It’s the second annual Stitch ‘n Pitch at Safeco Field. Stitch n’ Pitch events for other cities can be found on the Stitch n’ Pitch web site. (Channeling Lynne Truss: Ahem, people, the spelling of the middle word is ‘n’ with an apostrophe fore and aft.) [10am: Fixed sepleling.] Seattle Times readers Dave Butner and Mike Wilson took issue with the event (though Mr. Wilson’s outrage bordered on satirical). To me, baseball is like soccer: It’s a game whose primary draw is not the actual scoring but rather the anticipation that a run might be scored. It’s in the tension that builds as scoring opportunities develop (most of which prove fruitless), not in the actual scoring itself. And unlike soccer, where something exciting could happen at almost any time, in baseball, there are long stretches where you can reliably predict that nothing exciting will occur. Like, say, when the pitcher is taking a walk around the mound scratching himself. In other words, baseball is a social event, not a sporting event. And if you’re going to attend a social event, why not do it with people whom you share interests with?
It’s not like I don’t appreciate baseball. I know when you should perform a double-switch. I know why the catcher sometimes tags the batter with the baseball after a strikeout. I can even explain the infield fly rule. But when I attend a baseball game with friends, we don’t talk about baseball the whole time. We enjoy the sunshine, catch up on each other’s lives, gossip about friends who aren’t present, admire some of the goofball fans in the bleachers. And enjoy a baseball game.
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