The smell of burgers and hot dogs hangs in the air, peanut shells are scattered at your feet, the sun is shining, and a slew of cute boys in tight pants are running around in the summer heat. Could there be a more perfect situation? Arguably not.
Spring is here, and with the return of the warm breeze and the blooming of flowers comes America’s favorite past time: baseball. Personally, this is my favorite sport. I grew up on the baseball diamond, and thus, I feel the need to convince others just how great baseball season is. For those who have not grown up around the game, baseball may seem slightly boring–especially since it is a no contact sport. But once you come to appreciate the game, baseball season truly stands out as the greatest seven months of the year.
Just why is baseball season so great?
1. Baseball is played during the warm months of the year.
With Opening Day in April and games running through September, baseball season covers all of the warm spring, summer, and fall months (not including pre and post season games). There is no need to tote three blankets with you to a game and nurse a cup of hot chocolate in the stands. Throw on your shorts and tank, slap on a ball cap, and grab an ice cold beer. Even if you aren’t into the game, you can still get a great tan spending 9 innings in the sun.
2. There is never a shortage of games to see.
Major League Baseball (MLB) boasts approximately 2430 total games in a season with each team scheduled to play 162 games. Compared to the NFL (which consists of 256 games and each team playing 16 games), baseball season allows you more opportunity to see a game. And with each series (a series consists of three games played over the course of three days with the same two teams), there is a three day time period to catch your favorite team in action. On top of that, games are ALWAYS being played–there is a game just about every day of the season. During a good week, there might be three NFL games at most.
3. Baseball is not restricted by time.
Time is not of the essence in baseball. There is no shot clock, no predetermined game time limit, and no halves or quarters to worry about. The closest acknowledgement to time in a baseball game is the obligatory 7th inning stretch. Other than that, a baseball can be as short as 1 hour or continue into the next day. If you get lucky and end up attending a game with extra innings, you get more bang for your buck and more tan time.
4. Baseball represents American history.
Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Pete Rose, Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Barry Bonds, and hundreds more are famous for their baseball skills. There is a reason why baseball is called “America’s pastime,” because it has been around since 1871. The NFL doesn’t even come close, having been started in 1920. Baseball has withstood the highs and the lows of American history. One can feel the connection as they chow down on a hotdog and watch A. Rod break records.
5. Stadium food is the best kind of sports food.
A cold beer on a hot day. A giant scoop of ice cream in a little plastic baseball cap cup. A bag of unshelled peanuts. Hotdogs with all the fixins. When I think about baseball stadium food, I think about a summer cookout. The smells coming from the concession stand burgers, fries, barbeque, and hot dogs symbolize the summer staples. Each ballpark hosts a variety of twists on stereotypical foods according to the local taste palates. Washing your meal down with an ice cold beer or Coke and cooling down with an oversized scoop of ice cream is the cherry on top of a perfect game.
If paying for a cheap ticket to see an MLB game is not the next thing you want to spend your money on, college baseball is just as good. Class can wait. As the weather warms up, grab a friend, a suitemate, or the entire sorority and head over to the stadium to enjoy the best game during the best season of the year!