Remember How Nice It Was to Have Baseball?

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Like the old saying, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.  Major League Baseball has been on the shelf for two months now due to the coronavirus and now that things are beginning to slowly open back up, we’re still waiting on the announcement for baseball.  Of course, there’s the contract dispute going on right now too, which doesn’t help things.  But we’re into the month of June now and I need baseball.  The American people need baseball.

With all that has occurred in the last few months, the United States is definitely not living in its happiest of times.  How nice would it be if we could divert some of the negative attention to baseball, our national pastime?  We need it.  Sports in general have the magical power to bring people together, whether it’s by rooting for the same team, trash talking rival fans, or simply just by being fans of the same sport.  The American people need our pastime back.

Aside from that, remember how nice it was to turn on the tv every evening to tune into a baseball game?  Or on a lazy Sunday afternoon when baseball is on tv all day long?  That was one of the biggest things I took for granted because baseball was always on our tv, whether it was the Braves or just a random game.  I miss having the games on tv, whether I was sitting down in front of it watching it intently, or just passing through the living room occasionally catching quick glimpses of the score.

Like a lot of baseball fans, I miss fantasy baseball.  Remember how nice it was to have your very own lineup to check and set every single day?  Like you’re an actual manager who gets to make gametime decisions based on matchups and abilities.  And on Sunday you’re really tuned into the action because that’s when the fantasy week ends and some categories are neck and neck.  I really miss the competition aspect of fantasy baseball when you have a very competitive league, which I’m fortunate enough to have.

It’s hard to imagine that we would be two months into the season right now if the pandemic had not hit.  I often wonder where in the standings would the Braves be.  And I am curious about other things such as the crazy potential offensive numbers the Twins would be posting, how teams would be treating the Astros hitters, the shakeout of the always-fun NL Central race, and how local pitcher Madison Bumgarner would be doing with his new team.

It’s possible that once it’s all said and done, this will go down in history as a lost season.  I hope not, but we may have to start preparing for that possibility.  But I guarantee that whenever baseball does come back, whether it be this year or next year, the people will be more than ready for it.  Because we miss it.  And because we need it.

Garett