Why I love the game of baseball

Well its been since 1995 since my Cincinnati Reds have been in the playoffs. They have done it with nothing but talent. Nothing but the will to be the best that they can. They are not a top market like the Yankees or Boston. They don't go out and buy championships instead of grooming their farm system. They are doing it how it should be done. I am proud to be a Reds fan. I am proud that they are a mid level market team and playing just as well as the Yankees and other high paying teams.

Baseball is our national pastime. Its a treasure. Am I a connoisseur? Eh.... I know a lot. More that the average fan. I understand what is going on in managers minds when a hit and run is on. Why he did it in that situation. To me, it is an art to play the game. When the boys of summer are out there, I consider it The Louvre, The Guggenheim, etc. There is nothing like watching teammates that know each other so well turn a 6-4-3 double play. There is nothing like watching that elite pitcher take the mound knowing full well, that they can't touch him. There is nothing like watching the speed of a center fielder that plays shallow because when that ball gets in the air over him, that he can still get to it. Its my version of ballet. Its perfect.

Some of my most happy moments in life have come in the dugout. Baseball players are spazz's by nature. Also a bunch of dickheads. We will go out of our way to make someone look bad, play jokes on and point out personal flaws for some good laughs. One time their was a kid pitching and we joked that it looked like Michael Bolton out there on the mound. So what do I do when I get up....Well I started singing of course..."Tell me how am I suppose to live without you?" The times you have in the dugout are times that you cherish. You cherish the comradery, the laughter and the family you have all trying to succeed with the same goal...to win.

These men play with all their heart and determination like you have never seen. They get paid to play a game they use to play for free. They play with a passion for the game that is unmatched in any sport. That to me is art. That to me is why I love the game of baseball. That is why I love all baseball fans. True baseball fans. So don't come up to me with any kind of opinion on the playoffs unless you actually follow the game and have an understanding. Not because you have watched three playoff games and repeat what announcers tell you. Ya feel me?

So go Reds!!! Regardless of the outcome, I am so proud of them. The hunt for a Reds October begins this week.