Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fall Classic

Time in the baseball world is unlike time at any other place in the universe.

In fact, the only thing regulated by the clock -the period between half innings -is really only done for broadcasting sake and regularly ignored by pitchers and batters who saunter onto the playing field at their leisure.

And so, the mechanics of a pitch which may take a four to five seconds, can feel like a single tick of the clock if the pitcher is on top of his game.



Likewise, if a hitter is keyed in -those few seconds can seem like twenty or thirty as the ball approached the bat in an apparent slow motion.



Time is perception.

The game links us under a common veil with those who have shared these moments in the past "real time" -Hall of Famers, role players, the unlikely heroes, our fellow observers and the souls of friends and family who may be gone in "real time" but still sit with us as we tune distant broadcasts or shout unheard at miscalled balls and strikes.

1 comment:

Michael Sporn said...

Excellent piece. Your animated bits had me mesmerized. More please.

There is also the seventh inning stretch in which people acknowledge a mid-way point in the game. The Yankess listen to Kate Smith singing God Bless America, and all members stand for that recording. Other teams celebrate that point in other ways. I'm not sure it has much to do with time, though, excelpt to say that more than half the game has elapsed.