Baseball

I like baseball. A simple statement from somebody (me) who happens to like baseball. Do I know all the players names? No. Do I know eacn player's salary? No. Do I know the statistics for a player or team? No.
However, I like baseball.
I like baseball in as such as I like to watch baseball games. I pay attention to the players and what they are doing as it applies to the game I am watching. I like to see favorite teams play, but I will watch a game just for the sake of watching a baseball game so I might catch a game between teams I don't even know, even little league teams or local business-sponsored teams.
There's a pasttime feeling about sitting at a ballpark, enjoying the crowd and sounds and smells, seeing players on the field with their uniforms contrasting agains the green grass, hearing the crack of the bat whenever it makes contact with the ball or the pop of the ball smacking into the catcher's mitt, and watching a variety of actions happening on the sidelines and in the background.
I like the music and the hand-clapping at the "grown-ups games" and I like the expressions on the faces and the personal cheers at the "little kids games". I admit that I like the hot dogs and beer, but do you know that I can be happy with peanuts and a Coke?
It is fun to see different teams and different players as opposed to watching the same one or few all the time. What's also fun is experiencing different ballparks! I enjoy being in good ol' Fenway Park, but sitting under the dome at Tropicana Field, having my seat wiped and prepped for an afternoon game at Camden Yards, chatting with fans not far from the scoreboard at Jacob's Field, and checking out the nice little touches at BankAmerica's ballpark in Cincinnati have all been memorable experiences.
My most recent baseball experience was a great little minor league game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Syracuse Chiefs at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI. Nice seats about half-way up and somewhat between home plate and first base on a sunny, cool and slightly breezy Sunday afternoon, and surrounded by some of the nicest people I have ever met. The announcements, the introduction of the special guests, the ceremonial first pitch, the National Anthem played out proudly while fans stood respectfully, the intros of the players, the pictures on the overhead screens, the music, the vendors, the cheers, "Play Ball", and the 9 innings worth of hits, strikes, slides, steals, catches and runs made those hot dog eating and beer drinking hours a fantastic way of spending a Sunday afternoon.
I saw some great plays, watched some great players, but left only with the satisfaction and memories of enjoying a good game. Because that's what I like...I like baseball.
Oh, by the way, Pawtucket won the game.