Baseball has become Global
By Tom Grout
March 13, 2008
Baseball has really become a global sport these days. Looking at Major League rosters you will find players from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, Australia, and just about every Latin country. The Twins system also has players from European countries
As a life long baseball fan I really enjoy how the game has spread. I know I’m a little biased, but I think the game is one of the greatest games there is. Players of all sizes and shapes can play the game and players with different skills can be a key player on the team. It’s a game that has many ways to awe its spectators with the defensive plays. Diving for a ground ball and then coming up and making a nice throw, catching a fly ball with your back to the crowd or reaching over the fence to rob a hitter of a home run or the artistry of turning a double play.
Watching a pitcher use his arsenal of pitches to fool hitter after hitter is just as much fun to watch as a pitcher who is able to throw fast enough to just blow the ball by hitters. I love to here the crack of the bat when a hitter gets hold of one and to watch the ball sail out of the park like a Harmon Killebrew shot. I also enjoy watching a speed guy hit a ball into the gap and stretch it into a triple or get on base and steal.
The oriental countries and Latin countries have had baseball for a long time but Australia, Europe, and the Soviet countries, the game is relatively new. To see some players from these areas in Major League systems is a real treat. I am sure around some of these spring training sites it is interesting to here all the different languages being spoken, kinda like hanging around a hockey team I suppose.
The global popularity of the sport allowed it to be included in the Olympics for a few years and I am very disappointed that it no longer is. A couple of years ago there was the World Cup, or some other name, tournament including all of the countries that proved to be quite entertaining and good baseball.
I remember when I was in 9th grade, I think, we has a project in social class to invent a country. We had to detail everything that this country was about like its agriculture, economics you name it. In my group I was assigned what recreational things our countries people enjoyed. One of the things I said was baseball. I said it was the national sport and I even had the history on how the game got to our country and everything. Our instructor didn’t like it and said that baseball outside the United States would never happen, other than the oriental and Latin countries. In fact he made fun of me over the whole deal.
Now with the spread of baseball all over the world, I figure I was just a visionary way back then. I hope my teacher has been paying attention and now regrets insulting my intelligence. Yeah I’m sure that has been high on his list.
The world has differently gotten smaller and baseball is one of those new common threads.
Oh by the way, one of the things I like about baseball over other sports. It has no time clock. No matter what is going on in the game, it won’t end until that final out is recorded. The game has no clock to watch which to some is a good thing and others a bad thing. Today everything has to happen fast and get over fast, but baseball brings all that to a halt and I for one love that.
It is so much of a pleasure to read an article from someone that is truly passionate about the game!
At one time, I too was passionate about baseball-playing it, watching it, following it, and all things about the sport.
Billy Martin was one of the ones I appreciated. He became infamous in his fistfight with a Twins pitcher after a game, thus showing his passion as well.
He was in total command of what was going on on the field until the "new generation" of players were introduced, eliminating the control that managers had and the respect that they _must_ have to guide their respective teams.
In my opinion, Reggie Jackson was the epitome of this "new generation" of ballplayer. Contemptuous, sullen, and full of themselves.
This was to me, the beginning of my feelings of spite toward professional sports in it's entirety.
Although Reggie was/is an all-time great, his attitude was one of disdain and contempt.
The chronicles of Billy's and Reggie's off/on relationship seemingly resonate throughout sports today.
The strikes and squabbles of modern-era sports have shown me that it has never been about the fans and their appreciation for talent. It has become about the owners of the clubs greed and the ascension of the players to "Rock Star" status.
Baseball is truly a wonderful and exciting sport. But the perfection of the game is clear as the rules have remained virtually unchanged since the invent.
The influx of the global influence in baseball can be attributed to the military occupation of many of these countries of origin. Japan was one of the, if not the first, Asian nation to embrace baseball after being exposed to it from American forces after WWII.
Cuba has remained a hotbed of baseball for even longer.
The history of the sport is also very intriguing to me as the Latin countries embraced it almost as intimately as the USA.
The fact that Tom was a visionary about the state of the game so many years ago and did not wither under the scrutiny from one of our venerable educational professionals, is a tribute to his passion and conviction to good.
Yes, there is good in baseball, and the sport itself is not to blame for the greed that has ensued.
It is important that we have people in society like Tom that understand that it is NOT the fault of baseball that the behaviors of it's constituents are abhorrent, but it is equally true that the "cynics" of professional sports are out there to represent the decline of interest in those who agree with me.
Of course my feelings are not only directed to baseball, but to _ALL_ professional sports that has fostered greed instead of fan appreciation.
As far as non-professional sports, it is the closest to "pure" as it can get.
Therefore, I have over the last few years, decided to pay most of my attentions to the collegiate level or lower.
I still love our professional teams, but despise the greed and selfishness that the pro game represents.
Thank you Tom, for another great article!
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