So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid. ~ Robert Frost
Baseball is a team sport oddly suited for solitude and introverts. To watch, immersed, the pitcher and the batter, standing alone in their places, like those people crowded on the morning subway, absorbed in their alone-ness while standing hip close in a can filled with people.
Like those people who sit alone at the end of the bar staring into ice.
Like those people in church who come early and kneel and hold their rosary more tightly than it needs and you think, “Boy, there must be some stories in those sins.”
The pitcher and the batter, interrupted only by the occasional sign from the catcher or the intrusion of the umpire.
The lonely outfielders, way out in their grass, staring into the game, just like I do off in the bleachers.
Because to immerse yourself in the game as a fan, day after night after day, is an introversion, too.
Manny Machado. May 31, 2015. Camden Yards, Baltimore. © The Baseball Bloggess
So, when you step out of baseball, when there are no more games, when the players disappear into the fog of that last out to go where sleepy players go when they’re not there on the grass, when you only have the memory of those one or two great plays from the thousands that you have seen, you’re a little like a bear, I think, crawling out of winter torpor or waking up after a night’s storm.
You step out into the sunlight, squint, and look around and see what the world has been doing while you’ve been baseballing.
And, you think, “Shit.”
Because the world seems mean and angry and evil. And, nothing and everything has changed from when you left, when you slipped inside that first game of the spring.
Some of my friends wonder how I can love baseball.
How can I not?
When I saw my first game, I was older, in my 20s. And, our seats were up high in Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium. And, we wound our way up through those concrete halls and stepped out into the night, where the lights were bright though the sky was not yet dark, and the grass on that wide field was greener than any other grass in the world, and the diamond so carefully cut in straight and even lines, and there were people playing and tossing a ball, and I have only one memory of that first game, looking at all of that before me and thinking, “I’m home.”
How can I not love baseball?
Because this world seems a scary, ugly place. And, is it wrong to want to look away sometimes?
Not to feed the dark impulse to close one’s eyes completely. But, just to seek a second of solitude. So as not to be guided by fear or the misdirection or broad brush of anger.
The game is a rest station. Something like a star.
It has been two weeks without baseball.
Allen Toussaint (1938-2015)
The Baseball Bloggess 
Beautiful. Perfect with my early morning coffee and the cold, brisk air outside.
I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure I said it right. So, your comment was doubly appreciated … thank you!
“Wasn’t sure I said it right.” ??????????
Trust me, you certainly did. Marvelous.
v
Thank you, v. :)
Absolutely beautiful and timely, given what is happening in the world today. I understand when you say that some of your friends don’t understand your love of baseball. I am sure you know that your friends on here understand. The hardest thing about the offseason is how quickly it comes and how it just goes completely silent. I was driving by one of the minor league ballparks yesterday and I couldn’t even look because I couldn’t stand to see it empty. I really love this piece and all of your work.
Thank you! It’s during these sad times that I realize that baseball is something of a sanctuary for me … and it’s so nice to find folks out here in the ether who understand that and feel that way as well!
I am so pleased to have found someone who loves baseball as much, as irrationally, as I, who feels the game on a personal level, and experiences a palpable sense of loss, when the season ends. I wrote about it in my own, occasional, blog: https://johnbrownson.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/why-baseball-matters/.
For now, I just want to say, “Hi”, and let you know that I look forward to reading whatever you have to say, in future- especially as we sink into the Dark Time of Many Rumors.
Be well.
John
Thank you so much for stopping by … it’s always good to find baseball fans in the ether, especially during these barren months. Let me know if you have a team you follow or favor … I always like linking my readers and commentors to the teams they support. :)
Ahh … I now see from your post that you are a Giants fan. Good enough for Willie Mays, good enough for me! :)
You have described so well the connection between baseball and yoga. Good players find their zone, and the rest of the world is somewhere else. Moving from one yoga pose to another or simply meditating is so good when you are in your zone. But when the game is over or your practice session ends, the world can seem a harsh place. Thank heavens the next season will come, and memories of seasons past are always with us.
Thank you Gloria … I’ve been a bit overcome by the harshness of the world during these past couple weeks. It’s so much easier to complain about bad umpiring.
Strike Two!!
Aww … you made me smile. Thank you for “intruding” on my introspection! :)
“You step out into the sunlight, squint, and look around and see what the world has been doing while you’ve been baseballing.
And, you think, ‘Shit’.”
^I cannot agree more with this sentiment. Baseball is over, and now I feel like I’m stuck in a world that’s going to hell with no escape. 91 days to spring training!
My Editor (who moonlights as my Husband) questioned the use of the word “Shit” in this post. But, as I watch and read the news, it’s a word I’ve used a lot during these past couple weeks. It was the only word that worked. Boy, I miss baseball … where the only controversial things were Jose Bautista’s bat flipping and A-Rod in general. Those were the good old days.
I am going thru everyone’s comments and I must echo the sentiments – baseball this time of year is way too bland! I could not agree more with you all. Here’s to ‘Let’s play Ball’ very soon!
Yup … 90-some days til pitchers and catchers report sure seems like an eternity, doesn’t it?