The state of baseball

Depends how much you enjoy it. When I coached my own son from tball to little league, I found I enjoyed watching these kids grow up in the game...boysthat couldn't field a lick & were afraid of the ball at bat became confident ball players & great competitors. While you can do that with any sport, baseball provides an edge.

If your saying spectator, well my mom watched almost every Yankees game when she was alive but when they pushed Joe Tories out she lost interest & that was sad. I took her lead with the Yankees & moved my allegience to the Tampa Rays. Don't watch as many games but my sense of "rooting for the underdog" is still in tact...so PLAY BALL! :love2:

 

So what sports provise you joy?

 

There are some hopeful signs for baseball. It seems that the players are finally getting the message that PEDs are not good for the game and are willing to do something about it.

There's some good story lines now: The Rays are the most over achieving team around. They have a great scouting system that brings up some good talent and keeps them in contention.

The Dodgers are really the story this year. Their win streak is going well.

This will be the last year for one of the classiest guys in baseball - Mariano Riviera - and probably the final year for Derek Jeter.

I still like baseball because more than any other pro sport, I see it through the eyes of a kid.

 

I like Rugby too, soccor not so much. Supprisingly girls basketball / particually at the grass roots high school and college level. Maybe you would enjoy coaching baseball or some other sport...providing you can get out to do it.

 

Sorry, are you referring to Ulster or somewhere in the States? When I was in high school, baseball, basketball, football & track was all there was. Today soccor, rugby, lacross, hockey have been added to the mix...faster games than hardball. But that just means more to ENJOY. As long as you can keep the corruption out of it. I'm looking forward to the return of football on both the college & pro level.

 

Would be interested in what happens when you give Irishman baseball bats!:laugh:

 

I think you would fall in love with the game all over again. There's always some intriguing stories every year to captivate one's interest. I've been a fan for over 50 years, have played the game, coached the game, and umpired the game. There's always something new to learn about this game. Plus, the Orioles are becoming competitive again.

 

MLB.COM has game packages available (pay) you can watch in hi-def on your PC. Can you get any American cable networks over there, like ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB Net, etc.?

 

I love baseball and can watch it at all levels and enjoy it. However, there's nothing like the highest level of play and that's MLB. If you watch a lot of minor league baseball you get accustomed to players making mistakes, so much so that after a while you don't notice the sloppy play. Guys missing the cut off man, runners not taking an extra base, pitchers walking guys, passed balls and wild pitches, grounders that bleed past infielders, etc.

 

I love amateur baseball. But minor league is fun to watch at the A level. Most of these guys will never make the bigs, but are college guys having some fun playing ball and hoping for the chance. in 1985, I got to be the chaplain for the A level texas rangers when they were in Port Charlotte, FL. They loved the game.

Of course, even at that level, you could tell the guys who were bound for greater things and those who weren't.