here is a touching essay on our national pastime from colum mccann, an irishman in new york learning the game from his son:
my favorite sections:
If soccer is the world’s game, then baseball belongs to those who have left their worlds behind. This is not so much nostalgia as it a sense of saudade — a longing for something that is absent.
I never meant to fall in love with baseball, but I did. I learned to realize that it does what all good sports should do: it creates the possibility of joy.
and let me tell you, i am feeling that joy now. i've intentionally avoided listening or watching any spring training action up till now, and tomorrow i'm heading to jupiter to catch the marlins v. the mets in our final spring training game. i got my scorebook in the mail, and have spent the past couple days reading up on scorekeeping technique and working on a cheat sheet to make it a bit easier. bet my friends make fun of me for whipping out my pencil and eraser at the game... but consider the fact that i kept a setlist book at concerts for years and years. Isn't a baseball scorecard the game's version of a setlist pad?
hopefully my flaming orange jersey arrives in time for the dame...
