Why baseball is the best worst sport

It is all about setting the expectations right.

I have already mentioned how basketball is a passion of mine. I have played since I started elementary school. Apart from basketball, I enjoy other sports as well, such as football, ice hockey, ping pong etc. On the other hand, there are some sports I never understood, nor found interesting. One of them is baseball¹. This is what this post is about.

Photo by Jose Francisco Morales on Unsplash

Our story starts, at the only country on the planet, that considers baseball a serious sport². The United States of America. More specifically, it starts at a dive bar. If you, like me, didn’t know what a dive bar is, imagine cheep beer, pool tables and sticky floors. Most preferably located below street level, hence the term dive bar.

Photo by Louie Castro-Garcia on Unsplash

I was there with a colleague on a Friday, after work. We first had a couple of margaritas at a rooftop bar, where we got all the boring topics out of the way: investments, pension schemes, owning vs. renting, cars, motorcycles -yes they are a different category from cars. The last thing that was said at that rooftop was:

You cannot leave the US, before going to a dive bar.

Less than 10 minutes later, and while the sun was still high up, we walked down the stairs to Sunset Boulevard. Or Sunrise Avenue. Or something like that anyways. Beer jug ordered, pool table secured and within 3 minutes we are all set for the next two hours. Conversation is flowing and jumping from one topic to another: Relationships. Writing. Beer. Nice family memories. Terrible family memories. Philosophy. More beer. The dive bar made a perfect setup for conversations that varied from ridiculous to deeply personal.

Richard, let us call him that, was a big sports fan. And a big baseball fan. During all the swings the conversation took³, we also touched upon sports. Now, I should mention that so far, I had been very lucky with sports. I had watched ice hockey games live, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. I had watched Denver play in the regular season, in the playoffs and in the NBA finals. I had watched LeBron, Jokić and Antetokounmpo live⁴. I had not managed to go to an American football game, and I didn’t really care about baseball.

Once that came up, it was inevitable that the "you can’t leave before first going to a dive bar" was substituted by:

You cannot leave US, before going to a baseball game.

At first, I expressed my slight indifference about baseball. After all, it is not the most exciting sport out there.

Let me rephrase that.

It is boring. There is nothing happening. You just sit there forever, there are a million rules that nobody knows and the thrill is… non-existent.

Richard, even though a big baseball fan, did not deny any of these.

R: But that is not why you go to a baseball game.
NI: Then, why?
R: You go for the cheap beer. For the footlong hotdogs. For all the ridiculous little snacks they have made up to keep you coming to the stadium. Plus tickets are very cheap.

The man was speaking straight to my heart.

This was no longer about sports. No longer about baseball. This was about entertainment. About having fun. And about making a day out of it. It just so happens that during all that time, a bunch of dudes would be throwing a ball around.

And so it happened. A week later, a gang from work gathered to watch the Colorado Rockies. If I recall correctly, against the San Diego Padres.

The experience did not disappoint. Already from the beginning, everyone was very hyped, not for the game, but for everything around it. Once we entered the stadium, one of us remembered that they serve 2-for-1 beers at the rooftop bar. But only before the first pitch. So we started off with a light jog to get to that bar on time and get 2 beers. Per person. Cheap beer, check.

We enjoyed the first beer from the rooftop bar, since the game had not started yet. By the way, I always found it strange that in the US, the national anthem is being sung before every game. Watching it from high up however, made it feel like an opera performance.

View from the rooftop bar, before the game starts. Photo taken by your humble narrator.

At the end of the anthem and with a light rain starting, we moved to our seats. Beers still on our hands, we watched the first inning⁵. I tried to pay attention to the game and that was sparking constant questions. Richard was more than happy to explain, but even he was confused at times.

-Second round of beers? Count me in.
-Hotdogs? You bet!

One third of the game gone and we are having a feast. Every time a vendor was passing by the you-cannot-leave-US-before-trying-this card was played. Chips. Popcorn. Sugar-coated popcorn. Sugar-coated peanuts. Sugar-coated sugar. I tried it all. I had to.

A few beers and a lot of junk food in, and on the way back from the toilet, I notice a stand selling footlong hotdogs. Richard sees me noticing it.
R: You want one?
NI: I am stuffed, but I cannot not try it. Should I also get one for you?
R: Damn right you 're getting one for me!

And just like that, we go back to our seats with stomachs full and while juggling more beers and more food. Footlong food. Gluttony was always my favorite deadly sin. We almost caught a ball as well, but holding a hotdog covered in ketchup makes you think twice before making any sudden moves.

Not wanting to leave with the hotdog taste in our mouths, we treated ourselves to some more caramel-coated popcorn. Apparently that specific brand was a childhood staple for many of the guys and guess what that meant: I could not leave the US before trying it.

The overall break down of the game was:

• Ticket: 34 USD. We chose the fancy ones. Sue us.

• Food & Drinks: About 110USD. Yeap, we spent 110 bucks on 8-dollar beer and 12-dollar hotdogs.

• Sport quality: No idea. Couldn’t care less.

• Overall experience: 10/10.

The action was nothing amazing, but going to baseball game was. Why? Because it was never about the sport. In fact, the bar regarding the sport itself, was set extremely low before we even book the tickets. The focus was on making a day out of something that is typical in the US, alongside good company. Using as an excuse a sport, about which we had low expectations, actually helped.

And that is why baseball is the best, worst sport ever.

1. Curling is also up there, but I don’t consider it a sport. Sorry curling enthusiasts.

2. Apparently Japan does as well??

3. Pun intended.

4. Maybe these names do not mean anything if you do not follow basketball, but these are the best players in the world.

5. That is how they call periods in baseball. Go figure.