We all know I'm a huge sports fan. Since I was a kid I watched and played all of the major American sports. Although football has always been my favorite, baseball was a solid second place... until about ten years ago.
Over the past ten years, I have become more and more bored by the sport I was loved. In a world where an instant dopamine boost is just a few clicks away, baseball just seemed way too slow. In addition, the game seems to have changed to an all or nothing format. It seems like every at bat is either a home run or a strike out. I enjoyed the strategy that used to exist.
But then, I was actively driven out of the game by my beloved White Sox. being a White Sox fan is very hard. The team's owner is a penny pinching moron. He has destroyed both the Bulls and the White Sox during the 21st century. But back in 2021, my fandom was hanging on by a thread. The White Sox had a team full of young up and coming stars. So what did the White Sox do with this Ferrari they had just built? They handed the keys to 76 year old drunk, racist dinosaur named Tony LaRussa. Not only had LaRussa not managed in over 10 years when the Sox hired him, but he was sited for drunk driving... again... just two weeks before the White Sox named him "manager". The second I heard about the hiring, I brushed my hands together and said "Well they don't want my money or attention I guess". Up until today, I gave them neither.
Actual footage of Tony LaRussa right after he spouted some racist slurs and then tried to drive his car into a police van.
This season, for the first time in my life, I cannot name a single White Sox player. I used to know their entire team and most of their main minor league players. But now, I know nothing. Well that was until earlier today. Yep. Today I went to my first baseball game in about 6 or 7 (6 - 7!!!!) years. So now I know 3 White Sox players... but two of them have the name Montgomery so I am kind of cheating.
So what did I notice during my return to baseball? Well first I noticed you better get to Comiskey Park (it will always be Comiskey Park to me) early because the parking is an inefficient nightmare. I also learned the White Sox can score six runs in the first inning. Sadly I had to learn this from the parking lot as I was still there when the barrage of runs occurred. Next I discovered that the games really are much faster than they were a decade ago. The pitch clock actually works and makes the game much quicker. But there are some other rules that just aren't worth the time they save. I hate the limit on throwing to first base. Yeah I know it is boring, but it is part of the strategy and the game.
As far as the other rule changes, they did not really come into play today. Although I think taking away "the shift" is just an incredibly stupid rule, I don't think it mattered in today's game. But the idea that baseball had to make a rule for this is infuriating. If a team sets a ridiculous shift, there is a very simple solution already in the game... FREAKING BUNT! Do it enough and they will stop shifting on you. Simple.
Luckily there was no need for replay today. Although I don't really like replay in most sports, it is especially absurd in baseball. In other sports, there are dead balls. In baseball, the ball is live every second of the game. The idea that you can take a look at a trapped ball after the fact is simply absurd. Runners have moved... or not moved based on the umpire's call. it simply makes no sense.
But the most important thing I learned is that this White Sox team is young and talented. After many, years of unwatchable baseball and 100 loss teams, somehow this scrappy group of young players is in first place going into the All-Star break! Good for them! And even better for the real fans who stood by this team during the shit show it was as recently as last year (I am obviously not one of these true fans).
Will I watch any more games this year? Definitely not on TV. But I might go to one more. And at least that is a start.
