When It Was a Game

When It Was A Game

I have been a fan of the game of baseball for 25 years. I played little

league baseball for Ocean View Little League in Huntington Beach, California in the

early1980s, and four years of high school baseball at Ocean View High in the late

80s to the early 90s. Baseball has been an intricate part of my life ever since. While thumbing through a box in my garage the other day, I came across my old little league year book from 1984. Seeing myself in a baseball uniform at 10 years old was quite amusing. I flipped through the rest of the book, laughing at the way my family and friends dressed in the 80s. I was reminded of a quote my grandmother used to say, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." My grandmother is a huge baseball fan.

My grandmother grew up in South Central Los Angeles and used to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers play throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I distinctly remember my grandmother and I watching Kirk Gibson hit the game winning home run for the Dodgers against the Oakland A's in the 1988 Word Series. She is a huge Dodger fan, however, since I played on the A's in little league that year, I rooted for the A's. To this day, my

grandmother will not pass up an opportunity to remind me of who won that game.

My grandmother said to me the other day, "They don't make them like they used to"; she was referring to the 1988 Dodger team, as opposed to the teams of today. I think she has a point to an extent; however, I can see the similarities and the differences in the game of

the 80s and the sport it has become in the new millennium.

The game has changed in some ways, but for the most part, it has stayed the same.

The rules are the same as in the 80s. It is still 90feet to first base, 60 foot 6 inches from the pitchers mound to home plate, and you still only get three strikes and four balls.

Today, you can still go to the ballpark and get a soda, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, cotton

candy, and a hot dog, just like when I was a kid in the 80's. You can still go to the game

early and see the teams take batting practice, and if your lucky, get an autograph or two.

Today when I enter the stadium, if I go early enough, the smell of fresh cut grass fills

my nostrils, as it did when I was 14. The fans of today's game are still very loyal to their

teams. In the 1980s, I can remember sitting next to Dodger fans who had been

attending games for 60 years. I went to a game last week and sat next to a Dodger fan

who was 80 years old, and had been going to the games for 75 years. One thing that has

not changed since the 80s is the Dodgers radio announcer Vin Scully. I grew up listening

to Vin broadcast the games on the radio, his voice is classic. Sometimes when I am

watching a game on television, I turn the volume down and turn the radio on so I can hear

Vin call the games. He is still broadcasting Dodgers games today, as well as other games

around the country.

Although I see many similarities between baseball in the 80s and now, I also see

many differences. Since the 1980s, nearly every team has either changed stadiums, or

built