I miss baseball right now. But the truth is, baseball isn’t even my favorite sport, it’s not even my second favorite sport. Those who know me know that football is my main passion sport having been a Seattle Seahawks fan since I was a kid. As someone who has lived in New York my entire life, rooting for a team 3,000 miles away, in retrospect was an odd choice. I live in New York, the best (biased opinion) city in the entire world where we have at least 2 teams for every professional sport.
But as a kid, I never really connected with any baseball team. On rare occasion we would go to Shea Stadium to watch the New York Mets play, but I never thought “wow, this is my team”. From my childhood, I can vaguely remember rooting for Mookie Wilson and Gary Carter, and the name Rusty Staub rang familiar, but I can’t say I have any memorable experiences tied to watching baseball games.
As an artist, I am always inspired by architecture. I am a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan; I have a collection of LEGO architecture series pieces lining the ledge of my office window. So, for me going to a baseball stadium as an adult, was more about finding something interesting about the stadium. The New York Mets had the old apple that popped out of the hat for home runs, though they incorporated that into Citi Field. The Philadelphia Phillies have that amazing Liberty Bell in the outfield, the Seattle Mariners have that massive retractable roof and the Arizona Diamondbacks have a pool in the outfield.
Earlier this year, I decided to try and finally complete all 30 major league baseball stadium architecture design pieces. A few years ago, when I got my iPad Pro, I quickly did some very rough stadium drawings of a few teams but never completed it. So, having recently purchased a new computer, with a screen I could directly draw on, I figured let me put it to use and try to complete all 30 stadiums by Opening Day. But with the current state of the world and the COVID-19 pandemic, I realized that Opening Day would be delayed, if we even have a baseball season at all this year.
Having set a goal for myself, I wanted to at least complete my series by the originally scheduled Opening Day, and I was able to do that. I was fortunate enough to share some of my designs with friends online as it was a great experience for me to research every team and every stadium and find out what is unique to each. I haven’t been to every single stadium in the league, though I have been to a great many of them. I know my friend Martha has been to most of them as has my cousin Robert, as they are both far more passionate baseball fans than I am.
But as it’s been about a month since teams were set to start their seasons, I have been starting to miss baseball a little. Although I didn’t go to many games a season if at all, it was always nice to know I could easily go to Citi Field or Yankee Stadium in a short driving distance. As an adult, most of the baseball games I have been to have been with my family. My Uncle John is a huge New York Mets fan, so going to games with him and my dad are always fun. Because my uncle has down syndrome, he has a fear of heights and issues with stairs, so we always sit in the lower sections, though personally I think he just says that, knowing I will get us better seats.
With all this extra time we all have, I’ve been thinking a lot, mostly about how fast the world has changed in an incredibly short amount of time and how long it is going to take to return to normal. But as I look at the stadium series I’ve designed, I think less about sports and games and more about the people I shared those moments with.
I think about the time my sister and I took my 2 very young nephews to a game and the team caught us at the entrance and upgraded our seats and the boys got to get some balls from the players. I think about being in Seattle with all my friends yelling “ICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIROOOO!” at the top of my lungs. I think about being in Chicago for a work conference and finally being able to see the historic Wrigley Field.
I imagine everyone in this country who is a passionate fan of baseball has their own memories tied to each stadium. Although I am sure those memories may be tied to intense games, playoffs or championships; I’d imagine most of those memories are tied to being around family and friends, sharing in an experience together. Experiences, that at the present time we can’t share together, at the present time experiences that aren’t even happening.
In the overall outlook of where the world is right now, I realize that sports and entertainment isn’t as important as keeping people healthy, safe and alive. Right now, we have something on our hands that people in my lifetime have never encountered. While most people are adhering to the strict guidelines set in place about staying home and avoiding crowds, there are still those who are living without regard for the rest of the world’s safety.
I know a lot of my friends are missing baseball right now. Not so much for the strikes and hits, but because I think baseball, more than any other sport, is the one sport anyone can casually attend and still enjoy with their family, friends and 20,000 other strangers. I’ve attended two Super Bowls and they have been the most amazing sports experiences of my life, but I think there’s something about the sound of a ball hitting a bat and in less than a second 20,000 people just know that ball is going to clear the fences, that sound is what if only for a second brings people together, gives people a reason to celebrate. Today, I think; we could use the sound of something to celebrate together.
I miss hearing my Uncle John complain about having to walk down a flight of stairs only to send me back up those stairs for hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream and soda.
So yeah… I really miss baseball right now too.
