a child. It is also a timeless game. A .300 hitter is just as excellent now as it was in 1900. There are just so many things to love about baseball.

I still remember my grandpa sitting in his summer house complaining about Marty Brenneman. "Just call the game Marty."

He loved Marty though. He had the right to complain when Marty was going off on some non baseball tangent. I remember my grandpa a lot when I think of the Reds, which is often. I think the way baseball flows through generations makes it special.

[cinreds21]

I honestly don't know what it is. The game is just so different from any other sport. How detailed it is and how much you have to think, not just on the field, but off the field with everything that goes into it. Having to look over, not just your big league team, but an entire minor league system. I just love the game and it feels home to me for some reason. I feel in love with it at 14-years-old and have never looked back. Baseball is a major part of my life and will only get bigger as my career starts.

[MikeThierry]

I still remember my grandpa sitting in his summer house complaining about Marty Brenneman. "Just call the game Marty."

He loved Marty though. He had the right to complain when Marty was going off on some non baseball tangent. I remember my grandpa a lot when I think of the Reds, which is often. I think the way baseball flows through generations makes it special.

Cedric you bring up something that I think everyone has experienced, which is awesome. I think everyone's grandfather had or has a subject that they have a "wild hair" on. With one of my grandfathers, I always got a laugh when he ranted about how Jim Edmonds would purposely let up on a ball to hot dog it. It was great entertainment seeing him yelling at the TV. I miss those times.

[westofyou]

Baseball is not like the other games, it's not a back and forth sport, it doesn't allow random substitution, it's not divided in half's, quarters, periods, sets or matches. Baseball employs numerous amount of different approaches and thus different players can fit these scenarios, it has more changes that occur naturally than the other sports, it's longer, has more games and each season plays as a role in a play of your life.

It's intertwined with America and its growth, it's a subsection of history that is deep and worthy of loads and loads of words.

It's poetry, it's rock n roll, it's snow on Christmas morning.

It's not a bad thing to follow at all

[reds1869]

So much of my life has been wrapped up in the game that it is hard to pinpoint an answer. I love everything about baseball. One thing that certainly stands out is the connections made with those close to me, including those who are no longer around. Baseball is a generational passion in my family, more so than any other sport.

[camisadelgolf]

A game-winning home run is nice and all, but because I'm sadistic, I watch it for things like this:

[*BaseClogger*]

Baseball is not like the other games, it's not a back and forth sport, it doesn't allow random substitution, it's not divided in half's, quarters, periods, sets or matches. Baseball employs numerous amount of different approaches and thus different players can fit these scenarios, it has more changes that occur naturally than the other sports, it's longer, has more games and each season plays as a role in a play of your life.

It's intertwined with America and its growth, it's a subsection of history that is deep and worthy of loads and loads of words.

It's poetry, it's rock n roll, it's snow on Christmas morning.

It's not a bad thing to follow at all

I was waiting for your response. Your descriptions always bring a smile to my face and make me want to quote them when I explain my love of the game to others...

[camisadelgolf]

I was waiting for your response. Your descriptions always bring a smile to my face and make me want to quote them when I explain my love of the game to others...

[*BaseClogger*]

[VR]

I was the youngest of 6 kids...and knew my dad loved baseball, so I had a special attraction.
And then the Big Red Machine happened.....Monday Night Baseball.......Saturdays with Tony Kubek and Joe Garagiloa. I was an Iowa boy...and they were the team to follow.

Foster and Bench were gods.....couldn't get enough of every box score and highlight, at 10:20 local time. I was a stat junkie....couldn't wait to get the Sunday paper with the updated stats of my Reds. I kept a notebook in 8th grade to keep a running tally of BA's & ERAs.

We were dirt poor growing up, and my dad promised me $100 if I ever hit a homerun. I was a tall, skinny kid growing up, and we played at a big field. I hit a 420 foot bomb in 1984, and my dad couldn't have been happier to go to the bank, withdraw a C-note, and present it to me. The proudest moment w/ my pops.


Still today, I wonder why I still love the Reds. I have never been to a home game....and probably hold the record for most Reds games attended without ever attending in Cincy. I'm hooked, I can't explain it.


I love watching baseball, following it on Gameday, TV, RZ. Playing it, coaching it, being a random person in the stadium. I feel like I'm a better person when I'm at a game.



My dad, a Cardinals fan from the 30's, passed away in 91, before the Reds/Cards were fiery competitors....I can only imagine what that would look like.

[Always Red]

I didn't choose baseball, it chose me. One of my grandfathers played minor league ball with Dizzy Dean. My mom went to West Hi with Pete Rose. I learned my left from my right hand by which was LF and RF. My dad grew up just on the other side of the hill (Bald Knob) of Crosley Field. My earliest memories as a kid were climbing that hill with my Dad to look over the Mill Creek Valley at the old ballpark, and going to games with him and my grandfathers. The shock of the brightness of that green grass, the smell of those Ibold cigars, well, it's something I will have with me always.

I've often said on this site that my own idea of heaven is listening to (not cranky old but young) Marty and Joe on the radio, while sitting in my backyard, sipping a cold one on a hot summer night. In my late teens and early 20's, when I was young and stupid, me and my dad couldn't talk about anything. Except baseball. We both loved baseball, and sometimes, often times, it was the only thing we had in common.

Baseball is my family history, it's been a constant throughout my entire life. I do not have sons, but my own daughters love the game, and love going with me to the games. For me now, baseball is release, it's how I get my mind off of my work and relax, it's an escape from the real world. I dont get too upset now that the Reds are struggling; i enjoy the fact that "struggling" means 2 games over .500 halfway through the year! Baseball has always been there, throughout my entire life. It's the single one common thread that has run through my whole life. It was my first love, and it's something that I know I will love until the day I die.

Like many of you, I don't even need to have seen or heard the game to be able to replay it in my mind. Looking at a box score the next day, you can easily figure out what happened, and replay the game in your mind. Try that with any other game.

Baseball has never let me down. Ever. I am away on vacation right now, and had fun watching 2 teenaged boys tossing ball in the street. When the big boys in the majors complain and strike, we always have college ball, minor league ball, high school ball and knothole baseball. Baseball is also unique to the history of this country. I love history, American history, and I love baseball history, and they both go hand in hand. Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball, but he was a Union general who loved baseball. There is so much you can learn, and happily for me, so much more I can learn about the game, and the history of the game.

[Ron Madden]

The Reds and Baseball have always played a huge part in my life.

The Reds are in my blood, in my memories, in my hopes for the future.

[Mario-Rijo]

I guess for alot of the reasons people have stated here already. But I know when I was a kid I didn't love it nearly as much. Actually I got quite bored with it often because I didn't always "get it" and mainly only watched/listened because my grandpa did. But at some point the fever just struck me, and stuck to me. I think it was honestly the Eddie Milner/Gary Redus version that 1st started to peak my interest. And then Eric Davis happened and my excitement jumped a few notches and I began to understand the game more little by little. All of a sudden Barry Larkin came along and I was at an all time high, and then came Spuds, the Nasty Boys and Rijo, etc. to add personality to the grace I was drawn to. What a concoction and then the winning began and I was hooked forever more.

It's kinda funny what you really remember after many years of watching it. I have forgotten much but whenever I am asked what draws me I think of Barry going deep in the hole to his right or Eric with that smooth, rhythmic pre-pitch batting motion transitioning to an explosively awesome swing. So I guess you could say I was drawn to the wow factor, the beauty & grace with which the best played the game and I stayed for the intrigue. Well all that and Grandpa...he loved it and it loved him back so I owed it to the game to give it enough of a chance to stick to me.