Personal Narrative: The Sandlot
The sandlot was a vacant lot we especially used for unorganized sports. It was a place during my childhood years where I could go and not have a worry on my mind, except being with my best friends and playing some baseball. The lot was a place where the memories of endless fun and games took place. I can still hear the voices of neighbors yelling at us to go home because of the tennis balls we hit against their houses and off their windows. To us the sandlot was better than Wrigley Field, nothing else could compare to all the times we had there.
It was a small field in between two houses with some woods out behind the fence. The worn down grass showed the base paths, my mom's old rug squares for bases, and the home plate was made out of wood and painted white. These were all the things we used to make this old field our baseball park. During our endless games we sure felt like we were playing on a real field.
The rules aren't exactly like baseball, although things were very similar. Day after day we never had a winner. We just played to satisfy our love for the game, not for bragging rights. Our games could be played with just four people and sometimes we had games that were nine on nine, just like the pros. Every morning I waited for the call to meet at the lot. By the time we met up, we were ready to play. Making teams was always a hassle because everyone always wanted to be on certain teams. So, we usually drew names out of a hat and made trades to keep the game even.
Taking slides into the run-down grass around the bases, even getting cuts from the pebbles we missed picking up were all part of the lot. Every time a foot stomped on home plate, it was a reminder that the sandlot was ours. By the time lunch rolled around we would be covered in sweat and ready to jump in the pool to cool off. After a nice long rest there we were back on the lot continuing our games as if we had never quit playing. When dusk started to roll in we kept playing until one of us hit a homer into the woods and we couldn't find the ball because it was too dark to see.
outfield and the storied 27 by 75 foot high manual scoreboard was built behind the
Hoffmann, Gregg. Down in the Valley The History of Milwaukee County Stadium. New York: Partners Group, 2003.
Baseball has been of the longest living sports in our world today. The game started with the idea of a stick and ball and now has become one of the most complex sports known in our society. Several rules and regulations have been added to help enhance the game for everyone. Although baseball has endured several issues during its history and development of the game the game has still been a success throughout the world.
The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again
I chose this piece because it’s the beginning, the reason why baseball got started. Also because I am learning about a sport that began so early and evolved into a major league sport. Many people find baseball can be boring because it is so long, its nine innings and that can last a while. The way the sport is, it is set up in a way that when your favorite team is winning, you tend to forget about how long the actual game is. This first inning takes place as early as the 1800’s and going into the 1900’s, explaining who started baseball. One interesting fact that I took heed to be the fact that baseball was not called “baseball”, it was actually called “base”, the game of ball.
Baseball was based on the English game of rounders. Rounders becomes popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called "townball", "base", or "baseball". Cartwright formalized the modern rules of baseball. The first recorded baseball game in 1846 when Alexander Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club. The game was held at the Elysian Fields, in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league was formed.
Baseball was always something my grandpa and I bonded over. Every day after school I would go to my grandparents house to wait for my dad to come pick me up from work. I was so eager to
The sights at a game are awesome. The grass fresh cut and Kelly green. The dirt soft, silky, and perfectly combed. The stadium filled with faces and camera flashes, the players warming up before the game in hopes of winning. There are people walking up and down the isles selling hot dogs, peanuts, and cotton candy. All these are wonderful sights at a baseball game.
In Major League Baseball, stadiums can affect the game dramatically by the size and by the way the dirt is laid out and how the weather is as well. The baseball teams and players can be affected by this in their major life physically and mentally. Major League Baseball is a prominent organization in our daily life. The game is very important for most people. The game is a lifestyle to people as well. Baseball has changed over the years. For instance, Pete Palmer states, “The way baseball is playing right now is completely different from the past” (Palmer, summary, 2014). A very helping part of baseball are baseball stadiums. For example, ballparks of america says, “... ballparks are amazing, they help us play” (ballparks of america, summary,
The rules are the same as in the 80s. It is still 90feet to first base, 60 foot 6 inches from the pitchers mound to home plate, and you still only get three strikes and four balls.
Than we marched through the complex until we reached the most famous park in the whole complex. Double-Day field, one of the nine fields that make up cooperstown dream parks. It only hosts one game on it per tournament, the championship game. As I walked in along side my team I get a strong gust of the fresh cut grass, I feel the energy in the stands, and I can clearly hear the cheers from every individual player in the crowd. Everyone eventually settled in and before we knew it skydivers bearing flags parachute into the stadium. Photographers ran cross the field as fighter planes shot across the sky. It was our first look at what being a professional athlete would be like. The complex had a set dress code and expected much more from us than we have ever been expected to do. The parents weren 't even allowed by the barracks; we were living on our own for the first time. To me Cooperstown was my first real step in becoming a grown adult, as it was for everyone else
Baseball is one of the world's greatest sports and is played almost everywhere in the world. It is also one of the most historic games. The main historic part of baseball deals with the ballparks, the cities, and the teams that have been around for such a long time. Then you have the one and only Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Park is the longest standing and is still being used of all the Major League ballparks in the United States. Throughout the 100 years of Fenway Park's existence it has been built, named, burned down, rebuilt, and a whole lot of adding on to the ballpark.
One of my favorite movies growing up was “The Sandlot.” It’s a coming of age story of a group of neighborhood boys, who love to play baseball. The movie is set in the early 1960s, and spans the length of one summer. The Sandlot boys spent the summer playing baseball, getting into trouble and learning the true meaning of friendship. Of course, in the movies, whenever
The sport that evokes more nostalgia among Americans than any other is baseball. So many people play the game as children that it has become known as “the National Pastime”. It is also a democratic game. Unlike football or basketball, baseball can be played well by average people.
The announcer began announcing our team to start the introduction for the game. Since I was the lead-off batter, my name was echoed over the park first. It was at this time that the feeling elevated; the feeling that makes every baseball field so special. As my teammates yelled for me, while I ran to the nearest baseline and faced the crowd, the feeling gave me goose bumps and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The feeling is so amazing that it will keep me playing baseball for as long as possible because it makes my love for the sport that much more. I can't even begin to explain the complex feeling I get when I walk on a baseball field, but that feeling will always be cherished and hopefully when I pass on my love of baseball to others, they will too understand what that special diamond makes me feel like.