The Old Ball Game

While reading Chapter 2, I discovered a short section of the chapter dedicated to the sport of baseball and how even it has sociological meaning in the world today.  I've played baseball my whole life and am continuing to do so at the collegiate level, but never took it for anything more than a game.  However, baseball creates a perspective of how individuals participate in social life and how social structure has an impact on our everyday lives.

Sociologists state that, as fans, we look at a baseball game from a micro level of analysis.  We see many different people performing different actions, all in order to benefit themselves in a positive way.  Our tendency has become to see only the important aspects of the game, the hitter, pitcher, wherever the action is.  Our attention is on who and what is happening that has great importance to the game.  Each player or person associated with the direct functionality of the game has his own role in which society has placed upon him.  The batter is, in our eyes, personally responsible for scoring runs, while a pitcher is responsible for getting batters out.  Managers get blamed when a player does poorly, as does an umpire when he makes a tough call when the game is on the line.

This aspect of viewing the game is more prominent in today's society than in the past.  Today we have broadcasters and analysts directing our attention to what THEY  think is important and should be viewed by fans at home.  Fans are not given the opportunity to view and think for themselves; many times have I seen someone go into a debate about a sports topic going strictly off of what the sports caster had to say during and after the big game last night.  Camera angles and the availability of instant replay eliminate the chance for viewers at home to construct their own beliefs and thoughts through the use of a sociological way of thinking.

The most prominent way of eliminating this issue is for people to get off their lazy asses and go out to enjoy America's past time.  Visualizing a game taking place in person gives a fan a unique, personal perspective on how the game is taking place around him/her.  A fan at a ball game also is provided with vast opportunities to celebrate in the rich history and traditions of baseball, such as the 7th Inning Stretch, batting practice, the Wave, or the feeling of standing up to cheer as your team pulls off a great comeback leading to victory.  Again, however, society has changed in such a way so even an in-person fan experience is effected by sociological ways of our culture.  Cost of a ticket is becoming almost laughable to attend a game, as are the prices the facility charges for concessions.  I guess the team has to pay the multi-million dollar contracts somehow!  Advertisements have consumed many ballparks and turned them into giant billboards, made to attract and promote products with no connection whatsoever to the sport of baseball.

Attending a baseball game has clearly changed from what it was in the past, but if one can overcome the giant sociological blanket that society has placed on us, they are in for one heck of a treat!

Experience this first hand and come cheer on your Hamline Pipers!
http://www.hamline.edu/athletics/baseball/2012/schedule.html