Suppose your
team, though clearly rebuilding, has the chance to start the season 2-0 against
a division rival’s best pitchers. But drops both games in the short series primarily
because a veteran catcher (who was a bright spot in previous year’s dismal
season) keeps dropping the ball.
This is
purely hypothetical, of course, since the very designation of catcher implies
one who catches the ball.
But since we're speculating, perhaps throw
in a few more errors (costly, even if not technical ones) and a four-pitch walk from your closer. Then imagine both winnable games being flushed into the sewer of defeat.
Suppose
something far-fetched like that happened at the start of the season.
And what if the third game of the season — this time against a fine baseball franchise
from the Midwest — gets off to a much better start: a 4-0 lead? But then falls
apart when your pitcher starts offering up batting practice-style pitches that
lead to a record three consecutive pinch-hit homers.
And suppose, therefore,
your team remains winless.
What is a fan
to do? The answer, of course, is to be a baseball fan.
Baseball is
no place for the fair-weather or impatient fan. And while persistent fans
suffer losses more deeply they also revel more in the victories than the band
wagon that shows up after winning streaks.
But there are
some specific ways to enjoy the glories of baseball even when
one's favorite team is less than glorious.
Here are a
few suggestions:
Focus on various aspects of the game
rather than just the final score. Celebrate a great catch or throw, a pick-off move, or a nice slide
(assuming it fits the narrow definition of legal slides today). Be grateful
that a school chorus sang the national anthem vigorously and quickly rather
than having to listen to a wannabe recording artist drag the flag and us
through an endless stretch of painful vocalization.
Enjoy the cast of
characters. Ballparks are full of all kinds of interesting people beyond
those on the field. Even the vendors and ushers can be entertaining if you get
to know the right ones. And fellow fans can become friends with whom you sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame at the
seventh-inning stretch as ritualistically as a congregation sings The Doxology after receiving the morning
offering.
Take notice of the
sights, sounds and smells. Baseball touches all the senses with its mix of
manicured grass, acrobatic athletes, hot dogs and onions, cheers and jeers.
Check out the minors.
Hope lives there. Struggling teams (unless they are swimming in money) see
their future in the farm system. Take note of how the prospects are doing — and, even
better, go see them play. Later it will be fun to say of an MLB
all-star, “I watched him play in single A and could tell he’d be a star.” (No
one will know that you actually booed the kid back then for throwing to the
wrong base.)
Remember when.
Nostalgia is a big part of baseball. Even franchises never known as dynasties
have memorable histories. Most have displays of various sorts to remind stadium
visitors of times of glory.
If all else fails,
indulge. The heartburn from stadium fare such as the tater tot chop, the
sausage sundae or the burgerizza can distract from the heartbreak of unfavorable
final scores. If you can imagine.
