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The soul of soccer found in a baseball game

by Josh

It’s the top of the ninth inning in a positively riveting 1-1 baseball game featuring the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland leads this best-of-five playoff series 1-0. Chip Caray (grandson of baseball legend and professional drunkard, Harry Caray), Bob Brenly and Tony Gwynn are providing the play-by-play, facial hair, and color commentary, respectively.

Canadian soldiers, also known as mayflies (I like “Canadian soldiers” because it sounds like a rogue Toronto F.C. firm), have swarmed into Jacobs Field from nearby Lake Erie and are giving players fits. Earlier, Doug “Dougie Baseball” Mientkiewicz twice stepped out of the batters box as the insects attacked his face. Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain gave up the tying run on a wild pitch after succumbing to the pests and losing his cool along with the command of his breaking ball.

New York is down to their last out and Cleveland’s rookie pitcher, Fausto Carmona, is facing A-Rod who, Carey informs us, bats .452 in ninth innings. Tribe fans are on their feet, shouting, willing their hurler to a complete game, “Let’s Go Fausto! Let’s Go Fausto!” and Chip Carey says:

“Listen to this crowd! It’s like an English premier soccer game!”

Sure, his verbiage wasn’t quite right but that’s OK; it’s the sentiment that counts here. Carey knows that there is no passion like that of a soccer fan and he invited his TV audience to take a listen while he remained silent.

I couldn’t help but think that Dave O’Brien could learn a lot from his fellow baseball guy.

2 comments

1 Jeremy { 10.08.07 at 11:06 am }

Awesome.

I’ve been to some playoff-quality MN Twins games in the regular season, and it’s thrilling just think about what being at a big-time soccer game must be like.

While the low-scoring nature of soccer certainly lends a sort of suspense unlike any team sport other than maybe hockey (though not so much the NHL anymore), there is something unique about a tense at-bat in baseball: no time limit, no turnovers, and no idea of what will happen even if the batter manages to put the ball in play. (Tobias says: “GOOSE CHILL!”)

2 Josh { 10.08.07 at 12:19 pm }

GOB says, “C’mon!”