I went to a baseball game a few weeks ago and had the misfortune of sitting next to a group of very young, very boisterous children. Not that enthusiasm in the game is unfortunate, but they kept cheering at all the wrong times. Like when the opposing team batted a run in. And they were home team fans--they were dressed in full baseball regalia from replica batting helmets like these: http://www.sports-collectibles-store.com/MLB_Batting_Helmets-p-1-c-21-ss2.html to the stirrup pants.



My point is here that many children nowadays don't understand how the game is played. They confuse offense and defense and cheer when the pitcher beans a batter. Maybe they just don't like batters, but for some reason I don't think that is the case. They do all seem to know the value of baseball cards, which is more than I can say for many baseball card sellers. Baseball cards are not in their heyday anymore, but they are still darn popular and are still worth a pretty penny (or couple hundred bucks!).

Well, while I was sitting and trying to enjoy the game, the kids kept asking their dad questions. The one question that I believe I heard no less than 8 times was, "What's the difference between wooden baseball bats and metal ones?" This question tickled me almost as much as hearing the poor father of these curious children explain it to them over and over again.

I say we get kids back into baseball. I mean football and basketball have been attracting children for years, but baseball has sort of been on the decline for awhile. Why not have baseball camps and sand lot games in the summer instead of sitting the kids down in the air conditioning playing video games and watching television?