“Happy Opening Day!”
Baseball fans will exchange this happy greeting in two days, when the 2023 MLB season officially begins. Sadly, this greeting will often receive the perplexed response: “Opening day for what?”
Critics of baseball point to a troublesome decline in attendance and a lack of in-game excitement as evidence that baseball is losing relevance. MLB officials have been eager to heed calls to adapt to younger generations by implementing substantial rule changes for the 2023 season—with the promise of more rule changes on the way. Longtime baseball fans might balk at some of the changes, especially the idea of a “pitch clock” in the sport that for 146 years had no timer on the game.
Stopgap efforts to change baseball in order to appeal to a younger generation will ultimately fail, however, unless a deeper problem is addressed. A deeper problem that doesn’t only affect baseball.
In our busy world of technology and noise, we have forgotten how to enter into the present moment. Whether out of an obsession with efficiency or a fear of idleness, we flee from any potential moment of silence and stillness. We have lost the ability to wait patiently-–or even to wait at all. Life has become one stimulus after another.
This renders baseball—along with other beautiful activities—“boring” to modern individuals. To a mind trained to engage with 15-second videos, waiting 30 seconds between pitches of a 3-minute at bat during the context of a 3-hour game is torturous.
Our inability to enjoy a tranquil event should lead us to reflect. We should remember that we are supposed to enjoy life through restful activities.
Constant, frenetic activity is opposed to Christian living. God’s presence is not one of noise but of silence (1 Kgs 19:11-13), and in the silence of his presence he invites us: “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:11). This resting in the present moment is the heart of a prayerful life. The past is beyond our control and the future is not yet upon us. The present moment alone contains all that God has ordained to actually happen.
Living in the present moment enables us to truly enjoy this world. The Christian, trusting in the eternal joy awaiting him, can stop trying to satisfy his infinite needs in the finite goods of earth. Aware of the limitations of this life, he is freed to enjoy the profound goodness of God’s creation in the present moment. The realization that “this is the day the Lord has made” allows us to “rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24).
Enjoying the present moment can take many forms, one of which is being a fan of baseball. The elegant order and discipline of baseball contrasts powerfully with our dizzying world of chaos and confusion. The wealth of baseball history and statistics fosters a sense of tradition that is largely lost in our modern times. The endurance of a baseball team throughout its long season can give hope to a world increasingly powerless to persevere. Finally, the baseball standings on Opening Day signify a fresh start. Every team, no matter how bad its last year was (or the past 74 years), starts off on the same foot. The new season abounds with hope.
Baseball is beautiful, fun, and enjoyable. It can also help us learn how to enter into the present moment. Of course, one does not have to be a fan of baseball to enjoy life truly. But loving a sport such as baseball can help us to appreciate life as it comes to us in the present moment.
Even if we will not make time for America’s Pastime, let us at least make time for the present moment. We will be all the better for it.
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Photo from Priory of the Immaculate Conception
