Teamwork

I have heard the statement that baseball is the microcosm of life. I do not remember who said or am sure it can be disputed. Here we have the grand game, right up there with apple pie. These days it has dovetailed into soceity in its grandest form. Lets start with greed. You have the owners who are rich fat cats trying to take every penny they can from Joe Fan. We have selfishness on the hands of the players who look at the only numbers that count, the number of zeros at the end of their paycheck, and the number of incentives that help them get those zeros. We have also seen the game turned liberal. We can only hit a batter with a pitched ball in the only place that counts for the players the back pocket. Bob Gibson must run away from the TV every time he sees this, for is a man who would send you to the seat of your pants for just digging in too deep into the batters box.

Now let me touch on the one thing that makes baseball great. It is a trait that we as a society should readopt if we are going to become great again. That concept is teamwork. Why is it that we only see communities come together in a time of crisis. Baseball is the definition of teamwork. Nine players who need to work as 1 for 6 months if they want to succeed. That takes character, a trait many Americans sorely lack. Have we become such a cynical society that we lift a finger to help people when they want something or it provides us with a convenient photo op. Take the Red Sox for example. Such was the derision of the team balance with the indifferent Manny Ramirez that some teamates went to management to demand that he be sent packing. Sure they could have let Manny continue being Manny for the rest of the season to be selfish. Not that they couldn’t have needed Manny’s back with a lefty on the mound with the bases loaded in the 8th Sunday, but for the good of the team you see something you really see in todays professional sports world, players and management working together for one goal and that was the good of the team. So They trade Manny for a player who hass a fraction of the talent as Manny but they become a team once again and take us on another postseason. There is not any one who did not think they were going to do it again with the 8th inning rally.

They fell short but gave me as a fan more thrills this year because they did what we all aspire for ourselves they put their greed and selfish motivations aside for the good of the working unit. That is a stat you will not appear in any box score, you can not get rich financially off it, but every one should take note.