This is a true testiment to the way the sport is played today. I grew up playing ball under the watchful eye of my father. My father’s love for the game started back in Dayton, Ohio. He would go down to Cincinnati with his father to watch the Reds play, he listened to games on the radio, and collected and traded cards (back when they actually meant something to the youth of yester-years). He talks very little about his little league experience (having played with Mike Schmidt) and isn’t much for story telling unless it entails: a trip to a ballpark, watching his son and daughter pitch in little league games (yes my sister was a ball player also and used to scare some of the boys on her visits to the mound), or the perfect game he caught in his Senior League. He used to play pick-up games with kids in the neighborhood after school until his mother would yell for him to come home for dinner. The idea of pick-up games was oh so common back then (long before the creation of hi-tech gaming systems). The interest back then was for the love of the sport, not so much nowadays.

Organized games were the first thing I ever encountered and I don’t think once in my life time did I ever play in an unorganized/pick-up game. Not only did I not have a lot of kids my age that played in my neighborhood, but it just wasn’t feasible to try to conger up kids near by to play in a pick-up game since there was no field within walking distance of our houses. Both of my parents worked and organized baseball was all I had. Very similar to the youth of today, however the youth of today probably have it harder.

Now at 28 years old I miss the sport immensely! I still attend Braves games on a consistent basis, and am constantly watching games on TV (I don’t know why I have yet to sign up for the MLB Ticket). My fascination and love for the sport will never dissipate. Once the weather gets better and the little league season is back in full swing, I intend to go back to the old fields I grew up on to watch the kids play (as I have been doing for the last 4 or 5 years). It’s great to see what I used to look like and to see how coaching styles and strategies have an effect on the way these kids play.

I am with you on the notion that the youth of today in the U.S. aren’t nearly as talented or share the joy of the game as the youth players of Latin America. The competitiveness of game play is prevelent here, but the natural ability of greatness seems to be unattainable.

I am glad I stumbled upon your material this morning. It was nice to read something refreshing that wasn’t worded, coded, or dressed up like an ex-player who’s succumb to the ESPN fashion story telling. As much as I like their coverage, their analysts drive me crazy some times.

Please do me the favor of checking out my father’s website, which I have attached in the “reply-website” section box. He published a book (which all of the proceeds go to the organization BAT – Baseball Assistance Trust) with interviews from former President Jimmy Carter, Ty Cobb’s personal batboy, an old beer vendor at Fulton County stadium; the list goes on and the interviews are on going. They are typically comprised in a quarterly newsletter. The newsletter is free to sign up for and I think it is something you would truly enjoy. It something he does for fun, to trace the roots and history of baseball through the eyes of the interviewee. Please either email me back to be added to the list with your mailing address or email my father at: abe.schear@agg.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. My sole intension was to share my view of baseball in my eyes and not to push my father’s work onto you, but I guess that’s what happens when your father’s love for the game radiates in my mind. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading your book.

Adam