Two Discussions on Baseball

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  As a young kid, I joined a little league baseball team. I was only somewhat aware of how baseball works, but I was hoping to get involved and have fun. The uniform and equipment were a unique experience on their own, and when I got all dressed up I expected a lot more to happen.
  Instead, I was assigned to right field. The sun beamed me with heat as I stood in my fresh clean uniform. The baseball diamond seemed a mile away, a little island where the rest of the team was having a good time. At the center of them as was the pitcher, the one kid who was always playing, who all the eyes were watching.
  Eventually I sat cross-legged out in right field and picked pieces of grass. The coach saw me and came over. I told him I didn't like right field, and I was bored. He asked me what position I'd like to play instead, and I said I wanted to be the pitcher.
  The coach immediately bursted into laughter. "You want to be the pitcher?" he repeated. The assistant coach heard and laughed too. I smiled and shrugged. Baseball is truly the great American game. 
  Question for group discussion: What did you learn from a past disappointment?  

 Baseball in said to be the great American pastime. When I think of the early days of baseball I think of the immigrant generation. They worked hard and lived without most of the comforts we take for granted today. Adults spent long hours working hard because they knew it could count for something bigger. They saw that people were succeeding in this country and they saw their chance to build whatever life they dreamed of. At the very least, they could do well enough to afford that chance to their children. 
  A lot of kids played baseball back then. It built a neighborhood community and gave them a chance to dream. They dreamed of being their favorite ball players the way kids today dream of being superheroes. Baseball is therefore the perfect sport to represent this era. Everyone got an opportunity to face the world and knock a ball out of the park. It didn't happen often, but they were grateful for the chance to take a swing.

Question for group discussion: What inspires you the way baseball inspired America?

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