February 15, 2023
Dear editor;
Even as the world may be going to hell in a hand basket, as Grandma used to say, and at the risk of sounding frivolous, millions of Americans will share at least a temporary respite March 30 when Major League Baseball’s Opening Day takes place across the country in ballparks, on T.V., and in the hearts and minds of the faithful; it is an unofficial national holiday.
George Velsey writes: “There is no sports event like opening day of baseball; the sense of beating back those forces of darkness…”. The days are getting longer and as Pete Rose said,” Opening day is like Christmas, only warmer.”
Spring is indeed at hand and there is often a renewed, shared sense of optimism that extends beyond the confines of any ballpark. Conservative writer George Will, an Illinois native, wrote: “They say, ‘Baseball is only a game’; True; and the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.” The game demands team play, yet each player shares ample time in the spotlight. Win or lose, how one plays the game is what resonates for players and spectators alike— either watching or playing, one must always be ready, or you may miss it! A special skill, a relaxed, yet keen readiness is necessary for players, helpful for spectators, and useful in life generally, and I feel it contributes among other things to baseball’s mystique.
In Ken Burns’ PBS special, “Baseball”, Bob Costa describes baseball as “a human enterprise, therefore, by definition it is flawed, imperfect; it doesn’t embody perfectly everything that is worthwhile about our country or about our culture, but it comes closer than most things in American life.
In Washington, D.C. the 118th Congress had its opening day in early January. The People’s House is sending a new starting lineup to the plate, apparently managed by the Master of the Stolen Base (among other things). I suppose now it is time to relax, pay special attention, enjoy the show, and hope the screwballs, crackedbats, and showboats do not do too much damage, understanding that a few well-placed votes can prevent them from ever getting past first base! So, Let’s Play Ball!
Dave Hoehne, Aurora