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Week Ten- The End

This course, LSP 112, revealed an abundance of themes within baseball. Before taking the class, I did not know there were so many. There were a few themes that I connected with more than the others, making them more powerful in the readings. The first is the connection between baseball and family. This theme became most apparent to me in “2004, A Red Sox Odyssey” by Tim Stone. In this story, the author explains on his connection to the Red Sox due to his family history. He felt that by watching the Red Sox break the curse of the bambino, he witnessed what his grandfather waited so long to do. This the theme I most related to. Although I am from Dallas, my dad’s love for the Brewers growing up cause me to be a fan as well. This was a pretty obvious theme in “2004, A Red Sox Odyssey”. In several of the other readings, identifying themes was not so easy. That’s what made critical reading important in this class. My reading skills have never been good because its always been my least f...
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Week Eight- Creative Writing

Creative writing in baseball makes me realize the effect a sport can have on someone's life. Many people play sports when they're younger but do not continue into adulthood. For many, sports such as baseball allow people to reflect on their childhood, a time of more innocence. We see this as a common theme in fiction stories of baseball, such as "Death of a Right Fielder" by Stuart Dybek. The way the kid describes the death shows his innocence and lack of understanding for the real world. In Toby Wolf's "Bullet in the Brain" the man reflects on baseball in green fields in his final moments. Sports provide a mental happy place for people. Since I played basketball growing up, when I am older I will look back on my times playing as some of the best of my life. The other aspect brought into fiction writing of baseball is the ability to escape reality. While playing or watching baseball, or any other sport, we allow ourselves to stop thinking about the troub...
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Week 6 - Cubs Game Poem

Pivotal Point As I sat along the third base line The sun peeked above the Budweiser sign Stands filled with blue hats and jerseys In support of the home team The grass was freshly cut  Allowing the field to produce an eye catching design Like rays shooting out from the rainbow arc of the diamond With that the stage was set for the Cubs vs Marlins game In the middle of it all wearing black Was Marlins pitcher Trevor Richards He stared down Kris Bryant at home plate As Bryant glared back at him Only being the second batter of the game Bryant felt pressure to set the tone As Richards wound up for the first pitch The fans sat in anticipation Moments later The crack of the bat hitting the ball Erupted through the ballpark In seconds that noise was replaced By fans cheering The ball soared like an eagle above the trees Over all the outfielder's heads Into the bleachers above left field This marked a Cubs Home Run And the first run of...
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Week 5- The Unwritten Rules of Baseball

Baseball has more unwritten rules than any other sport in America. It is considered a game of sportsmanship and respect in the eyes of many. In order to maintain this image, players follow many "unwritten" rules. Trash talk is frowned upon, flipping your bat after a home run may get you punched, and celebrating with more than a smile makes other players hate you. In other team sports such as basketball, football, and hockey, celebrating is encouraged. NFL players have pre planned routines for when they get into the end zone. When I played basketball in high school, celebrating after a big three or or and one in the fourth quarter often served as a spark for the team. I understand why baseball is not the same as the other sports when it comes to celebrating, however, I think removing the unwritten rule that excludes celebration could make the game more exciting. As stated in Barry Petchesky's "Down with Baseball's Fun Police", there is no joy, no emotion, and...
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Week 3- The Economics of Baseball

Money drives the world of baseball and all other sports in America. Billions of dollars go into stadiums, player contracts, and team equipment every year. The main focus for the economy of baseball in the Tuesday articles were the economics behind baseball stadiums. I've always wondered why the cities have to pay for new stadiums and after reading these articles it seems to be due to greed from the owners of the corporations, as stated in "Major League Baseball, like the NFL, ask taxpayers for free money".   These corporations leverage and strong arm cities to get their stadiums payed for. Citizens of the city, rich and poor, are paying for a stadium that the billionaires at the top would have no problem funding. In addition to having to pay for the stadiums through taxes, several people see gentrification in their neighborhoods due to these new stadiums. That is a good thing for some but can be bad for residents that are no longer able to afford their property due to ris...
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Week 2- Time in Baseball

The importance of time in baseball is often overlooked do to the lack of a clock of any type. We can see baseball games, such as the 18 inning world series game in 2018, go on for several hours so from the perspective of a fan, time seems to not effect the game at all. However, from the view of a player, time is involved in everything they do. The pitcher needs a set amount of time to go through his routine before every pitch just as a hitter needs a certain amount of time to get from base to base. Over recent years, complaints have rose from fans about the game of baseball being too slow. The article "Play Ball and Do it Faster" by Adam Sobsey touches on these complaints, using statistics and graphs to show how the time per pitch and time per game has increased during recent years. While these statistics are true, the graphs were misleading. The intervals were very small and the graphs made the changes look a lot more significant than they actually are. In the latter half of...
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Week 1- America's National Game

The rising popularity of baseball is an interesting topic to cover. Because it can always be played casually, there are many gray lines as to who did what first. For example, there a several different stories about who threw the first curveball but nobody knows for sure who did. One thing is for sure in the early stages of baseball, however. Al Spalding had a massive contribution to the growth of baseball during the late 1800s and early 1900s. In his 1911 article, "America's National Game", he makes his passion for baseball and his country very clear. He refers back to cricket and Great Britain throughout his article, often comparing them to baseball and America. The way he writes about cricket is interesting. He states that he played and enjoyed cricket himself, however, "cricket would never do for Americans; it is too slow" due our "red-hot blood". He goes on to state that cricket games can go on for up to two days while baseball g...
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