Why I Love Baseball

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Why I Love Baseball

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [Sports] >> PureSim Baseball >> Why I Love Baseball

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Why I Love Baseball - 7/7/2006 1:58:47 AM

KG Erwin

Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline

To tell you the truth, I didn't become a serious fan until the mid-1980s, when I was already in my late twenties.

The game itself is perfection -- symmetrical, distances perfectly designed to test human endurance, the odd human obsession with threes --can't explain it all, but it works.

Being a wargamer, I'm a historian by nature, so I dived headfirst into the glorious history of baseball in America.

The one era I kept going back to was the post-war age, up until the first expansion in the modern era, and before pro football became the default "America's Sport".

Now, I'm a Democrat, and the 1947 debut of Jackie Robinson was indeed the moment when baseball became The National Pastime for everyone. The influx of black players elevated the quality of play, and the poplularity of the game, to unprecendented levels.

However, I think you know what fascinates me the most about that era -- it's those classic ballparks. A mysticism has grown about them, and that's why I'm so grateful for the current spate of "forward to the past" parks.

What more could we ask for than to have these marvelous new fields, with their modern conveniences, designed as memorials to the game as it was meant to be played -- on grass, with irregular and distinctive designs, and just beautiful to look at?

Sorry for my rambling, but I think we're entering a new Golden Age in baseball's third century.

Post #: 1

RE: Why I Love Baseball - 7/7/2006 4:45:39 AM

Rhett

Posts: 51
Joined: 12/26/2005
Status: offline

I am relatively young (19 now) and missed most of the great history of baseball. I hated baseball when I was a kid, couldn't understand why anyone would care about it. Don't know what it was, but just couldn't (and didn't want to) even try and get into it. About three years ago, I started following the Cubs (note that this was after their playoff run and collapse; I missed most of the horror of that experience). It just clicked. Now I love following the players, the transactions, the games. I think it has something to do with the strategy of it, the human side to it, and as KG is talking about- the wonderful history.

(in reply to KG Erwin)

Post #: 2

RE: Why I Love Baseball - 7/7/2006 8:06:56 AM

TF-M

Posts: 41
Joined: 8/9/2003
From: United States
Status: offline

Excellent thoughts. The ballparks and the history are a fantastic draw for me as well, not to mention the Stats...I am a business analyst so the stats thing is right up my alley!

< Message edited by TF-M -- 7/7/2006 8:22:35 AM >

(in reply to Rhett)

Post #: 3

RE: Why I Love Baseball - 7/7/2006 9:29:27 AM

DreamTeams

Posts: 520
Joined: 5/19/2006
Status: offline

My first brush with baseball was during the Ron Cey, Steve Garvey Dodgers years. My whole family followed and loved that club. But, still I was drawn to the speed, power and epic majesty of football and played it instead of baseball as a kid. But, then came Magic Johnson to the Lakers and I began playing basketball exclusively. I learned so much about how to play the game of basketball just by watching the players of the Johnson/Byrd era.

However, I was suddenly drawn into the history and culture of baseball through Ken Burns Baseball series. I fell in love with the history of the game and redeveloped my love and appreciation for the grand old game. It was the deadball and golden age that caught my interest most. So much so that I began purchasing baseball books and movies set in those eras and developing somewhat of a library. Today, I love baseball more than any other sport. It's currently the only sport I truly care about.

Still, I'm not fund of most pro sports players. The clowns have ruined pro basketball and the constant movement of players plus steroids have ruined football and modern baseball, for me. I guess that's why I try to create some of that oldtime, golden and vintage sports flavor through sports sims and fictional play.

(in reply to TF-M)

Post #: 4