It is a game that ties perfect strangers together. Two strangers talking on the Number 6 subway train in New York will seem like life long friends when talking about their Yankees. We place the players on a different level. They are regarded in a much higher standard than the rest of society. Major League Baseball players are the best in the world at what they do. Some ballplayers are better than others are; therefore they are viewed better than the rest. But because they are the best, their actions are also scrutinized more so than the rest of society.

Athletes grace the sports pages and evening news with their accomplishments in the game and sometimes their charity off field. But athletes are plastered across the front pag

Shrouded in mystery, the origins of baseball are unclear. As early as 1839, men were seen playing on a field with bases, hitting a round ball with a stick. The game of baseball is well documented in the Civil War. Soldiers can be seen playing baseball in photos taken during the Civil War (22). The institution of baseball has survived a split of a nation, two world wars, a great depression, and a racial equality revolution. Over 150 years old, baseball has become one of the few constants in this nation. Presidents have changed, political parties have crumbled, but baseball has remained strong and running throughout the years. Baseball has been endeared by generations of families and the millions and millions of people who go to a ball game, watch it on the television or listen to it on the radio. Children, who are now adults, grew up playing baseball and listening to stories of the “Great DiMaggio” or how their grandfather saw Ted Williams play or how he used to watch Walter “Big Train” Johnson pitch when he was a child. The game ties modern generations to the generations of yesteryear. Baseball stretches from coast to coast, sea to shining sea. It is referred to as the National Pastime. In the summertime, there is no place better to go than to the bleachers of the local ball club and, “root, root, root,” for your home team. Thirty-one cities across North America have the honor and privilege to claim host to a professional baseball team. The teams’ invoke a sense of civic pride in the citizens of the community. But baseball does have its detractors. Some people say that it is too slow and too boring to watch. The game is too outdated to hold anybody’s interest. Bad calls and lack of replay detract from the perfection of the game. All of these points make valid claims. But to a purist, the imperfections of the game make it perfect. Once you, “clear the mechanism”, time seems irrelevant. The noise of the crowd disappears, leaving only the noises that make up the game. The wind rustling through the grass, the crack of the bats and the pop of the glove. To see a ballpark when the sun is beginning to set is enough to make the toughest man cry.

e and evening headlines when they commit crimes. Their private life is closely watched, waiting for them to commit a detrimental act to make us look down upon them. In the past, baseball players, because of their status were granted impunity. Their infractions were overlooked or cast aside. The more popular the player they were, the more they were revered. In the early 1900’s, players that made racial comments or committed racial acts of violence were looked up to as people who you could trust. But despite the notorious beginning, as the country became more socially, ethically, and racially aware, the detrimental actions of players were taken more seriously and players were held accountable for their actions. Society in whole has matured. In the past, society has placed its baseball players on a pedestal, but as society evolved, unfavorable actions of the players caused society to view the players more harshly, lowering them from their pedestal.

Whether we as a society choose to acknowledge it or not, racism is still a major problem in our society. Racism is also a problem that still has no solutions to. The Atlanta Braves relief pitcher, John Rocker, gave an interview to Sports Illustrated in November. In his interview, Rocker, made discriminating and disparaging words against gays, minorities, women and foreigners. Almost immediately groups came out wanting Rocker’s head on a platter. For the comments that Rocker made, the league suspended Rocker for one month of the season and fined him $300,000. After appealing to an arbitrator, Rocker’s punishment was cut down to a 14 game suspension and $10,000 in fines. The public’s reaction was split. Some agreed with Rocker and his comments, some disagreed with Rocker. Some ma

Some topics in this essay:
MVHS Oracle, League Baseball, Roger Maris, Ty Cobb, North America, School Boys, Ruth American, Illustrated November, Ken Burns, Civil War, home run, baseball players, rest society, home runs, game baseball, world series, ty cobb, role models, industrial school boys, professional baseball, sultan swat, major league baseball, mary’s industrial school, standard rest society, athletes regular people,