For the Love of the Game

By Amy McCormick

It’s the eve of Game 5 of the NLDS.  Best of 1, as they say.  The Phils and Cards are back in Philadelphia and the Phillies will send Roy Halladay to the hill in an effort to stifle the Cardinals’ offense and shut this series down.  The past four games have been anxiety-inducing, at least on my end, so it seems only right that we’ve been forced into a Game 5. 

I love baseball.  I love the edge-of-your-seat games in the postseason, the chilly games in early April, and all the ones in between.  Baseball means more to me than a hobby for seven months of the year.  It has provided more than that for me.  Baseball has done its part to keep me sane at times.  It has been that consistent comfort when I’ve needed it.  It has been the distraction from life’s issues that I am sometimes not ready to deal with.  There have been times in my life when I have thrown myself into watching and talking about my favorite sport because it was literally the only thing that appealed to me.  During bouts of depression and anxiety, baseball has been there for me.

What’s interesting is that the man who introduced me to baseball was my father.  He gave me many things in my life, two of them positive: nice penmanship and baseball.  I remember watching the Phillies with him in the early 1980s, and unfortunately, it’s one of just two good memories I have of him.  Somehow, the fact that he instilled the love of baseball in me softens the blow of all the crap he put me through.

Who introduced you to baseball?  None of us is born knowing all that we know about the sport.  Usually someone guides us through the learning process.  Sometimes s/he merely opens our eyes to it, and sometimes it’s a close mentoring.  Have you paid it forward?

I recently started to teach a friend of mine about baseball, a bit at a time.  His prior knowledge was that “there are nine innings, three strikes and you’re out … and you can get hot dogs there.” It has been such a privilege introducing someone to the world of baseball for the first time.  Sure, I teach my daughters; there’s really no way they’ll grow up and not love Philadelphia sports.  Guiding an adult through the game is such a honor, though, and I think I enjoy the lessons more than he does. 

Bryant Gumbel once said, “Baseball is love.” That has proven to be true in my life, and if you’re reading this, then chances are the same is true for you.  If someone is responsible for sparking your interest, thank him or her.  If you’re lucky enough to pass on your love of the game, do it.  You’ll enjoy it.