Watching the Twins play a B game on a back field at Lee County Sports Complex on Friday, I was remindedof what kind of baseball fan I am.
A picky one.
I know people who love baseball at all levels. They love sitting in the sun and ragging the ump. They love eating sunflower seeds and second-guessing the manager. They love baseball.
I don't qualify as that kind of fan. I need my baseball to be played at a high level, for high stakes.
I don't like minor-league baseball. I have trouble watching high school or college baseball. I never watch the Saints.
To intrigue me, a baseball game must feature players with tremendous skills. Watching the B game, I saw a couple out outstanding starting pitchers, some top prospects and a lot of guys who will start the year at Triple-A.
For a player to make it through high school, perhaps through college, and rise to the level of Triple-A is a stunning achievement, considering the number of players who try to make it in, or into, pro ball. And yet baseball at that level, to me, seems like it is being played underwater.
For me to love baseball, I need to see high skills and feel dramatic tension. So while it's pleasant to stand on a back field and watch baseball on a sunny day, in many ways I don't qualify as a fan of the game.
