I got that question from a book I was reading Chicken Soup for the Baseball
Fan's Soul and there is a poem/story I wanted to share that talks about why
this person loves baseball! As some of you may remember I asked you why you
loved baseball a couple of days ago so your answers to my question will be at
the bottom of the page.

So Many Things I Love About America's Game

Its opening day, and I love baseball
I love baseball stadiums, especially old ones in old parts of town.
I love baseball card--for the right reasons, not for the money
I love the fact that sixty feet, six inches, three strikes, nine innings and
ninety feet are still perfect after all these years.
I love the echo of baseballs being hit during batting practice in any empty
stadium.
I love watching windbreaker-clad pitchers run wind sprints on the outfield
warning track during exhibition games.
I love the fact that Choo Choo Coleman, Pee wee Reese and Cool Papa Bell
answered to those names. As adults. In Public
I love the scent of freshly cooked popcorn in a stadium just about to open.
I love a beautifully dragged infield, and a pitcher's mound carved just so
with resin bag in back.
I love the ivy at Wrigley, the Green Monster at Fenway, the subway that
practically drops you off at home plate at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
I love the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I love that fact that the Baseball Hall of Fame is located in charming little
Cooperstown, New York, even thought the myth of baseball being invented in
Cooperstown was exposed long ago.
I love the minor leagues.
I love the Little League World Series and the jewel of a miniature diamond in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
I love finding a game on the radio when driving a lonely stretch of highway
late at night.
I love the fact that Yogi Berra didn't say half the funny stuff he's credited
with saying, but the stories are just too good to let go.
I love that fact that a grizzled sportswriter can still cherish the memory of
Willie Davis, thirty-eight years after he last saw him play in person.
I love batboys, ball girls, and P.A. announcers with pizzazz and a clue.
I love shagging fly balls. Still.
I love seeing kid's faces light up when a ballplayer says anything to them.
Anything at all.
I love watching men so incredibly gifted that they can swing a stick at a
tiny, speeding, rock-hard sphere and make it fly great distances.
I love watching second basemen fly over sliding base runners to complete the
double play.
I love bullpen cars and foul poles that are in fair territory and dugouts
that are truly dug out of the earth.
I love a deserted clubhouse decorated with freshly laundered uniforms handing
in cubicles filled with the working tools of ballplayers.
I love Edgar Martinez's Swing.
I love Randy Johnson's fastball.
I love Junior Griffey's smile.
I love a center fielder flagging down a fly in the gap, a shortstop coming up
and throwing form the hole, a blurry fast replay from the outfield that nips
a sliding runner at the plate.
I love meal money, tips for the clubhouse attendant and visiting players who
take the time to say something to put the batboy at ease.
I love Bull Durham, Major League and A League of Their Own because they
captured on film the incredible joy and agonizing pain of trying to play a
game for a living.
I love that Harry Caray was loved by fans because he loved them, the Cubs and
baseball. Not necessarily in that order.
I love bratwurst with Special Stadium Sauce at County Stadium in Milwaukee.
I love crab cakes at Camden Yard in Baltimore--I'm sure of it, though I've
never eaten crab cakes and never been to Baltimore.
I love keeping a scorecard.
I love the seventh-inning stretch.
I love drinking a cold beer in a distant seat in a minor league stadium I've
never seen before.
I love Dave Niehaus and Grand Salami Time.
I love that fact that now-famous millionaire like Ken Griffey, Jr.
(Bellingham, Washington), Mike Piazza (Salem, Oregon) and Cecil Fielder
(Bune, Montana)
made their professional debuts nearby not so many years ago, and many of us
were lucky enough to see them and realize we were witnessing something very
special.

Howie Stalwick

What did you say you loved about baseball.....

I love baseball because it makes you think.
I love baseball because I love the feeling I get when my team wins.
I love baseball when a player is just out there to play the game he loves and
its not all about the money.
I love baseball because as much as you try to you can never guess what's
going to happen next.
I love baseball because its truly a team sport.
I love baseball because the atmosphere at a game is amazing you can meet new
people and have a great time.
I love baseball cause I know I'm watching grown men realizing their childhood
dreams.
I love baseball because its an honorable and passionate game.
I love baseball because the players are just as excited to take the field as
I am to watch.
I love baseball because men from different country's can play in the Majors.
I love baseball because it calms me down from a hectic day.
I love baseball because I lose myself in every pitch.
I love baseball because I get to guess if Tom Glavine is going to throw a
fastball down the middle or paint the corners of the plate.
I love baseball because it gives a broken family a chance to come together as
one.
I love baseball cause its challenges my brain.
I love baseball because its truly an accomplishment to excel at it.
I love baseball because although its a team sport, you are also an
individual.
I love baseball because of its rhythm and grace.

Thank you for all of you who emailed me back the reason why you love
baseball! I hope all of you can identify with just about everything in this
email! Thank You again!

Kristi


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