Give Baseball a Chance

Give Baseball a Chance

ralphhardin@gmail.com It’s the end of October, and that means one thing — Halloween. OK, it means two things, and the other one is the World Series.

For much of its existence, baseball has been called the “National Pastime,” as the sport, played from everyone at one time or another, from age 4 to 84, has been a mainstay in the American culture for more than a century.

For the past couple of decades or so, interest has dwindled.

There are a lot of reasons to point toward for this. I think the 1994 Major League Baseball strike was a pretty big blow, but really, the other major sports have simply chipped away at baseball’s fanbase. As much as I love baseball, I can freely admit it doesn’t always match the hard-hitting physicality of football or the more non-stop nature of basketball. But there’s plenty to still like about baseball.

And did I mention the World Series?

For those not in the know, the World Series is a bestof- seven-games championship series (just like the NBA), played between the National League Champion and the American League Champion (just like the Superbowl). They’ve been doing it for 113 years (with the exception of 1904 and 1994), and this year’s promises to be something special.

You see, more than football or basketball or (insert other sport here), baseball is a story. It’s a story with many chapters, full of heroes and villains, and with folklore, tall tales, stats and figures, legends and legacies. And those who follow the game already know where this is going.

For years, the biggest story in baseball was the “Curse of the Bambino,” which plagued the Boston Red Sox from the day they traded away Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1915 until they (finally) won a World Series in 2004.

Well, only slightly behind that story is the plight of the Chicago Cubs, 2016 National League Champions. The last time the Cubbies won a World Series, Theodoore Roosevelt was the President of the United States. That’s 1908, by the way… before World War One, before women could vote, before the automobile, the TV and before the NBA and NFL even existed.

Now, it’s not like they’ve had a century-plus of bad teams. They’ve been to the Fall Classic seven times, and yes, they’re 0-and-7.

And all of that was before 1946. Since then they’ve made the playoffs seven more times, all with early exits.

The 2016 American League Champion Cleveland Indians have a similar tale of woe, made famous by the 1989 comedy “Major League.” The Tribe last won a World Series in 1948, beating the Boston Braves, who not only moved to Milwaukee and then to Atlanta in the meantime, but also beat the Indians in a re-match in 1995. The Indians would also get to the series, only to lose, in 1954 and 1997.

And Cleveland fans sat through some terrible teams, with last place finishes up and down the years and only five other playoff appearances in that seven-decade span.

But hope springs eternal every year, and the Cubs and Indians each won their divisions handily this season, then proceeded to plow through their division and league championship series opponents to reach the series.

Now history is guaranteed to be made. One of these teams is about to win the World Series. For sure.

Guaranteed.

Around here, it’s definitely Cardinal country, and the smattering of local Cubs fans have had to sit by for years as the St.

Louis ball club has racked up World Series appearances, including three world championships in the past 35 years. And there are Indians fans around here, too. And even if your team (go Braves!) isn’t in it this year, or even if you don’t have a team, this is sure to be a World Series for the ages.

And both of these teams play good baseball, with plenty of great pitching, strong offense and smart managers.

Check your local listings!

Somewhere in the middle

By Ralph Hardin

By Ralph Hardin