America's game

I have been a Detroit Tigers fan my whole life. I was 12 when they won the World Series in 1984. I memorized the roster, which included classy shortstop Alan Trammell and Chet "The Jet" Lemon, the center-fielder. I loved the personalities on the team, from quiet second baseman Lou Whitaker to raucous right-fielder Kirk Gibson. But when pitching ace Jack Morris signed with Minnesota in 1991, I was sucker-punched with the concept of "baseball as a business." And the major league baseball strike in 1994 left me down for the count.

But in the past few years, I've fallen in love with baseball again. I find myself driving down the road, tuned to Moose Country 106.7, listening to Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts. There is something quintessentially summer and American about baseball. The pace of the game is fairly slow, which I find therapeutic in these days of social networking and instant information. I relax as I listen to the even-keel color commentary. Baseball on the radio is nostalgic in that it recalls seemingly simpler days. I have no trouble imagining an old farmer in overalls sitting on a worn porch smoking a pipe and listening to a baseball game after a long day in the sun.

But since I'm not usually driving in the car for hours at a time, I confess that I am glad for ESPN's GameCast and the up-to-the-minute scores and standings. Technology does have some advantages. :)