Baseball

I have this weird love/hate thing with baseball going.

On the one hand, I hate the way it just saturates my life. The season starts in March or something and it runs through September (or October). During that time, there's a game on nearly every day. And these games typically last 3-4 hours. I just don't understand how any one person can keep up with that. Football I get, because it's only once a week. But baseball is just everywhere.

I've been to two baseball games in my life. The first one was when Kevin and I were still long-distance, and he was heading to the airport right after the game. I drank too much beer and spent the last several innings in tears and trying not to be in tears. Not fun. The more recent game was long and hot and, instead of getting drunk I was sobering up and trying to stay awake.

On the other hand, the presence of baseball in my life has some definite upsides. I love that Kevin loves it as much as he does. He's been umpiring for over a decade, which is a nice way for him to get out of the house. I do like that, when the season is going, I'm guaranteed to have a couple of afternoons or evenings to myself every week. Sometimes it gets in the way of other life stuff, but mostly I like the ready excuse to have some introvert time.

I also really like walking by the baseball fields in the park with Kina every day. The little league games are often cute and the adult rec leagues that don't take it too seriously tend to seem fun, too. Of course, these impressions are based on the five minutes it takes me to walk past the field.

Moreover, the lights on the fields are pretty great. We're heading into the part of the year when I'm walking Kina after dark more often than not, and those lights help out a lot while they last. Just before sunset, when the artificial light begins to take over from the sun, the whole park looks idyllic and a little fake. Like I'm in a movie or a memory of middle America. It's one of my favorite parts of the day, and baseball is definitely a part of that.

I just wish the games didn't last so long. Kevin has explained to me all the stats and the strategy behind wearing out the pitcher, which is responsible for lengthening games. I'm starting to wonder why the fans are so willing to put up with it. Is there going to be a tipping point, where they start cutting innings out to get games back into the 2-3 hour range? Or is everyone really okay devoting so much of their life to this sport year after year?