Baseball, Everywhere

Baseball games can be seen anywhere these days, like on this iPad.

When watching a ballgame on my computer, I often think back to when following my favorite team (it's the Brewers -- feel free to insert a lame Milwaukee joke here) was only possible by waiting for the sports report on the local news or reading a newspaper. That should be known as the dark ages.

Since heading off to college, I have been a displaced fan for most of the last 34 seasons. At first, change came slowly. ESPN was born and nightly highlights became a must-see. That was a revelation.

Then ESPN began broadcasting weeknight games. By then, I was living out East and I would just be thrilled every time the Brewers were on. That wasn't often as the '90s wore on. But at least there was WFAN, the first 24/7 sports radio station. Updates every 20 minutes were a must to follow the games. And then AOL came along, and for the time there was a way to get real-time information.

As the digital age gained speed, MLB offered its Extra Innings package on cable and satellite TV. For only slightly more than the cost of my opening day ticket at Citi Field, I could watch nearly every game all season. And now the same service is even cheaper via the computer, iPhone and other mobile devices. In fact, the cost for this season was only $14 more than that Mets' ticket. (It would have been even closer in price, but my friend Kevin paid the service charge.)

So now I can watch virtually any game whenever I want. They are all archived and offer a choice of home or away broadcasts for both TV and radio. There are even condensed versions of every game.

All of this technology brings unexpected changes. One thing I have noticed this year is that catching every pitch doesn't seem so important. When only a few games each season were available, I was riveted to the TV. Now, I know I will be seeing the Brewers whenever I want and can even watch the replay on demand. Each pitch doesn't seem so crucial (don't get me wrong,  I still catch most them).

Even at least one Hall of Fame player has noted the big changes. Mike Schmidt, the Phillies great,  said in an interview on MLB.com that he watches ballgames wherever he is, even on a boat in the Bahamas. But he talks about how technology has put players onstage at all times. To Schmidt that's a high price in lost privacy and explains it least in part why player salaries have exploded.

So next time you sit back and watch a ballgame, or even just read about your favorite team on the web, think about how lucky we are to have the baseball world at our fingertips whenever we want it.

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

With apologies to the Clash, there's a debate raging about whether Ranger's star Josh Hamilton should have tried to score on a foul popup near the dugout. The play resulted in an out and a broken arm for the reigning AL MVP. If you listen to Hamilton, and the pundits on ESPN, he never should have attempted to score. On the face of it, it seems obvious that the play was not worth the risk. It occurred in the first inning. The Rangers are hot and their offense has been scoring plenty of runs. Still, the third base coach was adamant in telling Hamilton to take off. So take off he did, despite his own misgivings. This is the first time I remember commentators berating a player for listening to a coach. Usually players overrun stop signs at third and the pundits have a field day criticizing them. The flip-flop surprises me. John  Kruk and Bobby Valentine argued on ESPN that it was Hamilton's decision whether to go or stay. In all the the decades I have been watching baseball, I have never heard it argued that the runner should ignore the third base coach. I wonder if this is a new development (a vestige of the Me Decade) or if it always was this way. If runners take the Kruk-Valentine advice, I wonder if anarchy will rule on the bases. Of course, budget-conscious clubs could save money by eliminating the base coches altogether.