As soon as the tulips begin to bloom in Central Park, I’m almost guaranteed to receive a text message inviting me to a baseball game. The feverish springtime desire for baseball is contagious: team jerseys and baseball caps abound, Major League Baseball (MLB) statistics get thrown around in everyday conversation and Instagram feeds are rife with stadium pictures. With baseball’s relaxing atmosphere, fortuitously timed season and evocation of American tradition, the sport has earned the honor of America’s favorite pastime.
Baseball season lines up suspiciously well with the start of spring. This year, most MLB teams had their opening day on March 27, right when the days start getting warmer and all anyone wants is an excuse to stay outside. If city parks are crowded, outdoor dining spots are full and it’s still too cold for the beach, why not buy a ticket to a baseball game?
A baseball stadium is the perfect place to feel the fresh, springtime air while escaping pollen-dropping trees. Hot dogs, ice cream, drinks and peanuts are always within walking distance. The seats might not be the most comfortable in the world, but the entertainment sure makes up for it.
Instead of rotting your brain on TikTok, a nice conversation over hot dogs and baseball might be better for you in the long run.
Some might critique baseball as a boring sport, but that actually works to its credit. Watching a live game isn’t about constant excitement — the entertainment is what you make of it. The lulls between innings can spark interesting conversations if you go to a game with friends. If you go solo, the shared experience of watching the game bonds you to everyone around you; the game itself is conducive to connection.
Split-screen TikTok videos, combining mobile games like Subway Surfers with narrated Reddit posts, have increasingly risen in popularity. Some might say that the trend demonstrates the crisis of shortened attention spans that younger generations are currently facing. Instead, I argue it’s proof that multitasking is something innate to humanity and a habit that is healthily practiced while watching baseball. Instead of rotting your brain on TikTok, a nice conversation over hot dogs and baseball might be better for you in the long run.
The communal aspect of baseball should not be underestimated, either. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg defines the term “third place” as a neutral space that is not one’s home or workplace — places where people can publicly enjoy themselves, like a coffee shop or town plaza. It could be argued that baseball stadiums are a type of third place. Although payment is necessary to enter professional baseball stadiums and better views are priced higher, there is still equity in the fact that everyone is there to watch the same game.
Sometimes, you can be a part of it for free. Games often occur in public parks with baseball diamonds, which you can attend at your leisure. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching the major leagues or the minor leagues; a game of baseball constitutes a neutral ground, in which the only concern of the audience is to relax and enjoy the game.
Of course, however, not everyone feels relaxed while watching the game. The innate competitiveness of baseball makes it a thrilling experience. Putting your faith in a team and encouraging the players throughout the game is a healthy release of tension and an exercise in good sportsmanship. Indulging in team rivalries and bonding with people over your common team’s wins and losses builds community spirit that lasts long after the final out.
Americans are often proud of the states they hail from, and baseball offers a chance to channel that pride into a concrete event. Especially when someone is living away from home, watching their team play can connect them to their roots. Baseball’s popularity stems from people identifying with the teams they root for, making the game an intimate experience.
After the infamous springtime closet cleanout, it’s not uncommon to realize you have no clothes for the newly warm weather. However, for a baseball game, the dress code is lax: The only requirement is to wear your team’s colors, another reason for the sport’s popularity.
Each team has its own history and culture, interwoven with the personal stories of the families that root for them.
Rules in fashion seem restrictive, but a uniform can actually inspire more creativity. A baseball team’s color scheme forces attendees to rummage through their wardrobes to find matching clothes. These team colors also encourage people to pair pieces they might not have put together before, revealing new outfits. A ballpark is a great place to take fashion risks. After all, there’s nothing to fear for the fashionably challenged; it doesn’t matter what you wear as long as you’re wearing the right colors.
Wearing team colors means participating in long-standing traditions, as many MLB teams are around a hundred years old. Baseball fanaticism doesn’t just connect you with your peers, but also previous generations. Each team has its own history and culture, interwoven with the personal stories of the families that root for them.
I come from a family of Boston Red Sox fans. Even though I was born and raised in New York, the Red Sox’s enemy territory, I stick with my family’s team and keep the tradition alive.
Some of my favorite parts of Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s stadium, are the brick floor sections just outside the ballpark. The stadium allows fans to purchase a brick in honor of a dedicated Red Sox fan. My grandfather has a brick dedicated to him, which makes attending a game at Fenway a more meaningful experience for me; it’s heartwarming to think that the stadium I go to today is the same stadium he went to when he became a fan in 1950.
Even if you don’t have a familial connection to any baseball teams, the simple experience of attending a game means participating in tradition. The older a stadium is, the more fans have passed through its gates. However, the desire to watch a baseball game and root for your team has not changed nor dissipated.
Baseball is a dependable sport — it kicks off the start of spring, provides an outlet for state or family pride and offers a low-pressure environment to hang out with friends or even meet new people. Becoming a professional baseball player might be hard, but there’s no skill required to watch a game and make an experience of it. When people ask if you’re interested in attending a baseball game this spring, I advise you to respond in the affirmative.
