Life's Nine Inning Lesson

Well here it is baseball's opening day once again. A sure sign that Spring really is coming, and that a warm Summer is on the way as well. 162 games to watch. Day games, night games, late night games. It's where we spend our Summers, and if we're lucky, our Falls too.

How great is baseball? That's easy. It's the greatest game ever invented. I know football has actually become more popular on TV, NASCAR too. To be honest, more people bowl every year than any other sport we know. But none of them teach us more lessons on and off the field than baseball does. I thought I'd point out some of the unique traits that baseball brings to us as a people first, and as a fan second.

1/ There is no time limit in baseball - Just like in life. The game is played at a certain pace, and the drama can be relived over and over again. Also, as in life the game must be played out to it's natural conclusion. You can not run out the clock in baseball or in life.

2/ Nine against one - Doesn't life feel like that sometimes? Americans always embrace the underdog. Baseball is the ultimate role for the underdog.

3/ The Everday-ness - Baseball is an every day thing. That's part of what makes it really great. Life is everyday too. You don't get days off just because your sick, or banged up, or busy. Life and baseball can both be a grind sometimes.

4/ You can't win them all - Maybe baseballs best lesson. No one goes unbeaten, or with one loss in baseball. In life you win some, and you lose some - period. This is something that a younger generation especially needs to learn and baseball can teach it far better sometimes than people. Baseball doesn't' stick up for you and scream when you lose, or try to change the outcome. Baseball understands that it is.....a game.

5/ Individuals and teams - Baseball is the ultimate "individual-team sport." You learn how to be a part of a team - great lesson. But when you step in that batters box it's just you, and no one can help you. Your individual performance directly affects your team. Just like a family.

6/ Every city- Every day - Starting in the spring there is some kind of baseball game played in every city and town in America. From little leagues to the big leagues and every level in between. There are few exceptions. Under the sun or under the lights, there is always baseball.

7/ The defense has the ball - Unique to baseball. Maybe the one on the list that serves the fan first and the person second. But if you've ever wondered why we find baseball so intriguing as a game, that may bring some new perspective.

Look, baseball is life. We try, we fail. We win, we lose. There is no perfect season, no being the best every day. Victories are hard fought and well appreciated when achieved. Losing hurts, but we learn to accept it as a part of our life. And the next day we go out and try to do better and start anew.

Baseball has been teaching us that for 160 years. Thank you Alexander Cartwright! And if you wonder who he is, he was a volunteer fireman who invented baseball in the 19th century. Interesting, a regular guy inventing a game that mimics every day life.

Baseball - It is our life in microcosm.