A paper bag was home
A baby doll was first
Second was a mud puddle
But third was much the worst
A fencepost nailed in concrete was where we had to go
It cracked many a kneecap and scraped many a toe
But to get to home we had to touch it or there would be no score
And that would be catastrophic in our little baseball war
~ Anonymous
Green fields, blue skies and yellow sunshine color the world of baseball dreams. To the not so casual fan, baseball is all about statistics and obscure facts. At a party for the Red Sox such a fan may get an audience for this knowledge. Experts are tolerated when the topic is hot.
At the same party, though, someone else may see over-fertilized grass, blue skies threatened by greenhouse gases, unhealthy ultraviolet rays – and may worry about plasticizers in the beer cups and the canned baked beans warming on the grill. This second person may get a better hearing on another occasion.
In the hitherto unpublished and awkwardly metered rhymelet written in the late 60s and quoted above, the author paints a picture of a time when playmates would cobble together a baseball diamond out of whatever was around. His attempt to equate this act with training for war can be seen as redolent of those times. Extreme views expressed like this had a certain credence -- shock value was in vogue then and used extensively. People tire of shock and tune out, however; sometimes entertainment is just that. Perhaps if you have something to say, you should trust your audience to hear you, know their interests, and choose your timing carefully.
In spring, the hopes and dreams of baseball teams and their fans are spurred by images of their favorite team flashed on the screen emanating from greenswards points south and west. The fans of those teams thought to be a notch above others are especially excited. The buzz of The Red Sox Nation can be felt like the electric tingle in the air of a trailer park built underneath a power line. Late season success of a team can bring great excitement to the communities they represent. Witness the hysteria in ’04 when the Curse of the Bambino was finally overcome by the beloved local nine.
When the Bosox or any other team is hot, suddenly it seems everyone is a baseball expert. That waiter who last year was more likely to tell you the weather on Titan than to name the second baseman for the Sox can now rattle off not only the starter’s name but his back-up and the name of the young phenom in Pawtucket in the waiting. In a playoff game, a crowd of 40,000 can hold its collective breath as that runner on first inches toward second. The subtlety of these movements is not lost on the crowd. They seem to will the pitcher to throw a warning toss to the first baseman to get him back.
As the team succeeds in the playoffs and interest runs high, experts come out of the woodwork to be interviewed. Baseball wonks with obscure knowledge about some arcane aspect of the game are suddenly thrust a microphone and get to speak. Major news events often produce this same effect. When an event piques the interest of the general populace the experts get called out. A byproduct of such occurrences is a new found interest in knowledge from someone previously laboring in anonymity. And so, tragically, we heard from o-ring experts after the Challenger incident, much as we learned about the tensile strength of building girders after 911.
Spring training is all about getting the basics down. Baseball teams work on things that rarely happen in a season. But when they do, they can have great significance - especially late in the late season. Like baseball players, when the moment arrives and the spotlight is on, those who labor now in obscurity will need to be prepared.
Perhaps those who sound warnings about threats like the BSAs in the plastic beer cups at the stadium, those who may feel they founder in a forest of unconcern can heed the advice of these examples. Do the homework, hone the issue, and be prepared to present your knowledge. Maybe when the shouting is done, the pennant unfurled and the crowd is again ready to hear about health and environmental issues, your knowledge will be needed and your voice heard.
Learn more about phthalates at www.greenhomeinspections.com and www.americanchemistry.com
Terms:
Plasticizers: agents in plastic utensils they have been found to be harmful to humans. Bisphenol (BSA): a plasticizer
Greenswards points: baseball holds spring training in warm climes
Red Sox Nation: a loose national confederation of Boston Red Sox fans
Curse of the Bambino: after the Red Sox traded baseball’s greatest player, Babe Ruth, they were thought to be cursed from ever winning the World Series
Bosox: nickname for the Red Sox
Phenom: sportswriter’s word for a young player with star potential
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