I came across this tune on YouTube, which appears to be an original by this gentleman (if anyone knows otherwise, please feel free to let me know). I especially love the way he opens the song, particularly the phrase “as seen through the eyes of a young boy.” Because, ultimately, doesn’t baseball bring us all back to our childhoods?
Baseball is too much of a sport to be called a business, and too much of a business to be called a sport.
~Philip Wrigley
I like the simplicity of this piece. It captures the most basic, most concrete qualities of the experience of attending a baseball game. It makes me eager for the season to start so that I can get out to the K!
*
The game of baseball is the king
Of all the games we play
And it is one pursuit that is
Distinctly U.S.A.
The people swarm into the stands
To watch their favorite teams
And munch their hot dogs when their lungs
Are not engaged in screams
The pitcher hurls the horsehide and
The batter gets a hit
Or else the ball goes sailing and
Some fielder smothers it
A clever runner steals a base
A player takes a walk
Or managers and umpires
Decide to have a talk
The crowd is gay or gloomy or
Completely in suspense
But it goes wild when someone knocks
The ball beyond the fence.
Spring Training starts next week!
Baseball is more than a game to me, it’s a religion.
~Bill Klem
Poor child. We feel your pain.
This is an interesting infographic. A lot of these bits of trivia I already knew, though some were new to me. I do question the bit about Forbes Field — there seems to be a lot of debate over what actually qualifies for the title of “first field” in America. First stadium might have been more accurate phrasing, though that’s probably debatable, too.
I must say, the kid has a point.
