How Baseball Promotes American Values
The feeling of gripping the baseball, the taste of sunflower seeds, the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, and the sight of it soaring over the fence. These are all iconic sensations in the great game of baseball.
The impact of sports on cultures all over the world is immense. Perhaps the greatest example of this is baseball in the United States. Baseball is the undisputed pastime of the U.S. and is an excellent representation of its values.
One way baseball promotes American values is that it celebrates ordinary people. This isn’t to say that baseball players aren’t talented, but that most players tend to resemble ordinary people. This is most evident with foreign baseball players who have fought to come to the United States in order to play baseball here in the land of immigrants. Like the United States, baseball has a robust judicial system with its umpires. The phrase “three strikes, you’re out” has become a common reference to failure in all aspects of life. The United States is a diverse nation that celebrates racial equality. Racial integration actually came to baseball before the military was desegregated (for the second time) and before the Brown v. Board of Education case. Baseball has gone on to become one of the most diverse sports in the U.S., with 20% of Major League Baseball players coming from countries outside of North America. In terms of diversity, the MLB beats out the NFL and NBA and is only narrowly bested by the MLS. Baseball also is a great model of equal opportunity. Every player in the lineup gets a definite chance to hit, unlike most other sports where the ball must be given to you by chance in order to make a difference in scoring points for your team. Baseball is also an equal sport in terms of stature. You don’t have to be tall, wide, or bulky to play the old ball game.
Numbers hold arguably more importance in baseball than in any other sport in the world; so much so that a new word, “sabermetrics,” was created to describe the analysis of numbers in baseball. Baseball is more of an individual sport than a team sport, where personal accountability is embraced, a trait that is essential in a free society like the United States. Nearly every action a baseball player makes on the field is recorded in what is known as the “box score.” In no other sport or occupation is individual performance so accounted for. With a free society comes freedom to succeed or fail. No matter who you are, you’re going to fail one way or another; most likely multiple times. Baseball is known for being the game of failure. As legendary baseball player Ted Williams once said, "Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."
Major League Baseball plays the longest game season of any professional sport in the world. 162 games in about half a year can be one of the most grueling trials an individual can face. Americans have been through countless hardships but have always pulled through like Major League Baseball players do. I know from personal experience that even in high school the season can be a drag. Baseball is a unique sport in that you play nearly every single day when the game is in a season. One could argue that luck matters the least in baseball, where 162 games are sure to even out any serendipity that a team might have. Every team knows before the season begins that they will win about 60 games and lose about 60, what happens in the other 42 games is up to them. If a team wins 10 out of every 20 games, they are mediocre, but if they win 11 out of every 20, they will finish with a solid record and are likely to make the playoffs. The playoff format itself requires a team to win a series of games rather than a single one, eliminating fluky victories. These little differences in baseball end up making huge differences, just like in a free society. Baseball might have the perfect balance of individualism and teamwork. This is similar to the United States, where it is important to hold yourself accountable but to also realize the importance of working together towards a common goal as well. Baseball’s popularity in the United States has declined over the years. Nowadays, Americans seem to be more interested in sports like basketball and especially football. Football has arguably become the new national pastime with Americans seeming to take a liking towards a more violent, fast-paced sport. This could be because Americans have become less patient over the years and want things immediately as soon as they want them.
Not only has baseball become less appealing to the eye for some individuals, but scandals on labor and performance-enhancing drugs have left a scar on the game. The 1998 home run record chase was one of the most exciting and popular times for baseball. Its reputation became diminished, however, when word got out that the top two home run leaders, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (along with many others), had tested positive for PEDs a few years later after the MLB started cracking down on its use. McGwire and Sosa did admit to using PEDs in 1998; once hailed as baseball’s greatest season, now it is a stain on the game.
Scandal, especially having to do with money, can plague anything. This is something that the United States itself cannot allow to happen to it.
While baseball might not be the luminary of all sports anymore, it will always be loved, legendary, and most of all, America’s pastime.
