Is America's Pastime Past Its Time?

I've been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. I first became interested in the game when my grandfather would listen on the radio to the "Red Slobs," as he called them. The legendary Curt Gowdy did the play-by-play of the perennial cellar dwellers.

There was Chuck Schilling and Felix Mantilla. Dalton Jones and Frank Malzone.  Bill Monbouquette and "The Monster," Dick Raditz, a larger than life relief pitcher who deserved to be on a better team. And then there was "Doctor Strangeglove," Dick Stuart.  He hit a ton of homers and made about as many errors.

I collected baseball cards like every kid my age and to this day remember being hurt when for some reason Grampa Bernie -- who was always very attentive -- didn't have time to look at my collection.

My love for the game was cemented in 1967 when the Impossible Dream Red Sox won the American League pennant. Carl Yastrezemski -- "the man we call Yaz" --  won the Triple Crown that year. George "Tater" Scott, Rico Petrocelli, and Joe Foy were among the regulars. A young Tony Conigliaro hit 20 home runs. Former enemies like the Yankees' Elston Howard, the Tigers' Tony Horton, and the A's Ken Harrelson joined the team for the late season run to the top. 

I was truly hooked and have been a loyal fan ever since.

About 10 years ago, I even had a chance to vicariously live the baseball life when my daughter worked for two summers for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

So, like many, I'm more than a little disappointed that Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Players Association have yet to find common ground to begin the 2020 baseball season. The opportunity to command the sports stage and be a rallying point as we emerge from the virus crisis is slowly being frittered away.

We need to look back no further than the days after 9/11 to see how baseball can provide a much needed boost to the national psyche. Who can forget President Bush confidently striding to the mound at Yankee Stadium and throwing a ceremonial first pitch strike while wearing a flack jacket?

As fans, we are emotionally attached to the game and our teams. But, with players and management apparently entrenched in their positions and focused on money, we are reminded that baseball is just a business, and one that is not especially well run.

The good news for me, anyway, is that I have found a reasonable substitute for MLB.

The KBO, South Korea's national baseball league, airs six times a week on ESPN. The weekday games start at 5:30am our time. The level of competition is good with former major leaguers and homegrown stars -- who have or could have played in MLB -- scattered throughout rosters. There's no problem with the length of the games, either. They're usually over by 8:00am, before I've finished my second cup of coffee.

With no fans in the stands, teams have become creative. I tuned in last week to find Sponge Bob, Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, and Mickey Mouse among the spectators in the first few rows at an NC Dinos vs. Hanwa Eagles game.

KBO has become popular enough here in the States that they've added an English language version of their website to respond to demand for merchandise.

Even if MLB and the players reach an agreement tomorrow, baseball will struggle for fan attention. The current proposal sees the game returning sometime in July for a 76 game regular season. But, July is also the time the NBA and NHL will be back in business with playoff competition.

The NFL never really hit the pause button and has been dominating the sports headlines with free agency and the draft. Training camps should be opening in several weeks.

Fans will have options. Watch meaningful basketball and hockey games involving players and leagues that for the most part worked cooperatively to resume their seasons or teams and players who had to be dragged back into business kicking and complaining?

And we all know what happens when football season starts.

Baseball is often referred to as "America's favorite pastime."

If owners and players don't settle their differences soon, we could be talking about the game as past its time.