Today was a beautiful day in Southern California and my family spent a good portion of it in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles California. We came to see the Dodgers play host to their cross-town rivals, the Anaheim Angels. But in all honesty, we really just came to enjoy a day of baseball the only real way there is, with a crowd of people.
There really isn't any sort of "cross-town" rivalry between these teams. Before inter-league play was started just two years ago, they didn't see each other and didn't really compete in any way. Not for position, because the Angels are an American League (AL) team, while the Dodgers are a National League (NL) team. And not for fans. The Los Angeles area has at least 10,000,000 people (depending upon where you draw the boundary) and that's plenty to support two teams. Very few teams play in cities with even half of L.A.'s population.
But that's not important. What's important is a day in the sun with your family. Children cheering for the home team, stretching out for a chance at a foul-ball (or even just a chance to hit one of the many beach-balls that made their way around!) The sounds of 50,000 other human beings celebrating a day of leisure with their friends and family.
Major league baseball is NOT cheap. The tickets alone might be $12 or $16 apiece and the final cost with concessions and souvenirs could be several hundred dollars for a family (if you go whole-hog). But it doesn't have to be prohibitive. Excellent tickets can be had for $6 or $8 and I hear that the Dodgers have discounts for children within a hour or two of the opening pitch.
Stop by your local discount chain and buy a shirt and cap (and don't forget the sunscreen) and take your family to see a ballgame. Yes, your wife too! Women enjoy baseball too and the point is to be together. Teach your daughters and sons how to score a game, if you know how and tell them what "a can of corn" means when the outfielder makes an easy catch. When you're gone, your children will never remember the time you laid-around the house watching baseball on TV. But I'll bet they remember every game that you take them to see, and they'll be better people for it. Not because baseball is some magic cure-all that grows strong men and women. But because you were there and a part of your children's lives and that's what good parents do.
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