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We know all about the flaws, but we live for moments of perfection: special achievements such as no-hitters and reaching historic milestones or simply listening to a game on the radio make baseball worth following

Baseball Digest, July, 2005 by Joe Henderson

WE ALL KNOW BASEBALL'S faults. We've certainly discussed them in detail several months during the off-season. We know the greed, the abuses, Barry Bonds. We know the Yankees have too much money, the Devil Rays have too little, and that come October it will pretty much be the same ol' teams.

We know this.

We know baseball is too slow for the PlayStation generation, and that the lack-of-visionaries who run the game have lost a generation of fans by starting World Series games past the bedtimes of kids who they're counting on to buy tickets.

We know this.

And yet ...

We come today to praise baseball, not to join the pile-up upon it.

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Baseball may no longer be the national pastime--betting on NFL games has overtaken it--but the game still has a way of grabbing hold of your soul and not letting go. With that in mind, we offer these reasons why baseball is still worth your time:

* Red Sox-Yankees: Sure, it sometimes seems like this is more a battle of dueling billionaires than two baseball teams, but it is such perfect theater--especially after last October. It isn't necessary to like either team to get caught up in this rivalry. It doesn't even have to be a playoff game. Last spring, fans scalped tickets at Boston-New York spring training games! A game in April between these two can be just as special.

Honorable mention: Cubs vs. Cardinals.

* The irresistible lure of a great pitching matchup: If it's Randy Johnson vs. Curt Schilling, you have to watch. Roger Clemens against Pedro 2Martinez, you have to watch, even if they're in the National League now. Greg Maddux against John Smoltz, you have to watch. The sight of two marquee pitchers trading sliders and heat has links to Koufax/Marichal, Gibson/Drysdale, and so on. There's nothing quite like it.

Honorable mention: The top of the ninth and a dominant closer has finished his warm-up tosses. You really should be at Yankee Stadium sometime when the opening notes of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" heralds the imminent arrival of Mariano Rivera.

* Hearing there's a no-hitter in progress: It starts with the update after five innings that a no-no is going on. Once it gets past seven, ESPN cuts in with updates. If it gets to the ninth inning, we're going live to the ballpark to see if the guy can pull it off. If he does ... pandemonium. And if it's a perfect game, just hope you were there in person.

Honorable mention: Hearing that the Big Unit has 15 strikeouts after seven innings.

* Run, Carl, run! When Carl Crawford hits a ball into the spacious gaps at Tropicana Field, you know what's happening next. He's halfway to second before the outfielder gets close to the ball, rounding the base and on his way to third before the throw even starts back toward the infield. And there you have it: a standup triple. It's a track meet and baseball combined in a 15-second burst of speed and power.

Honorable mention: Bases loaded, two out, bottom of the ninth, home team down by a run.

* Batting practice: Get to the ballpark early and take a seat in the bleachers when a team like Boston or St. Louis is in town. Be sure to bring a glove--or a hard hat. The oohs and aahs that accompany each Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols or Jim Edmonds blast into the seats, or off the Batter's Eye, are almost worth the price of admission, even without the game.

Honorable mention: Catching a foul ball on the fly during the game and getting your picture on the video board and hearing the approval from the crowd.

* Catching a game on the radio during a long drive in a car: Baseball is perhaps the last game that still translates well on radio. On those long stretches of interstate, a game can be your best companion. It doesn't matter which game you find. Maybe you pick up different clubs with different announcers. Or you find some stations with the Yankees, or the Rays, maybe the Marlins. Before you know it, you're in the driveway with the radio still on--waiting for Randy Johnson to finish his no-hitter.

Honorable mention: Dialing up a sports talk show with Bob Costas going off on the state of the game.

* Take that! And that!! And that!!! There's always a chance Lou Piniella or other managers might throw a base into right field. Actually, given the Devil Rays' outlook for this season, there's a pretty good chance.

Honorable mention: Having Sammy Sosa's bat splinter, and cork flies everywhere.

* The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: We just like saying that.

Honorable mention: No wait at Tropicana Field concession stands.

* The Cubs Curse: We need something to talk about, now that Red Sox Nation has gone and won a World Series for the first time in 86 years. Yankees fans can't chant that singsong "19-18" anymore when the Red Sox come to town.

Honorable mention: "Twoooo-thousand!" That's the last time the Yankees won a World Series. Maybe it doesn't have the same ring as "19-18" but, and this is only a guess, it will bother the Yankees just as much.

We know all about the flaws, but we live for moments of perfection: special achievements such as no-hitters and reaching historic milestones or simply listening to a game on the radio make baseball worth following

Baseball Digest, July, 2005 by Joe Henderson

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