Baseball (part 19)

I love football, but there’s always weird luck bounces, luck plays, Hail Mary’s, immaculate receptions, et al. Baseball is a game of intent. You can’t hit a 98-mph fastball by accident. Your life is literally at risk even looking at one from a batter’s box. And the game isn’t slow; it slows down. There is a difference. Walking around the mound. The batter adjusting his glove before every single pitch. One more conference with players who haven’t touched the ball in hours. The relief picture faces one batter, strikes him out, and gets pulled because the next hitter is a lefty. Ten more premeditated pitches. Even when it’s a tie game in the tenth. Everyone has to grow a routine while their fans are developing bleeding ulcers. It’s like grunge music. Fast slow fast. The game isn’t boring. It’s like your first girlfriend. It’s beautiful and excruciating.