Abigail Tobis ’20, Editor-in-Chief
Hot dogs, popcorn, and an ice, cold Coca-Cola on a hot summer day. Grabbing a hot dog and hearing the fans roar, rooting for their favorite team. This is the American tradition that has been going on for years. As an avid baseball fan, I have seen the sport slowly decrease in popularity. Our generation is seeing the decline of baseball fandom, while the increase of basketball and football is being seen. Junior, Derek Jambor said, “Baseball is fun, because any team can win. It is anyone’s game.” This is true, yet not everyone views it this way. No longer do we see every single seat filled. We now see clusters of vacancies in several areas. The big question is why? Why did America’s most loved sport turn into one of the least popular.We need to take a look back to remind us of what makes this sport so special and why it should stay being America’s number one.
Baseball is a mental game, meaning it takes a lot of focus and understanding. This might be one of the exact reasons that not everyone enjoys watching it. It is in fact not a contact sport (or realistically should not be) and it is not one where you run it to a goal and then you are done. This being said, the game does not hold a lot of people’s attention.
In reality, the complexity of the game is what makes it so special and interesting. When you truly think of every small aspect that makes up the game then it makes it entertaining and fun to watch. The game of baseball is a mental game. Before every single pitch each player has to think about their next move. The pitcher has to think of what they want to pitch, the batter has to think about if they are going to swing, bunt, slap, or just let it go. Each fielder and outfielder has to think about if they get the ball where are they going to throw, and each runner (if there are any) has to think about if they are going to advance, and if so, how many bases, or if they are going to stay on the bag. If you truly look at how much the player has to think about, it makes it is admirable how much they can comprehend at once.
Looking at the psychics alone, it is truly amazing how someone can throw a 90 mile per hour fastball and then the fact that someone can perfectly hit and time a 90 mile per hour fastball coming at them. Especially if they can hit it out of the park, it takes true skill, strength, and timing for someone to be able to do something so special.
The main reason that the popularity has decreased so much for baseball is people do not have the attention span to hold a two hour and 58 minute game on average. According to Cison on the topic of concentration, “the human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds to eight seconds.” Not many can sit and watch a game unless there is constant things going on, like football and basketball. For baseball, there are times in which things can be slow, and the only thing going on is the mental game, which if you do not understand, can make the game truly boring at times.
The game of baseball dates all the way to 1846. The hot dogs, crackerjacks, cotton candy, and the thrill of watching your favorite team is what makes this sport an American classic and is the reason that we need to keep this sport alive. So, turn on your TV, take a second and try to appreciate the game of baseball.
Photo courtesy of News Today
Lyon Life 