Baseball

Ahhh, baseball. Sitting at the park downing a frosty beverage and garlic fries (yeah, it used to be hot dogs, but I haven't had a good dog in years, which makes me wonder if they ever were), lazily watching the boys of summer do their thing as I soak up the sunshine and spend quality time with my dad. Baseball is an ideal form of entertainment -- the subtleties of each pitch and play provide enough detail for the afficionado to be thoroughly absorbed in the game, while the "exciting" plays are far enough between that the casual viewer can relax and enjoy the scenery.

The question for today is...is it that important? The Rockies organization actively recruits Christian players and patrols their locker rooms to banish what they consider to be offensive material. Okay, they're a privately owned organization, and have a right (within legal limitations, of course) to conduct business in a way in which they see fit, just like the rest of us are free thinkers and have the right to either support or boycott their organization and the interests of its owners based on our own beliefs.

So what's wrong? Rockies chair and CEO Charlie Monfort was quoted in USA Today as saying "Christians, and what they've endured, are some of the strongest people in baseball. I believe God sends signs, and we're seeing those." First, he claims Christians are stronger than other groups (religious or otherwise) because of what they've "endured", then goes on to state he believes their recent success (compared to past seasons) is due to some kind of divine intervention.

I don't know. Maybe when it comes to groupwise suffering through the millenia, those of Jewish background may have the Christians beat. But regardless of who suffered more, and at the risk of alienating pretty much everyone, IT'S JUST A GAME, AND AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT EXISTS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF THE MASSES!!! If there is an omnipotent being out there, what are the chances it would interfere with the results of a game...or series of games, for that matter, when in the greater realm of life, "winning" isn't really as important as the path you choose to take? I love baseball, and I try to make it out to at least a few games every year to support my home teams (I live reasonably close to both Oakland and San Francisco), but in the end, does it really matter in the greater scheme of things who wins? I like to see my teams win, but if they don't it's not the end of the world.