Freedom, Baby, Yeah!

Dave Paisley

Tuesday night, baseball returned to the American League and in my case, Seattle in particular. No, I wasn't at the game in person, nor will I be tomorrow, even though I have a ticket. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go, but other priorities and prior commitments mean that I can't. My colleague Michael Cox has already said much of what there is to say about the return to work of the boys of summer (and early fall, maybe even winter this year, depending on where the World Series ends up being played) in his article a couple of days ago, but I'll add a few observations from my own perch.

Baseball's return has been marked by a tremendous show of patriotism. If you want to know if people were ready for baseball again you only had to see the fans lining up early with their flags, getting flags as they came through the turnstiles and wearing as much patriotic clothing as they could lay their hands on. It's not as if the game is the main event, either. There's an urgency among fans of wanting to be part of a crowd of 45,000 people singing the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. The sense of community and belonging runs deep right now.

However, one factor left out of much mainstream American coverage of the aftermath of the attacks is the international scope of it all. Around a thousand non-US citizens from a total of over thirty nations died in the WTC attacks. While the US and its citizens bore the brunt of the attack, those other thousand lives are significant. In addition, many of the US citizens who lost their lives are not far generationally removed from homelands abroad. For instance, estimates place the Irish dead at around a hundred souls, and the ties to Ireland for many New York natives still run deep. Grieving is worldwide. Indeed the single most heartrending story of the attacks involves an Irish family. Grief knows no national boundaries.

And while we’ve seen some acknowledgement of the growth of internationalism on the baseball diamond, it couldn't have been more evident than on Tuesday night. In the game I saw, the Mariners' Venezuelan ace, Freddy Garcia, faced the Angels' Dominican Republican star Ramon Ortiz. Also represented in the game were Japan (Ichiro, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Shigetoshi Hasegawa), Puerto Rico (Edgar Martinez, and a host of others) and Mexico (Ismael Valdes.)

The attacks were strikes not just at the US, but also at the heart of a free world, and it will take a concerted effort by all civilized nations to eradicate the slime that perpetrated them. Let's not forget that. International players have added spice, variety and a wider audience to baseball. The next twenty years will probably see massive growth in international baseball, and non-US players will have a vital role as baseball goes truly global. A free and safe world is a vital part of that future vision.

Back in the here and now, we have just over two weeks of a season to finish out, and the pennant fever, while just a hair over normal temperature now, will undoubtedly heat up to over 100 degrees as the nation learns to breathe again. There are stirring indiviual perfomances ahead of us, some very tight races in the National League, and even a mild pennant race in the AL Central as the Twins have an outside shot at catching the Indians. With six games between them, it isn't over yet. We also have two series of the best two teams in baseball going head to head in the next two weeks (that would be Oakland and Seattle, in case you hadn't figured it out.)

As I write this, Roger Clemens will be preparing to pitch this evening, hoping to bag his 20^th win. What do you think a Roger Clemens rookie card will be worth if he gets that win and rides a 20-something-1 record to another CY award? Can Tim Hudson or Freddy Garcia stop him? Will Barry Bonds bust the 70 mark and force the BBWAA to give him another MVP award? Will my Bonds rookie card crack the $100 barrier if he does? Will it even if he doesn't?

All these and other questions will be answered as we see the baseball season come to a close over the next few weeks. Stay tuned. Fortunately, we still have the freedom to do that...

This article is dedicated to the memory of the crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. If you have any comments or questions, you can reach Dave Paisley at drdjp@strikethree.com.

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