Baseball is a game of tradition. Baseball relies on its history to tell the full story of a game that has been passed down from generation to generation. Baseball, unlike the other major sports in America, celebrates its past and on a daily basis reflects on players and games from yesteryear in order to gauge how good today’s players and teams actually are. For instance, take this season’s version of the Chicago Cubs. Every time the Cubs win a game or lead in another contest or toss another inning of scoreless ball, the first inclination is to find out how the most recent achievement stacks up with the best in the storied history of the organization.
A mixture of players from the Cubs farm system and a few of the bigger names of Lou Piniella’s squad will take the field today against the San Diego Padres in the last Hall of Fame game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York. While the game is meaningless in the win-loss column, it is a part of the game that will unfortunately soon be forgotten. Today is not about a game but the game itself. It does not matter which teams wins or loses, it does not matter which reliever picks up a save or which slugger hits a home run. It is about celebrating America’s Pastime just outside of the Halls in which the biggest names of the game are enshrined to honor the same game we all played on a sandlot as a kid.
For one day in the middle of what could be a special season for the Chicago Cubs, take a chance to enjoy the game of baseball….the greatest game ever.