| Baseball is the American pasttime, you may be | | | | many baseball card sellers. Baseball cards are not |
| surprised how very few people actually know the | | | | in their heyday anymore, but they are still darn |
| rules of the game. | | | | popular and are still worth a pretty penny (or |
| I went to a baseball game a few weeks ago and | | | | couple hundred bucks!). |
| had the misfortune of sitting next to a group of | | | | Well, while I was sitting and trying to enjoy the |
| very young, very boisterous children. Not that | | | | game, the kids kept asking their dad questions. |
| enthusiasm in the game is unfortunate, but they | | | | The one question that I believe I heard no less |
| kept cheering at all the wrong times. Like when | | | | than 8 times was, "What's the difference |
| the opposing team batted a run in. And they | | | | between wooden baseball bats and metal ones?" |
| were home team fans--they were dressed in full | | | | This question tickled me almost as much as |
| baseball regalia from replica batting helmets like | | | | hearing the poor father of these curious children |
| these: to the stirrup pants. | | | | explain it to them over and over again. |
| My point is here that many children nowadays | | | | I say we get kids back into baseball. I mean |
| don't understand how the game is played. They | | | | football and basketball have been attracting |
| confuse offense and defense and cheer when the | | | | children for years, but baseball has sort of been |
| pitcher beans a batter. Maybe they just don't like | | | | on the decline for awhile. Why not have baseball |
| batters, but for some reason I don't think that is | | | | camps and sand lot games in the summer instead |
| the case. They do all seem to know the value of | | | | of sitting the kids down in the air conditioning |
| baseball cards, which is more than I can say for | | | | playing video games and watching television? |