Baseball is a kids game and should remain a kids game, and not governed by what’s going on in government. Now if you are offended by this, then it’s your American Right to stop reading my article. Go ahead…if you keep reading then I guess you agree with me.
Two years ago I was so happy seeing the Atlanta Braves win their second NE East Title on their way to host the 2020 All-Star Game at Truist Park. Then Covid hit!!!! No All-Star Game but it was moved back until 2021, in hopes to being able to play it. Well, that reality came true until baseball wanted to play a game of politics. Yes, I believe everything has rules and should abide by them. But having a knee jerk reaction without knowing the facts because a State of Georgia Bill was passed, for the good, is not good for baseball and other sports for that matter. We have become a society where people think social media is correct without reading and understanding. Ok, off my soapbox.
Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking.
Benny, Sandlot Film (1993)
Baseball is my sports love, it’s my pastime and America’s pastime. Sports fans are patriotic, and remain patriotic, but the games shouldn’t be dictated by Washington. Major League Baseball played a game of politics by taking the All-Star Game in Atlanta away because they wanted to be the dictator. The game was moved to Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The city of Atlanta and Cobb County had worked so hard the last five years getting ready for this moment, just to have it taken away without clearly giving a correct reason why. The Braves, fans, and small businesses in Atlanta and around the stadium are hurt the most, and they had nothing to do with this, but MLB took it out on them, us. I live just 20-minutes from Truist Field, and my family of five were ready to spend our money…but nope didn’t happen, couldn’t happen.
I didn’t watch the Home Run Derby on Monday, but sucked up my pride because I’m a proud American and love the game of baseball, and watched some, but not all of the All-Star Game Tuesday night because I wasn’t feeling well and had to put my kids to bed.
I hear yesterday evening as I’m driving home from work that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred state that they would look into bringing the All-Star Game back to Atlanta. That’s great, cool, when? All this cries out is that Manfred knows he was wrong when he yanked out the Atlanta All-Star game when he should not have.
Now anyone who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s like I did knew that playing sandlot baseball with your friends was so much fun and was what we did for fun, especially during summer and baseball season. In 1993 Twentieth Century Studios produced a movie entitled ‘Sandlot.” The movie depicted neighborhood kids playing the game of baseball, and having summer fun, the way it should be. A popular quote to me in the movie was “Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking.”
Now obviously this was Benny clearly stating stop thinking so much and just. hit the ball. But this also related to today, just play baseball like it is suppose to be played, and stop letting outside influencers influence the game.
The All-Star festivities is a great event, the best All-Star festivities of all major US Sports. In the end, the one thing I am glad about is no matter where the events are being played, every one enjoys themselves and has fun, which is what baseball is all about.
Header photo courtesy of NBC Today
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