After a lifetime of allegiance to the National League--who needs the designated hitter?--this year I became loyal to the Oakland A's of the American League. I lived in Oakland or Berkeley for most of my time in the Bay Area, only spending one year in SF. This season the A's started strong, running up the best record in the Majors. Now they are now foundering and may not make it to the playoffs. But I'm still hoping, following the action closely.
During this season we moved from Oakland to Evanston. This move solidified my loyalty to the A's--it's one way to mark the Bay Area chapter. Ironically, if we'd stayed in the East Bay I'd be less focused on the A's. Following them offers continuity during a time of transition.
Then again, it's just sports. What literally occurs in baseball is that one side attempts to hit a hard ball with a wooden bat and the other side attempts to stop them. They do this in an alternating sequence nine straight times, and indefinitely if the game is tied at that point. Foul balls after the 2nd strike don't count as a strike anymore, so any given at bat can be infinite. It's a game with no clock, no standardized fields, a lot of slowness and probably too much tobacco.
On the other hand...if we break down many of our job tasks in the same way I just dissected baseball, those tasks too would look absurd. If work is only about the paycheck and nothing else, it will become just as unfulfilling as watching an endless series of foul balls. And at least with the foul balls you can admire the battle of wills between the batter and pitcher.
But come now--a battle of wills is a slender reed on which to place so much weight. Why care about baseball? Because it's not about the game, really, but about the connection. Sports speak to something primal, which is why they will endure no matter how shockingly commercialized they become.
Pro football is under the spotlight right now, with allegations of child abuse and TMZ videotape of domestic violence. Hopefully the NFL will emerge stronger and more compassionate from this episode.
Meanwhile fans of other sports should not gloat too much. Baseball certainly has its own skeletons in the closet. As with any human eneterprise, sports can bring out the worst in people just as much as the best. Since the latter is always true, they are worth watching.
This is why I'll keep cheering for the A's. An A's rep called yesterday to see if I wanted post-season tickets. I told him we'd moved. He said, "Are you still wearing the green and gold?" I said, "Oh yes!" and he chuckled.
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