Sing along.....
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.
Ah yes. The immortal words of song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball. In 1908 those words were written by vaudeville star Jack Norworth, who while riding a subway train, was inspired by a sign that said "Baseball Today — Polo Grounds". Ok, yes there are more words than that but those are the words that every baseball fan has grown up to sing. As one of the most recognized songs in the history of the United States, it is a tune that in the right circles is as popular as “Happy Birthday to You.” But ask yourself this, is it time for a remake. Be realistic. Every big song has to have a remake right. “American Woman” in 1970 by Guess Who, taken back to the top by Lenny Kravitz in 1998. “Break on Through (to the other side)” was a smash for the Doors in 1967 and came back with the Stone Temple Pilots in 2000. I can go on and on but the point is these songs all were big and behind some tweaking and revamping to fit the age, came back to like. That takes me back to Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Time for a revamping?
How about this.......
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me a hot dog and sunflower seeds
Eight bucks for a soda, seems right to me
We'll boo the umps and heckle the other team
Cause it just feels right
For no matter what the final score may be
We just are in a bad mood tonight.
Yeah easy true blue baseball fans easy, I am just joshin'. I love the game of baseball period. I love the smell of the grass, the sound of the bat, and the feel of the sun. I love the PA guy making the announcements, the organ music, the bark of the umpire and the taste of the seven-dollar flat beer. I love mustard on my shirt, sweat on my brow, and the feeling I get when the left fielder makes that sliding catch. I love the roar of the homerun, the groan of the double play and the joy and disappointment that it fuels. I love the fact that baseball, like any other entertainment industry, can give us as Americans so much joy over a weekend, spur so much discussion in the coffee shop on Monday and leave us breathless and wanting more. I LOVE THIS GAME!!
I hate where it is going.
I have been to a lot of baseball games. More than the average person? Not real sure but I know I have seen 10 different Major League teams live and in color. I have seen several college games in several venues. I have seen minor leagues, independents, high schools, legion squads, and about everything in between. I have seen some of the best games in great parks and I have seen ugly games in below average venues. Sometimes I have had a horse in the race and real wanted one team to win. Sometimes I find myself just sitting in the bleachers in some backwater town in the middle of the middle west not knowing anything about either team but just knowing four bucks for one in the bleachers is worth the fun in the sun on a Saturday.
The one thing that continues to ring true for me is this. I love a well turned double play. I love to hear a homer as it leaves the bat, I love to see the dust fly on the close play at second and I just plain love good baseball.
I have been a Kansas City Royals fan since I was seven. I have seen my share of terrible seasons. I have a great respect for Nolan Ryan and the Rangers. I have great respect for the power house teams in St. Louis. I even, though am not a fan of, have a quiet respect for the Yankees. I grew up watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers play. Yes I am a Huskers fan! I have great respect for what Augie Garrido has been able to do at Texas and the quality of baseball at Cal-State Fullerton, Arizona State, Miami, Rice and others. I wish all the best to all the teams in the Big 12 including Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Kansas and Missouri. Why? Why the love and respect for these other college teams and major league teams? Cause it makes for great baseball.
I will go anywhere and watch any team within my means and I drag my kids to any game I can. Why? For great baseball and the ability to learn and respect the game that has provided me so much fun, excitement, and passion over the last 30 years.
Recently I have the privilege to attend a game and watch a team I had never seen play in a park I had never been to. Me and the boys loaded up the car and made was an easy drive to the ball park. We got our sodas and our popcorn and settled in right behind home plate and got ready to see some awesome baseball. Guess what? It was awesome baseball! Three-to-nothing game with rips off the wall, bang-bang plays, pitchers throwing the nasty hammer and the whole nine yards! GREAT BASEBALL!
I enjoyed nearly every minute. Nearly every minute.
Seven pitches in, and out came the boo birds. Not a run on the board and not one hitter goes by and out comes the hecklers. “Hey ump, how much are they paying you,” and “you need to dump that water on your head and wake up,” and “get some glasses, you are missing a great game.” I don't even want to touch on the heckling.
Why? What is the point?
Let me point something out a few things that seem to get missed.
The average major league baseball team will throw over 24,000 pitches in the course of a season. Does it seem logical that an umpire may miss one or two? Find me a lawyer who tries 24,000 cases and wins everyone, or a doctor who sees 24,000 patients and cures everyone.
Two, do you think they hear you? Really? With all the noise, shouting, players talking and shouting and being fifty feet away do you really think they hear you?
Three. Have you ever seen an umpire change a call after a fan points out his mistake? Really?
I get the privilege to see a lot of sports and get the unreal opportunity to talk about what I see. Have I ever questioned an official? You bet your boots I have! I prefer this statement. “Well I thought that pitched looked outside, must have not been the case.” Or “I am not sure what that official saw, but it is not what I saw.” Is that perfect? No. Should I question them? May not. But accusing an official of being on the take, insulting his health or intelligence? NEVER!
I have been that guy in the stripes with the whistle and that guy with the mask and counter. Been there done that. Try it. I dare you! Get certified and go out and give it a shot. Good luck!
I am more concerned with this than the health and well being of our officials because let me tell you this, they don't really care what you think.
I am more concerned with the message we send our youth. We preach ethics and sportsmanship and how to win with pride and honor to our kids as they compete in youth leagues and high school. Then we take them to a college game to yell at umpires and heckle other players. Good thinking!
I hope to see you at the ballpark soon and yes I will be going back to the ballpark and taking the kids as much as I can. Come sit with us. Enjoy the game. Let's talk baseball. Lets celebrate the great plays and use them as well as the mistakes we see to teach our kids. Let's you and I sit in the bleachers and enjoy that over priced hot dog and soda (or beer if you are a hops and barley guy like me) and when our team wins, let's cheer. If our teams loses, lets me down for a moment but recognize that there is always the next game or the next season, and how well that other team had to play to beat our guys cause we ARE AWESOME! Let's have fun as we......
Let me root, root, root for game as a whole
and just enjoy the old ball game.
It's Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Mind. Thanks for your time!
