The Perfect Game

There are so many great sports to play in our country.  Most of us are guilty at some time or another of imagining ourselves sinking that winning put on hole #18 in Golf, scoring the winning touchdown in football, and sinking the game-winning 3 pointer. But none of those fun imaginary moments can compare to how many times each of us have dreamt of hitting a walk-off home run in the world series.  Every young boy at some point has dreamt or pictured themselves playing in the major leagues and hitting the game winning home run in the world series.  Whether it was in the backyard with your friends, in the living room in front of your mom and dad, or even when you walked to curb of your house to bring out the trash, we all ran around the those imaginary bases celebrating the greatest moment in sports.

Tonight was another example why we still love baseball.  Sure, the game of baseball like all the other sports is a business, and has its share of flaws.  But after all this time, it is still America's Pastime.  It is still the perfect game.  I remember my college coach telling us once "that baseball is microcosm of life".  It can break your heart and it can make you feel like you're cloud nine.  You can do everything right, and not get rewarded.  And you can do everything wrong and the ball may bounce your way.  Just like life.  It is perfect.

What can I say about Game 6 of the World Series?  A team with the second most championships playing a team that has yet to win one.  The first few innings may have been one of the worst played games in history.  But then, this game became perfect.  A sold out stadium waving towels, rooting their team, the St. Louis Cardinals on.  The Texas Rangers inching closer to finishing what they started last season.  One strike away.  One strike away, twice.  Thats how close the Texas Rangers were to winning their first World Series.  But it didn't happen.  The game of baseball got in the way. 

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, the script is already written, just like in the movies.  And tonight, no matter how hard those Rangers tried, the script was written.  The kid who grew up in St. Louis, rooting for the Cardinals, single handedly gave us another night of baseball.  Tomorrow night, Friday night, we all get to watch one more game of baseball.  Before all the snow and cold weather, before we give football our total attention, we get to watch one more game of baseball.  All because the hometown hero David Freese did what we all have dreamt of doing when we were kids.  Hitting a game winning home run in the World Series.  And what made it so perfect?  Tomorrow every young baseball fan will be talking about David Freese and his heroic game winning home run.  But none of those youngsters will be talking about the error he made earlier in the game.  Why?  Because baseball, just like life, has to be played out.  In baseball, just like life, you can go from goat to hero if you hang around long enough and keep swinging.  

Tonights Game 6 showed us once again why we love baseball.  It is a game that brings generations together.  It is a game where we all feel like little kids all over again.  It is a game where if you're a fan long enough, you get to see exactly what you imagined when you were a kid.  It is, after all this time, perfect.  

DIGMI Tips its Cap to the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers for giving us a great World Series.  DIGMI Tips it Cap to David Freese for giving a bunch of youngsters a reason to hit an imaginary game winning home run.  And most of all, DIGMI Tips it Cap to the Game of Baseball, for being Perfect.