Mark’s Kaddy Korner

The one who has drawn so many to golf, Tiger, has also chased a bunch of us away the last month. I’m oh, so, tired of his arrogance, hidden agenda, and misuse of America’s respect for him. I haven’t tuned into a golf program all week; baseball and football, even though it was lousy last weekend, have sated my sports fix. Hall of Fame inductions are tomorrow and among all the hallowed grounds of sports, Cooperstown is befitting the history of the game.

Baseball has always been a reflection of society and before football,  X-games and X-Box, video games, Internet, cable TV, and all the other distractions across the countryside every little town had a baseball team. That was the entertainment for the week and the players gained special recognition. Now we’re only worried about our fantasy teams; nobody cares about the town or your next door neighbor. It’s a fantasy world these days. There is nothing grounded like there is between the baselines. Nobody cares about the rules of the game; they change them as it becomes necessary.

Baseball hasn’t changed a rule since lowering the pitcher’s mound and the designated hitter. Granted they have changed the statistics around to meet the needs of the self-centered, egotistical, spoiled players of the day, but it is still the same game, played on the same field just a bit smaller so the home run numbers can be inflated. You don’t see the game played the same because today’s players aren’t grounded in baseball basics. Their natural skills are better but their acumen lacks; only a few play the game as it should be played.

Tomorrow two of baseball’s greats, Barry Larkin and Roberto Alomar, should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Their stats aren’t the best of all time, but they both played the game as it should. Both moved runners along, did their job in the field, and figured out a way to beat you even if they were 0 for 4 that day. Today you only find a handful of players on the diamond like that. Ground balls aren’t run out, fly balls are greeted with a flung bat and a jog to first base, and god forbid you have to sacrifice bunt these days. It’s definitely not a team game anymore, much like society.

Most are interested in their own special needs and entitlements, especially in the big cities, politics, and corporate America. No longer do we worry about we, maybe it’s time to get back to a sacrifice bunt occasionally, move the runner along and don’t worry about your stats. Small towns, rural areas, and especially the Midwest still hunker down and handle their catastrophes or mishaps themselves. Each neighbor chips in a moves the runners along till the game is over, the winner declared, but everyone revelling in sportsmanship.

Baseball is still being played throughout rural America; it’s now called life. The standards taught by those cornfield baseball games years ago are being implemented today. If football would have been the national pastime forty years ago, we’d be in a lot worse shape these days. The pastoral qualities, cerebral functions, and lack of time constraints helped baseball affectionados appreciate what is necessary to do the proper job in life. You live and play within the rules of the game; you don’t change the rules to make life easier for the moment only to find out there are detrimental payments in the long run.

It’s time to go out and play catch with your child again. Pull their noses off the keyboard, cell phone, and video games, grab a couple of gloves and throw the ball around the yard. Concentrate on the little things and enjoy a half hour talking with your kid, it’s pretty easy. Maybe it’s time we had a baseball fan in the White House again. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a president throw out the first pitch of the season. That used to be a passage of spring, recognizing all was well, and “Let’s play ball.”

It’s time to play ball again like it’s meant to be played. And, it’s time to live life like it’s meant to be lived. Look out for your neighbors as they’re running the bases and help them along. Don’t feel you’re entitled to a walk every time up to bat, work the count a bit, and earn your way on base. The guy on the mound is a challenge not someone out to get you; friendly competition is necessary between the baselines and also in life.