This is my first year following baseball, and what used to be merely a game to keep my sports brain hooked in the basketball offseason has turned into something that I’ve grown to love. There are many things to love about this game, but I’ve managed to simplify it into two major points, the romance, and most importantly, the application to life.

The Romance (don’t worry, this is the longest one)

Baseball has such a nice romance to it, something that the other sports I follow, mainly basketball, simply can’t replicate. It’s a game played outdoors, under a summer sky, with no clock, fans that stand and sing every seventh inning, and on a diamond that’s perfectly manicured every day. There are 162 games in a season, which makes every individual game very affordable. It’s never uncommon to see families of 6 occupy half a row in the lower deck, and I absolutely love that. As a 20 year old college student, money always seems tight, and I love that I can go to games with friends whenever I want without breaking my bank. I’m currently single, but I can definitely see myself taking a future girlfriend out to the ballpark as well; it would make for a nice simple date, enjoying a hotdog, explaining the game to her, and hopefully showing up on the kiss cam. There is also nothing like a great baseball stadium. I’m a San Francisco Giants fan, and the waterfront views of AT&T Park combined with the amazing smell of garlic fries, light breeze from 6th inning onwards, and trademark Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate makes for a perfect day. The fact that baseball has no clock has a nice uniqueness to it as well. The game ends when it ends. It can be a well pitched, 2 hour 45 minute affair or a 13 inning marathon that extends to 11 PM (I’ve seen both). Baseball has a nice, gradual pace to it that makes it perfect for watching leisurely; something that I feel contributes to its old-school, classic Americana charm. My favorite analyst on TV, Max Kellerman once said “baseball keeps you company” and I couldn’t agree more.

The Application to Life (the most important)

Like mentioned before, I’m only 20 years old. I am young, have a lot to learn about the world and about life, and I’m at a stage where nothing is certain. I can relate this to baseball because I believe that both life and baseball are games of failure. To quote every baseball expert ever, the greatest hitters of all time hit .300, or three out of ten. They fail seven out of ten times. That, honestly, is what life is like! You will fail and you will fail again. I love looking at baseball player’s expressions after they mess up, whether they make an error on the field or make an out at the plate. Most of the time, these players are pretty emotionless and they take every strikeout and every error in stride, because it’s only one inning out of nine, and its only one game out of one sixty two. Just like life. This goes the other way as well. Players don’t show much positive emotion on the field either, fo the same reasons! It’s one of many, just like life. No matter how good or bad of a day you have, you still have to wake up tomorrow and start over.

I love this game, I really do. Though my Giants are out of the playoff race (by a mile), I couldn’t be more excited for October baseball, when the intensity ramps up and a champion will be crowned. Play Ball!