We are just days into this global pandemic and so far,
COVID-19 has taken a multitude of normalcy away from our daily lives. Forced to
reconsider how we’ll operate in the weeks ahead; we no longer have baseball
(and sports as a whole) to view. While that’s disappointing, it is in these
passions that people have long since become a unified community.
Major League Baseball shelved operations in the Grapefruit
and Cactus Leagues last week. We now have seen teams disperse, with players
returning home to the extent of some even leaving the country. As things stand
right now, resumption of the sport couldn’t be more distant. First pitches were
supposed to be thrown out on Opening Day’s around the league in less than two
weeks. That has been taken away from us. Amidst this unfortunate revelation, we’re
forced to consider what aspect of the sport really brings us together in the
first place.
Statistics, analysis, and fandom is generated by the on-field
play of athletes we follow. Baseball is a labor of love requiring buy in over a
long seasons that tracks many months. The level of consumption can be different
for each fan, but the outlets and offerings available to us are plentiful and
provide something for everyone. It’s in this time of stoppage that we can shift
a focus to where we’re all at, and that’s a reality of togetherness.
Sure, there’s no breakdowns of Spring Training action or
roster movement taking place right now. We don’t have highlights to pour over
or tickets to buy. What we still have
however is a community of people that share a passion towards a singular
subject. While we’re all divided by teams and players, baseball is the greater
thread that brings it all back together.
In this downtime there’s more than a handful of great
writers putting out content. There are websites still pumping out great pieces.
There have been a handful of awesome books published over the past couple of
seasons. Heck, Twitter allows for immediate dialogue and interaction amongst an
endless number of participants. Really, it’s baseball that has brought us all
together, but not the on-field product that keeps us here.
Hopefully sooner rather than later we’ll have a return to
action on the field. In the meantime, though, the fan wins alongside every
other fan going through the same experience. Find different ways to consume this
passion. Strike up new conversations, read new writers, join new communities.
The impact of this experience, and the way we’re able to consume a sport that
has temporarily been taken away, is entirely up to each individual.
There won’t be any box scores when it’s all said and done,
but the appreciation and love of the game can be certain to grow along the way.
