I remember everything about my first Cubs game although it was a few years ago. My dad and I went to the game on a Saturday in spring, a bright sunny day. We traveled by train to the ballpark because my dad said it would be hard to drive through all that traffic.
He was right about how crowded it would be. When we go there people were walking in the street and cars were moving so slowly. I was only eight and not very tall, so it was hard to see over the people who crowded the street. Finally we got to the entrance, and then we went to our seats after we handed in our tickets. We had tickets that were for seats far back, and it seemed like I climbed forever to get to them. When we got there I realized that even though we were at the upper
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level, I could see everything clearly, the entire field. It was great! Seeing it this way was much better than watching it on TV. Then the game started, and everyone cheered when the Cubs came out on the field.
People around us were clapping and shouting. The man next to me said, “This is going to be the year. This is the year they're going all the way.”
My dad said to him “Let's hope this is the one.” But then he whispered to me “I think he is too hopeful. We’ll have to wait and see. I always start the year thinking they'll win the World Series, but then I remember last year. They started the season winning and after that, they had a long losing streak.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” The Cubs batter hit the ball that soared out of the ball park. Soon after that, I heard “Hot dogs!” “Peanuts!” I looked and saw a vendor with a big tray hanging from his shoulders full of hot dogs in plastic wrap and bags of peanuts.
“Two hot dogs”, my dad shouted and he gave the man next to us $4 to pass along the man with the hot dogs. He sent back two steaming hot dogs.
“This is great” I said to my dad as I started to eat my hot dog.
“Not so great” he said. “We just stuck out. This inning is not a winning
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one. Baseball is a game of predicting.
The batter has to predict what the angle of the ball will be and determine if it will be a good one to swing at or if he should just let it go past. The batter has seconds to make that decision. The batter has to keep his eye on the ball and guess. So baseball is a game of skills and choices.”
It continued that way for the rest of the game, with us enjoying the food, and my dad saying “maybe next time” each time a player swung at a bad pitch. We bought peanuts, we even got another hot dog. I had never eaten such delicious hot dogs. We’d hope every time a batter started out, and then were disappointed as one by one they struck out and retired on the bench. After all, it was a really pleasant day with great food, fine weather, and special time with my dad. The final score was 7 to 0, so it was nine innings of hoping and then losing. We were disappointed about that score, but otherwise it was a perfect
day. “Tomorrow they'll win I'm certain!” I heard one person say as we left to go home. “Definitely,” another replied. The pitcher tomorrow is terrific, they'll get it done tomorrow.” When we were returning home, I asked my dad, “Why were they so optimistic when the score was 0 today–how can they be sure that tomorrow the team will win?” “That's what it means to be a Cubs fan: we believe in tomorrow he replied. When they win, it’s the best. If they lose, we expect it will get better, even though experience may tell us it won’t. Every year, we hope; every game we hope, and we don't abandon hope, that's loyalty. It's about supporting your team no matter what. Cubs fans are loyal. I’ve been coming to the Cubs game for 25 years, and I keep coming, win or lose. It's about believing in the team about being loyal to your team.” Guess what happened the next year. The Cubs won more games, including a game my dad took us to. They were getting better at making those choices. We went to a few games that year. And the next year we were there, too, cheering, even if they lost. Then it was amazing what happened this year. The Cubs won the whole thing–they won the World Series. Their fans were so excited–I’ve never seen adults scream and jump that way. The next day i talked to my dad. His voice was like a whisper, and I could hardly hear what he way saying. “Are you sick” I asked. “No way,” he answered. I was shouting so much last night I lost my voice. I’ll always support that team, but it feels good when they win. They may never win another World Series, but I’ll always remember this year. And I will always be loyal–they're my team, win or lose.”
After that everything felt like it was in slow motion. The last thing I was was my first base coach as the ground reached out and pulled me down face first. For a second I contemplated not even getting up. I was utterly humiliated. But I did. And when I did, I absolutely died laughing. I stood up after the initial shock and was greeted with a chorus of ‘Are you okay?!’’s. After reassuring them all that I was fine I trotted back over to the batter’s box, still laughing, and got ready to hit again. I fouled off another pitch and finally regained a shred of composure. Thwack. The the ball sailed deep into center field and over the center fielder's head. I made it to second but was stranded by my teammates, and from there I headed back to the
“Batter up!” the umpire yelled from behind home plate on the diamond-shaped field for the inning to begin. Adrenaline rushed through the players’ veins as the crowd cheering echoed from the bleachers to the outfield. Softball and baseball are team sports which both require an umpire and a diamond shaped field. All players are important.
Baseball is not a difficult game to comprehend, but it can a very long time to achieve a high level of performance. Usually one starts playing this game at a very young age and the first thing they start out with is throwing. Throwing a baseball involves exploiting all major muscle groups in the body to generate a large torque on the arm that will in turn create a high potential for speed when it is released.
A dedicated baseball player shows up ready to play and succeed in whatever situation may arise. Baseball is a mental game, and concentration is key to keeping a player mentally prepared. Baseball is both a fast and slow sport, as it is slow between pitches, but very intense during them. During pitches, it is a players time to regroup and think of all the situations that could arise during the next pitch. During the play, everything happens fast, and there is no time to think about what to do, it is all instinct, so the ability to avoid mental errors is crucial.
It took a while to get in because the line was extremely long but the fans screaming and yelling. The music was playing while the players were warming up. They
Baseball is considered America’s past time. Legends like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and many more have come and gone. Throughout baseball’s history certain players have excelled more than others, and like any sport they were successful by exploiting their strengths. It isn’t the rules, uniforms, stadiums, and fan base that make baseball a beautiful sport; it’s the players. Anyone competing, whether it is at a professional level or not, has their own unique mechanics that allows them to perform the best they can. No pitcher throws the ball the same way as another and no batter hits the ball the same way as another. Every baseball player has a routine in everything they do that makes them special. It has been said that hitting a baseball is the hardest task in all of sports. To accomplish that task, all factors come in to play; the type of pitch being thrown, the release point of the pitch, the break of the ball, etc. All those factors occur before the batter’s swing is fully initiated. As mentioned earlier, no batter swings the same way as another however, the mechanics of a swing is a different thing entirely. The mechanics of one’s swing begins when a batter enters the box and ends when a batter exits, what happens in between is up to the batter. By perfecting a batter’s mechanics while in the box, their chances of making contact increase greatly.
Baseball is a unique sport in many different ways. It is the only major competitive sport that has no time limit. The success of a player is determined on how well he can play as an individual and how well the team plays along with him. There are many rules that determine the success of a player’s performance. A baseball game is played with two teams and each team is permitted 25 players per team; however this is only true for professional teams. There are three parts to baseball: offense, pitching, and defense.
If you have ever met me, or know me, you would know that I love sports, and you would know my favorite sport of all time is baseball, and that my favorite sports team is Boston Red Sox. I am what you call a die-hard Red Sox fan; you can compare me as Red Sox fan to actor Jimmy Fallon’s character in the movie, Fever Pitch. My strong love for the Red Sox comes from my step-dad Phil. Phil has always been like a second father to me since he and my mom got together, back in early 2000s. Phil is always trying to teach and help me learn from my mistakes, and I have made my share of them. Nevertheless, I also cherish the moments I spend with him at Red Sox games. The experiences I have at Red Sox games are moments in my life, I will never forget, that I will always remember, One game in particular I most remember is my first Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
It all began one day when I was six years old. My dad and I were playing catch at my grandparents house in the yard. I decided that I wanted to pitch so I told my dad to crouch down like a catcher. As I began to pitch I would try to imitate my favorite pitcher at the time, Cardinal starter, Chris Carpenter. My grandpa would sit in a chair by the window and watch me throw. After throwing a few pitches my grandpa decided that he wanted to come outside. With his walker, he made his slow walk outside to get a closer look at me. “I think we’ve got something here” he said to my dad as I continued to pitch. From that moment on, I always wanted to pitch in front of him just to listen to what he would have to say about me.
They were all feeling down; it would be hard not to. They were faced with adversity, but their team bond that they had formed through the season had prepared them. Some players were not ready to give up so easily. Outfielder Jason Heyward called a players only meeting and according to Epstein, “all 25 guys squeezed into a space designed for half that many.” Heyward himself was having a terrible offseason. Epstein says, “by far the worst of his career.” Continuing to elaborate after the game, Epstein also said, “Most players who are having seasons that rough detach from the team and isolate themselves.” But Heyward was not around a traditional team culture. All the players were in there making small comments, trying to pick each other up when Heyward began: “We are the best team in baseball.” He’d walked to the middle of the room and continued, “We’ve got to stay positive and fight for your brothers. Stick together and we’re going to win this game.” From there, other players chirped in agreeing. Next thing, the rain was gone and the Cubs were on the field again. The Cubs had two runs in the top of the 10th from the help of Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero. They were winning. Bottom of the 10th with 2 outs and Martinez of the Indians has a ground hit to Bryant who caught the ball and threw it to Rizzo: The Cubs had
With seconds to spare I arrived at batting practice and began to prepare for my game. I hear coach call out my name and as I he acknowledged that I was there he told me I was pitching. My brain shifted and went into a whole new mode, I was more focused and more determined than I have ever been. This was the biggest baseball game of my career and I 'm starting on the mound. Honestly it couldn 't have turned out any better, the fate of the pin and my team lied in my hands and I loved the pressure. The pressure made me thrive and before I knew it our team was marching onto the field for the national anthem. During the singing of the national anthem I peeked into the crowd and first row down the first base side was the little boy I met on the cart and his dad sitting right next to him. This game was for that little boy, I needed to impress him. I pitched six strong innings and my team ended up winning the game. It was the most exciting game of my career and the best part was being greeted with the best pin in the tournament after such a spectacular win. The little boy ran out into the middle of the field where we shook our opponents hands and in front of everyone in the stadium handed me the only thing I cared about besides winning. I was in the best mood for the rest of the day and I rewarded myself with a nice long sleep. I could only image what the next day had to
Everyone knows that when it comes to America’s favorite pastime, it’s baseball. And the best place to watch baseball is Wrigley Field in Chicago Illinois. From the sights of the exposed Iron girders to the beautifully manicured field and green ivy walls, everything you see displays baseball in its purest form. The smell of beer, hot dogs, and crackerjacks fill the air. The sounds of the fans cheering on the Cubbies and the shouts stadium vendors selling their snacks provides an undeniably warm, welcoming atmosphere. The Cubs are a true American staple with deep roots in the history of Chicago, and the great sport of baseball. Just by walking through the stadium’s entryways and corridors to the higher levels you can feel the generations of
As it was once said by the great Yogi Berra, “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.” Whether they are out on the field or up to bat, they always need to know the situation in the game. When playing out on the field every player needs to think about where they are going to go with the ball if it gets hit to them. Even if there is a weak hitter up to bat, outfielders still have to be ready for anything. Also, players need to know how many outs there are and what bases runners are on so that if the ball does get hit to them they know what to do.
Baseball is a great game to analyze from game theory perspective because of the scale of strategic decisions that are continuously made on the fields and each play. In every play, there are various players (baseball players, coaches, team managers and owners) with different goals and payoffs, and thousands of pitch-by-pitch decisions are made in course of an at-bat, inning, game, and season.
...to play. The ball steadily slows down until it is fielded because of the inertia. If the ball is hot in the air but bounces on the ground before the person fields it, then they would have to be sure to watch and calculate the projectile motion and how the ball spins on the ground. To be a good fielder, one has to be consciously aware of how the ball will move and to what direction it will be coming off the bat. They need to be able to calculate the speed the ball is coming and if it is going to bounce or curve.