the boys of winter

Philadelphia wins in 5 games. Tampa Bay concludes an absolutely incredible year in 2nd place. I realize that our society is changing, and that the beauty of baseball isn't embraced today like it was when I was a child, when my dad was a child, etc. Today's society is too fast paced. I remember as a kid listening to the baseball games on the radio, hoping that the reception holds. I remember anxiously awaiting the morning paper so that I could check the box scores and see what favorite player did what the day before. Today, we watch the 30 second highlights on ESPN, watch the key stats scroll along the bottom of the screen. Everything is condensed in to tiny brief summaries devoid of all emotion, context, and enjoyment. And if we miss SportsCenter, we can quickly check the internet for the results. Why would we ever want to watch a game when we can see the 30 second version? Why would we ever read a book when we can just read the cliffnotes or watch a quick movie. Why would we ever commit to a relationship when we can go to www.ineedaquickfix.apathy and see what happens.

Our society needs to slow down. I need to slow down.

My top ten ways to fix baseball...
10. Start the season as usual, but play a double-header every Sunday. Charge the parents, but kids get in free. The almight dollar will still be spent on food, drink and souvenirs. Kids will start loving the game again, enjoying it with their dads. A new generation of baseball lovers will be born.
9. With the weeks saved by the doubleheader madness, start the playoffs earlier and finish the World Series in early to mid October, before the snow.
8. Put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.
7. Retire Roberto Clemente's #21.
6. After Sunday doubleheaders, let the kids run the bases and meet some of the players.
5. Find a way to fix the small market teams. The Pirates give away Bay and Nady. Shameful.
4. Do everything possible to get the kids of America back on the baseball diamonds.
3. Find a new Commissioner. Bud isn't all that bad, but the Commissioner should be charismatic, a strong leader, someone that baseball lovers can be inspired by.
2. Put asterisks everywhere and clean up the drugs. All of them. Alcohol, uppers, everything.
1. Don't change a thing.

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