It has become entirely too popular to rip on professional baseball these days. The strike was definitely not a good thing. The owners and the players were both wrong, but now baseball is back, as great as it ever was. Okay, so maybe the players never used to spray reporters with bleach or throw fireworks at fans or snort cocaine or have signing bonuses that could have bought the state of Montana, but hey, today's is a new baseball, and it's just as much fun.
For those of you who don't believe this (and I sense many of you do not) I have listed below five non-debateable reasons why you should give baseball a second chance.
1) Nachos - Screw peanuts and Cracker-Jacks, I won't come back if I can't get some stale tortilla chips and halfway congealed near- cheese. In all seriousness, nachos are our generation's contribution to ballpark fare and a fine contribution it is. Imagine not having nachos at a ballpark. It would be like going to the Science museum and not buying astronaut ice cream.
Nachos are a perfect example of why nothing is wrong with baseball. The very essence of nachos makes a statement about adaptation. Baseball, being a game of all generations, was quick to welcome nachos as it had welcomed cotton candy and souvenir ballcaps before it. There was no discrimination involved in deciding whether or not to sell nachos. People wanted it and money could be made from it. Who cares if it is good for you? Hot dogs and beer are not exactly great for the ticker either, but they taste good, and that's all that matters.
2) The Cleveland Indians - The Indians are simply playing great baseball. With this season shortened to 144 games the fact that the Indians have a chance to win 100 games is nothing short of incredible. The scary thing is that their success is not accidental. This Indian lineup is as solid as the very best of our time. Comparisons between this Indians team of 1995 and the Oakland A's of the late 1980's or the Big Red Machine in the 1970's are not unfair.
The brand of baseball that Cleveland is playing this year makes all of those who claim baseball cannot be interesting look foolish. From an overpowering offense, to superb fielding, to dominating pitching, these Indians are nothing if not exciting.
3) Harry Carey - Uncensored and masterfully absent-minded, who could hate ol' Harry.
What do you mean, uncensored? On a recent visit to Up-Close, ESPN's half-hour interview program, Harry announced his firm belief that anyone who professed that they could have just as much fun while not drinking "is lying to you." What else would you expect from the man who pioneered the advertisement of beer at sporting events?
It is possible (believe me) to hate the Cubs and still love Harry. Anyone who grows up in an American house with basic cable can still watch him on WGN in Chicago as he leads the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" or takes an entirely partisan approach to his broadcast. So what if he can't pronounce or even remember the names of the players on the field, he makes baseball fun.
4) Camden Yards - Granted, ballpark design took a turn for the worse when the seventies hit. Cities tried to combine baseball and football into one facility with the result known facetiously as "Cookie Cutters." Cookie Cutters are so called because, regardless of the city, the stadium design remains the same. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, Oakland, and Seattle all bought into this fad with horrendous results.
Then came Oriole Stadium at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and the aesthetics of baseball were saved. Since the creation of this user friendly version of the classic fields of generations past, parks in other parts of the country have followed suit; Cleveland has Jacobs Field, Arlington has The Ballpark, Denver has Coors Field. Now baseball is beautiful on and off the field again.
5) Greg Maddux - The question is not whether Greg Maddux will win an unprecedented fourth straight Cy Young Award this season, but rather should the award be re-named the Greg Maddux Award. Here is a pitcher who leads the National league in wins, ERA, and innings pitched, is second in league batting average against, and third in strikeouts despite not being able to throw a fastball over 86 miles per hour. His ERA has been under 1.80 for the past two seasons which is nothing short of miraculous. If ever a pitcher should win the League's Most Valuable Player, Maddux should win it this season.
Watching Greg Maddux pitch a game is the equivalent of seeing Hank Aaron hit a homerun because both men represent the very best baseball has ever seen in their own unique genres. The difference between them is that Greg Maddux is just reaching his peak. You can switch on that same basic cable to WTBS every fifth day and see him shutting down another team.
In the end baseball is still America's game. In the early days of Spring, or the humid nights of summertime, or the crisp evenings of October, baseball is the same game which was invented and dreamed of in the minds of Americans through the decades. A game of mothers and their growing boys, or of grandfathers, and fathers, and daughters. A game for all the world to imagine the chances and eat some nachos.
Pat Eskew is a sophomore in the College of Engineering with a major in Industrial and Operations Engineering.