The Baseball Fan It is Saturday afternoon, and my dad and I have just sat down to watch the game. He is no doubt the biggest baseball fan that I have ever known. We could never afford to go to any professional games, so we always watched the games on TV, every Saturday. I can remember vividly my dad yelling at the umpires through the television. Forward wind to present day, I am still watching the game with my dad, and as I look into the TV, I see all the rabid people spending their hard earned money entertaining their selves with America’s greatest pastime.
Some of his teammates seem to barely stand in the box during their at-bats, stepping out after each pitch to adjust batting gloves (David Ortiz), take off their helmets (Jonny Gomes), and wander around the dirt and sometimes even the grass (Jacoby Ellsbury).Continue reading below Photos Slowing down the game * Graphic: How game times grew It’s those quirks and routines, coupled with mound visits and pitching changes, that give baseball its unique flow and plague it with dead time. And it’s why Red Sox games are averaging 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 34 seconds this year, the longest of any team in baseball. Five years ago, Major League Baseball sought to address its pace-of-game problem, issuing a directive to players, coaches, and umpires to — so to speak — make it snappy. From 2008 to 2011, games averaged around 2 hours and 51 minutes. After a bump to 2:55:58 in 2012, game times this year through Thursday are averaging 2:57:53 — a mark that would tie the 2000 season for the all-time high.
"gave me one backhander/across the face/so hard I fell down... I felt the blood/from my nose". The sensory imagery creates empathy in the responder. "no more sport/no more forever...slammed the door/on my sporting childhood". The repetition of 'no more' expresses the finality of Billy's fathers words.
I saw things I couldn’t believe adults would do. I came to the conclusion that there are three different types of softball players; the soon to be pro athlete, the forty year old teenager, and the family guy. The type of people I saw most playing at the softball fields were the “soon to be pro athlete.” These were the ones that would show up in their top notch expensive uniforms for a game of underhand slow pitch softball. They would have ten different types of bats as if there were ten different kinds of pitches. They showed up an hour early to warm up and take batting practice as if it is needed for middle aged slow pitch softball.
These are known as slumps. Everyone thinks that slumps are a thing that happens unexpectedly. But really one of the most common used sayings in the game is, “a great hitter does not believe in slumps, he finds a way and gets back on track”. Slumps is a baseball term used when a player is not getting hits or pitching badly. Many players, baseball player unparticular can hold on to a lot of frustration.
But courageously he persevered and uttered, “Today is a new day.” The ball is then bowled at slow motion for dramatic effect. I continued the use of slow motion with extreme close up on Chicken Little’s face, which is determined but uncertain, followed by the swing of the bat. Another courageous scene is one at the movie theatre. Finally Chicken Little is to confess and complain to his dad about his true, inner feelings, which he was never brave enough to do before. The theatre is grand, red, empty and silent.
Culture of Paintball Everytime I tell a new person that I play paintball competitively, they think that it's pitiful and just a waste of, time, money, and energy. But to millions of people, including myself, it is their life, community, and culture. When I see a person wearing an HK Army shirt (you probably have no idea what this is), I can just walk right up to them and hold a conversation with them as if I have known them my entire life because that’s how we are. We are friendly, competitive, sociable, and we are all family. Paintball is my culture.
The Cubs were always positive, even when they blew a seven run lead in the 2003 national league division series, even when they lost the 1946 World Series in heartbreaking fashion on Jack Spinner’s walk off home run in game 7 against the Brewers, even when the team’s slugger Sammy Sosa was found guilty of steroid usage and was suspended, the Cubs and their fans still remained contended, even optimistic about their team’s chances to win the Central and go to the playoffs. How do they stand it? They must have some serious grit to watch the Cubs, who play like little leaguers every day of the long, exhausting season. Maybe the optimism that they had made them not just the lovable losers, but the likable losers. Yes, they’re likable, but fans, they’re still losers.
However, during the heat of the game as the score was leveling out Danny threateningly warned Rueven, “I told my team were going to kill you apikorsim this afternoon” (Potok 18). Apikorsim directly translates to “Jewish Goyim”; moreover it’s a derogatory word for a religious Jew to call a non-religious Jew. It usually connotes someone who is a Zionist as well (Biblical Vocabulary). After Danny insults Reuven, he proceeds to hurl a baseball at Reuven’s face, which sends Rueven to the hospital for a week. The injured teen has to receive eye surgery and he almost loses sight in his eye, due to the atrocious affliction.
If I try to kick a ball, it veers off in the completely wrong direction, and volleyballs are always drawn to my head. Dodgeball is exceedingly painful, and I always end up bruised from head to toe where so many balls are thrown at me at the start of the game, because it’s common knowledge that I’m an easy target. Although I wish that I was at least average at sports, I could take comfort in the fact that I don’t enjoy them, and I can manage to convince myself that maybe if I genuinely enjoyed sports I would be much better in P.E class. In fact, there is only one sport that I enjoy – Basketball. I don’t know why I enjoy basketball – it’s difficult, sweaty and requires good aim, so in theory it should be my sport from hell, but I always have loved basketball games.