Baseball, Americas pastime and a beloved sport by many in today’s society, I choose to tackle this event because a sport that has lasted over 150 years demands to have a closer look into what made it a staple in society. Attending a Royals game is an event I try to do at least once a year because it’s a way to relax and have fun, that’s why I thought it would be perfect to cover for this project. When attending the game as an observer as opposed to being the participant, it changed my view of the game. I found myself thinking more analytically about why we as a culture choose to attend sporting events such as this. It also made me more aware of my surroundings commercialism as far as the eye could see, people in bright colored clothing bringing the food right to your seat as long as you had money for it of course. Through …show more content…
The incorporation of nature and steal, when you have the big man-made structure surrounding a field of grass there’s something special about that. The atmosphere of baseball can be both relaxed and invigorating, maybe you enjoy some food and a beer and watch the game with your family, or it could be a trip with your college buddies to enjoy a day off work. The game starts out with the tradition of the singing of our National Anthem, where people rise and remove their hats for the entirety of the song. For an outsider looking in at this ceremony they could compare this action as a sort of worship towards a flag, similar to tribes sing to a statue. After that it’s “Play Ball,” until the 7th inning where we get to stretch between the top and the bottom of the inning, and sing the beloved song take me out to the ball game. Through doing this field work and having a more emic perspective of the baseball experience it made me better appreciate the sport of
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.
Baseball remains today one of America’s most popular sports, and furthermore, baseball is one of America’s most successful forms of entertainment. As a result, Baseball is an economic being of its own. However, the sustainability of any professional sport organization depends directly on its economic capabilities. For example, in Baseball, all revenue is a product of the fans reaction to ticket prices, advertisements, television contracts, etc. During the devastating Great Depression in 1929, the fans of baseball experienced fiscal suffering. The appeal of baseball declined as more and more people were trying to make enough money to live. There was a significant drop in attention, attendance, and enjoyment. Although baseball’s vitality might have seemed threatened by the overwhelming Great Depression, the baseball community modernized their sport by implementing new changes that resulted in the game’s survival.
In terms of racial inequality in baseball there have been many eras of integration. Baseball originally is seen as America’s national game belonging to the white men of America. However, throughout history there have been steps taken in recognizing and integrating those groups deemed “less favorable” by the American community. These groups include German immigrants, Irish immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, Native Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Asians. America used the game of baseball as a tool to indoctrinate the American ideals and values of teamwork, working hard, and collaborating for the greater good into the cultures of the “uncivilized world.” These groups used baseball as a medium to gain acceptance into the American community as racially equal counterparts.
American culture is in my opinion a mixture of all cultures in the world. In some states, minorities have become majorities because of the huge masses that have immigrated there. Those groups have integrated their own customs to Americans and at the same time, have made American customs part of their lives. In that enormous alloy called Americans, you can meet diverse kinds of persons, languages, foods and words. At the same time, specific traits make this culture as any other unique. The British writer Lesley Hazleton describes in the essay The First Game her experience when she attended a baseball game for the first time in her life. It was her first time visiting America as well and the way the scene is described shows in some way her perception of what Americans are. Among their several qualities, she distinguished the idolization of achievers and their lives based on a theocentric society.
“America’s favorite pastime” is undisputedly baseball. Ever since the start of baseball in the United States in the late 1700s, baseball has been a game enjoyed by the majority of America. Baseball has not only had a profound effect on the United States but has spread its reach into foreign lands. Perhaps the most effected by baseball’s foreign outreach is the Caribbean. The Caribbean (mainly Cuba and the Dominican Republic) have embraced baseball as a way to a better life.
Baseball was considered the national pastime during the 1920’s. More people went to baseball games, followed baseball, and played baseball for fun than any other sport during this time. Baseball wasn’t also just a spectator sport, many adults played baseball for community teams well into their thirties. Some businesses even started to sponsor baseball teams. Young men would play games after working all day in their farm fields or when they got home from their factory jobs. Even if it was only for an hour before dinner, they played all the time that they could. Children did not have formal baseball organizations such as Little League or Pony Baseball like they do now. Instead, they organized games on vacant lots also called sandlots. During the summer when they did not ha...
As a faithful follower and player of American Baseball, this topic was of extreme interest to me. The origins and history of a lifestyle that I have dedicated the overwhelming majority of my life to has always caught my attention. Baseball, being America’s national sport, is a crucial illustration to understand when discussing the overall societal circumstances at that time. One of baseball’s most important tasks was integrating the sport and allowing people of every ethnicity to have a chance to play the sport at an equal playing field. Although we now know that the efforts to desegregate baseball were ultimately a success, to what extent were the efforts a direct success during that time period? Did the unification of different ethnicities in America’s national sport have an effect on the amount of time desegregat...
Its America’s pastime. Since 1869, the MLB has been the sweetheart of American sports. A requisite to be a true American is to have a conceptual understanding of baseball; the seventh inning stretch, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” as well as hotdogs and warm summer nights at the ball park are all favorite memories of American pastime. However, what one might not realize is the extreme physics behind the game. The velocity of the pitch, and degree of the ball exiting the bat, the exit speed, and how an outfielder throws are entailed within the physics of baseball. It is important to understand the physics involved with baseball to grow in understanding and appreciation of the sport.
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the American nation and its principles of nationalism. This is a particularly important issue because baseball seems to be a perfect representative system having many comparative analogies to the larger system of development, America. Since the sport first emerged, baseball and America have shared the same values, responded to the same events, and struggled with the same social and economic issues. To learn of the ideals concerning the sport of baseball in America, is to know the heart and mind of America.
Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime." Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball.
Many people don't understand the point in playing baseball. Why would someone swing a stick, hit a ball, and try to get back to where they started before the ball returns? What pleasure is there in that? Why not participate in a sport like wrestling or track where there is an obvious level of individual improvement and therefore pleasure. Well, I play baseball because of the love I have for the sport, and because of the feeling that overwhelms me every time I walk onto a baseball field. When I walk onto a field I am given the desire to better myself not only as an athlete, but also as a person. The thoughts and feelings I get drive me to work hard towards my goals and to be a better person. The most relevant example of these feelings is when I stepped on the field at Runyon Complex in Pueblo, Colorado during our high school state playoffs in 2003. This baseball field will always be an important place to me.
A travel of over 3000 miles for some, a 210 mile drive for me, just to arrive at the biggest gathering of over 1,500 twelve year olds; all just to play baseball. The only place that would be suitable for such an event is Cooperstown Dream Parks, every baseball players heaven. Cars have come to Cooperstown from everywhere for this week long tournament. I met children my age from all over the United states. I became friends with kids from Ohio, Illinois, California, I even met a player from Puerto Rico who barely spoke any english. The windows of everyone 's car decorated with the names and numbers of teams and players. Excited baseball teams spill from their Barracks and hustle toward the already crowded seating area. Festive music played over
This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...
As an American, I definitely recognize the fact that baseball is a major cultural symbol. It is America’s pastime and even though it is not as famous as other sports in different countries, it is still very special to the United States and has a major impact on our society in one way or another.
My entire life I had pushed for success through baseball. I have a passion for baseball more than anything on else in my life. I began at a very young age and have spent a large majority of my life preparing and bettering myself for an upcoming game or season. As I've grew I've came to a realization this is a game of failure. I have failed twice as many times as I've had success. Still I find myself resorting back to this sport. As I've developed I have continued to train and push myself. At age 15 I stopped and asked myself “what is this for?” Now I am closing in on age 18. I still find myself stopping and repeating the question.