Baseball and the American Character

Baseball and the American Character Introduction Many cultures are set apart from others mainly due to the kind of activities which they engage in. Sports are examples of such activities which are uniquely cultural in nature with certain peoples preferring one sport over the other. But the questions looms, what exactly is in a sport and based on a cultural perspective, how can sport be defined? The truth is that in defining a sport, one not only has to look at the recreational aspect but also what the activity represents. In terms of recreation, baseball has been lauded by many pundits as being America’s favorite past time on account of the sport representing America’s exceptionalism. The reason for such a high acclaim comes from the fact that baseball has over the years represented a vital aspect of Americanism.

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This aspect is drawn from the fact that the sport has been used as a vital integration activity in the country which brings together fans in their numbers. Such is the importance attached to the bonding aspect of the game that when asked why one loves baseball, many Americans will quote that “when I was young I used to play catch with my old man!” However, to the rest of the world where the sport has not penetrated a lot, the game is faced with a multitude of questions and a lot of prejudice (7).

Baseball and the American lifestyle In the first article of the reading set, baseball is faced by prejudice that it is an elitist sport, in terms of country profile, that it only caters for the needs of the American society (2). I agree with this position but not in its entirety. True, the popularity of baseball only in the US is indicative of the fact that the sport is somewhat elitist. However, the reason for the popularity of the sport only in America is because baseball has its roots in America and is representative of the American lifestyle. Therefore, Americans are quite proud of their sport as it represents a very unique part of their society (3). For this reason, many lovers of the game continue to support the game with pride as it represents American exceptionalism.

The exceptionalism of baseball, according to the first author stems from the several aspects of the American society that make it fundamentally unique. There is nothing essentially wrong with being unique since uniqueness can be an important benchmark in determining a society’s pride. As a matter of fact, Americans find that what sets them apart from the rest of the world are their unique take on social issues (5). These issues range from governance and political matters, to communal past time sports such as baseball, basketball and football. The rise of baseball into America’s favorite pastime coincided with the development of America into a unique civilization, free from the patronage of the colonial “motherland” (1).

The emergent American society of the 18th century saw it as their God given right to demonstrate to the world the possibility of a superior and morally upright democratic governance. Aside from the political arena, the most viable way to demonstrate this new structure was through the establishment of new and unique activities in which the residents of the new nation could identify with (8). These activities inevitably were to be those in which a majority could freely engage in and develop passion for, similar to the Elizabethan plays of England. Sports such as baseball were, therefore, not just seen as merely a symbol of past times, but also as a strong representation of the emergent American exceptionalism. To this point both the first and second authors agree on the effects of baseball on American exceptionalism.

Baseball as an American sport is uniquely fitted to the American lifestyle since the game is fascinating across the entire demographic spectrum (12). This fascination has been long credited, from as early as the 1880s, by magazines such as Harper’s as a result of the game being embedded in the psyche of Americans. The peculiar nature of baseball, which makes the sport uniquely American, has been credited with the penetration of the sport within the country. The association of the sport with American pride, as noted by all three authors, has been cited as one of the major reasons for the astronomical popularity of baseball in the US. Players and fans alike not only enjoy the game due to its various unique aspects but also view the game as being a representation of the American way of life and how America is projected on to the rest of the world (9). Philosophers and sports historians conclude that the importance of baseball in American society goes beyond recreational purposes. The game exhibits the American spirit by characteristics and nature through history and development.

In short, based on the American spirit, baseball can be said to be “fitting” to the American lifestyle (10). To the rest of the world, the enthusiasm that baseball lovers exhibit

during game days has projected an image that in America there is only one game, baseball. This is despite the presence and popularity of other American sports such as basketball and football.

However, what truly sets apart baseball from other American sports is its ease in accessibility.

The accessibility of the game can be deduced from the spectator masses and crowds that the game attracts and the economic nature of the sport (13). Baseball is not considered as an elitist sport; rather, it is a sport that has very challenging technical aspects which may require a lot of time to master technique in order for one to play.

The traditional nature of baseball is strongly connected to its origins. Unlike other popular American games and other games all over the world, baseball does not have a time limit during play. The traditional aspect of the sport is mainly based on how the sport was played in the earlier days. Long before the construction of world class structural parks in which the game can virtually be played in any weather and time of day, the cycle of the game was complementary with seasons (9). This seasonal nature of the sport was mainly due to the various activities that individuals had to do during the agricultural cycle in early American society. The agricultural year began during commencement of spring, stretching through the hot summer period and ending in the fall. Since those times, baseball’s contemporary nature still maintains the same cycle of seasons. During the winter period, parks are generally empty waiting for the opening game which corresponds with the first day of spring. During mid summer, there is the All-Star game and eventually during fall season the biggest play of the game, the World Series, takes place (12).

Although baseball is a team sport played by 18 persons in a baseball park, the nature of the game promotes strong individualism. According to the third author, the individual nature of

the game happens to be its most significant feature (13). For instance, the failure or success of a team lies squarely on the ability of the batter to hit the ball. If the batting player hits a home run, then his team can score significantly but if the batting of the player is off pace, then this player can single handedly lose the game. As a result of the individualism of the game, baseball inevitably has villains who can directly be assigned blame for the failure of a team to win. I personally do not wholly agree with labeling baseball as being mainly driven by individual aspects. The reality is although the individual aspects happens to be the most visible portion of the sport, baseball at the core still remains a team sport (14). The performance and functioning of the team as a unit is the main benchmark through which winning or loosing is achieved.

Conclusion The one thing that all authors agree on in their articles is the fact that baseball is indeed a wonderful sport. The reasons as to why they arrive to this conclusion are as varied as the perspectives through which the authors approach the topic. For the first author his perspective is that of Americanism which incidentally also happens to be a similar aspect of the sport that is reflected by all authors. The consensus is that baseball does in fact have in it major aspects of American exceptionalism. Whether or not this is a good thing is quite frankly not the point of the articles and should not form the basis through which the sport is judged. The reality is when all sports are looked at from the basis of their origins, they all exhibit distinct features of cultural influence. Even after the sports migrate to other countries and undergo some changes, still the impact of the founding culture remains distinct. Therefore there is nothing wrong about baseball’s features being distinctly American in nature. Unlike other sports whose rules can be adopted into whatever setting the sport is being played in baseball still remains exceptional with this regard. Thus baseball remains strongly suited to the American lifestyle, and adherents of the

sport will not be too concerned about this since to them baseball is more than a sport; it is a lifestyle, the American lifestyle.

Works Cited Portfolio Reading Set. Baseball and the American Character. n.p , n.d. Print.