Thanks to these “ballpark artists” I for one fell in love and continue to love this game for everything it offers. Some may be classical like Mozart, others more innovative like Andy Warhol, and others possess more than one skill to enchant us like Da Vinci. Now, what has me wracking my brain is how exactly is this philosophy applicable to baseball? See, like an artist, every baseball player has the opportunity to convert the field into a canvas and give life to their own peculiar style of play and antics that help distinguish themselves from the rest.
We have been informed by traditional education that a child must have a stable, regulated and structured environment in order to improve his/her probability at becoming a productive citizen to our current society. The fact of the matter is that in most cases, parents and coaches commit this mistake with the best intentions. This typically stems from attempting to develop children under an overly strict regimen that aims at evolving a higher sense of discipline and responsibility.
On the other hand, it is also known that at times, these same children have “cognitive blinders” placed on them. It is known that a child’s imagination and sense of creativity are essential for their personal development. Ozzie Smith and his backflips, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and Nomar Garciaparra with their obnoxiously long routines, Ken Griffey Jr and his seemingly perfect swing, these examples are but a small sample of the immense spectrum of characters that this sport, baseball, creates. It can foment risk, which in return causes euphoria and/or sadness, as well as victory and defeat. This three word phrase serves as a pillar of support our youth can lean on. A world in which the only thing that keeps them from doing so is their mothers piercing gaze accompanied by an, I DARE YOU!, that has colloquially become the complete opposite.
A world where kids during a rain delay don’t feel an intense restlessness to practice their sliding on the water saturated field. Try and imagine a world where baseball exists yet its simpler recreational pastimes like “pepper” and “hot box” do not. CREATIVITY IN BASEBALL CREATIVITY IN BASEBALL
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