This isn't about music, but I needed somewhere to talk about the importance of the World Series
Apparently this World Series had some of the lowest viewership in history. The blame was placed on the fact that one team represented a past we are politically trying to get away from as quickly as possible, and the other team had no star power and no business being there. Isn’t that the big picture? Baseball, like it or not has remained the cultural barometer of the United States since its inception. At first it was an elitist White sport, then it spanned classes, then it was a brutal and terrifying feat to integrate with Black players. Think about it, whatever is happening in our social climate is happening in baseball in a way that isn’t happening in other sports.
Steroid use in athletes hit an epic high from the mid 90’s to around 2005, and MLB commissioners lost their minds over it. They called the athletes liars and cheaters, told them they were stealing from the fans and compromising the integrity of the game. George Bush was president for the second half of that time, he too could be accused of the above statements, the difference being MLB actively and wholeheartedly did something about it. No one really talks about drug abuse in the NBA or NFL or even NHL. Some of these players take incredible amounts of abuse and yet still play weekly. How?
One rarely see’s bad calls in baseball, like the type of call that changes the trajectory of a series at least. Last year in the NBA Finals, anyone watching could see that in game three of the Celtics versus the Lakers, this was going to be forced for 7 games, because it’s the NBA, where predictable happens. This type of commerce driven activity is more of an insult to the game and takes more away from the fans than a single player on steroids, but doesn’t it seem the reflect the economic environment we live in? Compromising our values in order to capitalize on the greatest gain?
MLB has another issue that may be driving fans away that they hadn’t thought of, outsourcing. The Dominican Republic has become a baseball player making factory, making the sport less American, and less accessible to Americans, much like our job market. From an outsiders point of view it’s understandable why it’s less interesting this season than in the past, barely anyone like them is left in the league. Then there are the star teams, the corporations of baseball; The Yankees, The Red Sox etc… everyone hates a gloating rich guy, especially during hard times.
So where does that bring us? A team labeled the “misfits and freaks”, a team of dedicated family men with a passion for the game, a love for their fans and a dedication to becoming better athletes. The underdog in a whole series of challenges somehow makes it to the world series and dominates, in a pitch by pitch display of true skill and patience. Isn’t this what we all hope to be? A champion, because at the end of the day we were simply better than the opponent? Not because we were richer, better looking, better connected, more arrogant, cheated or lied our way to the top; we were simply the best, most skilled player for the job and we did it as quickly and concisely as necessary.
In the same way that when Obama was elected president, baseball was working on restoring integrity to the game. And now with the mid term elections the day after the world series (and boy were they depressing) the American people took this election with the same level of both humility and pride. And with that we can always learn something from baseball. Sometimes the underdog can win, sometimes the little guy is simply a better athlete and we have to congratulate them. I personally am an Oakland Athletics fan, but I can appreciate true sportsmanship and skill when I see it.
Congratulations San Francisco Giants.
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