When I say the phrase “spring sport,” what’s the first one that comes to your mind? Is it baseball? It’s baseball, right? Of all the other “spring sports” it’s certainly the most popular. Lacrosse? Outdoor track? These are perfectly great sports, but, really, there’s no contest. I would even argue that baseball is the best sport out of all the American sports that are actually popular, i.e. football, basketball, hockey.
My first point — a lot of this comes down to the fact that baseball is the best spring sport because it’s the best sport to watch in person. Spring is all about going outside and enjoying the nice weather, and watching baseball is, well, all about going outside and enjoying the nice weather.
It’s delightful even if you don’t actually like the sport itself. Who doesn’t love going to a baseball game? You get outside. You feel the sunlight on your skin. You buy a hotdog. You buy a beer. You wear your little hat. You stand up for the seventh-inning stretch, you sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” You feel like a true American.
I went to a Twins game last weekend, and it was lovely. When we were walking to Target Field, we went through the Skyway, where we passed by a bunch of Timberwolves fans who were headed to watch the first game of the playoffs. And, you know, that looked really fun — I am also a basketball fan — but I have to admit, I was very happy to be walking towards a sunny field where I would get to spend my afternoon outside, with my little glove in my hand, ready to catch a foul ball — how fun is that?
The best testament to baseball’s superior enjoyability as a live sport is the existence of my home team, the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are not good at playing baseball. They have barely ever been good at playing baseball. Their extremely high-altitude stadium creates very difficult conditions that make some people think they will never be good at playing baseball. And yet, every spring, Coors Field fills to the brim with excited fans, all of them joyfully ready to watch as their team inevitably loses another game. I am one of those fans. And, I voluntarily chose the Seattle Mariners as my second favorite team — they’re also not very good! But, nevertheless, I watch their games. Because baseball is fun!
Those of you who disagree with me will probably make the case that baseball is kind of boring. And, okay, fair enough, it is a little slow. But, like I’ve said, baseball is really a vibes-based sport. The haters overlook the fact that the slightly slow pace of baseball really is not a detriment to its vibey-ness. Also, I would argue that the rule changes have made the game a lot more interesting.
So, even if you don’t consider yourself a huge baseball fan, I would encourage you to get out there this spring and enjoy America’s pastime.
smith89@stolaf.edu
