Baseball deserves some love

Dahlberg’s Power Play

You’re sitting in the early summer sun, a warm breeze carrying the fresh air into your lungs as you breath in the concoction of flowers and sunscreen. That’s when the smell changes to the stadium dogs on the menu, being sold for too much at the concessions.  

You shifted, having been sitting in the slightly uncomfortable plastic chairs for three and a half innings. Your attention shifted away from the game to the stadium vendor, yelling out the items he was carrying and how expensive they would be. 

Then you hear the satisfying crack of the wooden bat, quickly snapping your attention back to the game. The batter knocked it, quite literally, out of the park. 

April 1 has come and gone with it came Opening Day for the 2021 Major League Baseball season. With professional starting, my brother in high school isn’t far behind in starting his next sport season, bringing a summer full of baseball for me and my family. 

Baseball is one of my favorite sports to play, ref and watch. I have even helped my dad coach an elementary team in our small town. 

My summer will begin with my younger brother, in between his freshman and sophomore year of high school will be participating in baseball over the summer. He’s already began practice and I’m hoping to be able to use his games as photo practice or even cover them with a possible summer internship 

Now, most people might say that it isn’t the most entertaining sport to watch, and that it’s quite slow, especially if the bats aren’t swinging much. I think the reason why I love watching baseball is how much it plays into nostalgia and my childhood. 

Every year, we try to make it to a professional baseball game when my aunt from Maryland travels to Iowa/Minnesota each summer. The game is usually a Minnesota Twins game. 

Unfortunately, last year with a shortened season and a closed stadium due to COVID-19, we weren’t able to watch an MLB game, but that didn’t stop us from getting into a Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks game in Fargo, North Dakota. 

Some common excuses that people who aren’t huge fans of baseball include, but aren’t limited to, baseball games are too long, it isn’t a competitive sport like football, or it’s declining in popularity.  

Baseball games run for about three hours, about 20 minutes shorter than an NFL game. Baseball is as competitive as you make it, even if it doesn’t include as much contact as a football game. Yes, there is also contact in baseball. They’re usually dangerous collisions on the field, leading to many injuries. Baseball is still highly popular; it mainly depends on your how important people think it is in the location you live.  

Sunflower seeds, summer sun and cheering on any baseball team is time well spent. After a 2020 season of 60 games, the MLB returned to 162 games. You have plenty of changes to give baseball a try.