The Smell of Spring and Baseball

Do you smell it? Do you smell the fresh-cut grass, and the foul line chalk, and the pine tar and the popcorn, well you get the picture, I think. It's that time again, spring training and the sound of bats crushing baseballs is in the air. The hometown team is working out, and the chance that your favorite team will win the whole thing this year is in your mind, isn't it? For a while, anyway, every baseball fan sees a chance that this is the year. So it begins anew!

It used to be that, as a boy, my home team, the Pirates here in Pittsburgh, would make my spring something to look forward to. The rivalry we had with the Reds and Phillies was worth waiting for every year, and our home team had something to look forward to as well. Trades, rookies, new coaches, new transactions, farm hands, it was all exciting. We didn't have to look at "Fantasy League" play to get us roused up. It seemed that every team had a chance, every team had something to prove. Free agency and beyond, the balance of baseball gave every fan an advanced feeling of optimism and commitment. I had played baseball as a boy, as almost all boys in my youth did, and we felt that baseball was the American sport, barring no others. Sure, football and basketball were swell, but "baseball" was the national pastime. It couldn't be beat and couldn't be replaced. As school began to wind down, we lived, breathed and slept baseball. We used to share baseball trivia. How many pennants did the Yankees win? How long has it been since the Cubs and Red Sox won the Series? Who won the batting title in this or that year? We were filled with the enthusiasm of knowing that a new history would be written this season. As opening day came, our optimism was sometimes replaced temporarily by some feeling of urgency or emergency, depending on how the hometown team had done in its first few games. As weeks became months, this would all change to more drastic and desperate emotions as our team would either please or disappoint. There was nothing like it, with the approach of All Star Week and the anticipation of what players you knew who would be spotlighted in this summer's edition. What a feeling of greatness when you could see your favorite players perform on the national stage!

Suddenly, the summer would come close to its end, the August days turning hotter and dryer, and the smell of hot dogs and soft drinks getting stronger. Being at a game was the ultimate experience for a baseball fan. No matter what the home team did, or how much you had to spend on food, drink and souvenirs, you felt like you had experienced the greatest of all events. Lying in bed that night after getting home, you would smile and look up at the ceiling, wondering when you would get to go again. And how would your team end the season? September was on its way, and the post season was just around the corner. Now it was playoff time, and if you were lucky enough to see your home team there in the playoffs, it was the best of times. If your team made it to the World Series, well you were close enough to heaven to cry with joy. And if they won?

It was a long time ago, but the fond memories linger. My "home" team appears dismally unprepared, especially in the economics of the modern era, and we only dream of what could be someday. Yes, someday. Yankee, Red Sox and a few other teams' fans actually do think big in today's baseball world: I guess I can just think back and smile pleasantly. Another spring is here, another wave of excitement and optimism, the smell of popcorn is back, and ......
You can't take it away from us, but yes, baseball is back and for a short moment, we all gleam with the thought that this will be the year. Just maybe....

Boy, I can't wait to see the diamond!