Originally posted by Greenlander
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It was David Habelstram or another of those great old writers who pointed out that a great thing about baseball is that because the teams play almost every day, their lives are more like the lives of most working Americans.
For most of us, it’s day in and day out, and we learn to keep an even keel. This kind of slow grind is, I think, a lot harder, at least mentally, then just getting ready for 16-20 big moments a year. In some ways it’s more difficult physically. People think baseball isn’t physically taxing, but over the course of a week of it, there are lots of opportunities to get injured and create chronic pains.
Also, it’s a season long story that unfolds in daily, rather than weekly, installments. That was especially true in the days when it was all on the radio and newspapers.
Now that the sports media is saturated 24/7, we get coverage of the NFL and NBA, etc, 24/7/365, so those sometimes feel like daily dramas too. But usually they aren’t. With baseball, a much higher percentage of that “content” is about the actual games, rather than pointless speculation, rumors, gambling tips, mindless drivel.
The NBA, for example, really has only two exciting times - the last few rounds of the playoffs and the period right now of the draft and the free-agency silly season. Once who-will-play-for-whom is decided, most of the outcome of the season is very predictable.
I hope baseball doesn’t end up like that.
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