I've been hearing it lately from friends and acquaintances, "You're going to watch the Twins??? They're not going anywhere this year. Why bother? It's all over."
They just don't get it. They're fair-weather fans. They follow a winner, but when the going gets tough, they're nowhere to be found. And I can understand that. That's pretty much the way I am with sports like football, and hockey. I could even watch our own Timberwolves play basketball if they were going to the playoffs.
But baseball is different. I know the Twins aren't going to the playoffs. I know they're trying to finish out of the basement, and they're trying not to lose 100 games this season. But there's more to it... much more!
If I quit watching the Twins when it became obvious they wouldn't be going to the World Series this year, I would miss such things as Justin Morneau's return to health, his good play at first and his resumption of home run hitting. I would miss Mastroianni's fine base-running and play in the outfield. (I would miss Dick Bremer's mispronunciation of Mastroianni's name!) I would miss watching Ben Revere's acrobatic catches in the outfield and his speed on the basepaths.
But you know, those things could be true any time. But this year, I would miss such things as watching Ben Revere improve his arm strength, and also his growth in his skill as an outfielder. He's learning where to throw the ball, and when! I would miss people like Scott Diamond, as he moves towards becoming an ace pitcher. I would miss people like Sam Deduno, Pedro Florimon, and Eduardo Escobar, as they try to prove they belong on this team. and in the major leagues. I would miss watching Chris Parmelee hitting home runs as he tries to make the transition from the minors to the majors, and i would miss watching the Twins management trying to figure out how Parmelee fits into the picture next year.
If I quit watching the Twins, I would miss watching Josh Willingham's pursuit of the 40-home run level for the season. I don't know if he's even aware that he's pursuing it, but there's only one other player in Twins history who ever hit 40 or more home runs in a season, the late, great Harmon Killebrew. I would love to see Willingham have a Killebrew season. I would love to see Willingham have many Kilebrew seasons!
If I quit watching the Twins play baseball, I would have missed seeing Tom Kelly get his uniform number retired last weekend. He deserved it!
If I had quit watching the Twins, I would have missed some exceptional games, especially wins, but a few losses, too. (You should have seen the Twins' Liam Hendricks hook up with the Mariners' King Felix Hernandez in a pitching duel a couple weeks ago! The Twins lost it, but what a game!)
Do you know there is not one pitcher in the Twins starting rotation today who was in the rotation on opening day? I have been able to watch, and sometimes even enjoy it, as a number of minor league pitchers have come up and tried to make the team. Some of them are looking really good, too!
If I had quit watching the Twins, I would have missed out on watching one of the games greatest hitters play baseball. It's worth stopping to watch whenever Joe Mauer comes up to bat, whether the Twins are winning or not.
Baseball isn't just about winning. That's why a season is 162 games long. We get to watch the development of the players. We get to watch them grow, to watch them succeed, and sometimes to watch them fail. But as I say so often, that's baseball.
So in a way, baseball isn't for everybody. It's obviously too slow for a lot of people. I guess that's why it's called America's pastime. If you care to, you can pass lots of time watching it. And I think that's good.
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