One sure sign you may be getting old is that you begin boring your children with the notion that life was so much better when you were a kid.
A sure sign of being old is that you don’t care that you bore them — because of course, you know you’re right.
One example is baseball’s showcase, the World Series. My specific gripe are games beginning over mashed potatoes and finishing over oatmeal.
It’s l-o-n-g games being played l-a-t-e at night.
As a Milwaukee Braves fan of the late 1950s and ’60s, I found it a great time to be a kid who loved baseball. It was an era when baseball truly was America’s pastime and when World Series games were played in daylight. Honest, they really were.
Present-day educators would have a cow if a radio airing any sporting event was played in an elementary classroom, but at Central School in downtown Kokomo, it was common for teachers to have World Series games at full volume.
I don’t recall a lot of what went on in Miss Downey’s seventh-grade math class, but I remember the moment — the excitement in our class — when Bill Mazeroski hit the shocking ninth-inning home run that beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
I also remember Game 7 of the 1962 Giants-Yankees Series when Willie McCovey’s would-be game-winning hit was speared by Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson and the Yankees prevailed 1-0. I remember exactly where I was standing in my living room and exactly what my dad yelled at the TV (he hated the Yankees too) when Richardson made the ninth-inning, two-out grab.
I mention these baseball moments for two reasons — one, because as you get older you’re happy to remember anything and two, these were glorious moments in baseball history that I witnessed. Kids don’t get much of that opportunity anymore.
The 1950s, ’60s and ’70s were absolutely the best time to be a baseball fan because of glorious day baseball in the postseason. It was a time when baseball thought enough of the World Series to share it with adults and kids alike. A late game then finished at 5 p.m. Late games now wrap-up after midnight, long after kids and many adults as well, have packed it in for the night.
It’s been 25 years since the sun has peaked in on a World Series game and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig says he’d love to see games back on a more family-friendly TV schedule.
“I want a day game in the World Series,” Selig told The Associated Press. “It’s been a favorite subject of mine over the years because I grew up watching the World Series during the afternoons.”
Then he added, “but the object is to have as many viewers as possible.”
The question: Would there be more potential viewers at 3 o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon or at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night?
The suits who rule television apparently opt for the late start. My guess is, they don’t have to jump out of bed at 6 a.m. to go to work and if they have kids, their kids care a lot more about Grand Theft Auto IV or some other video game than they do about baseball.
Of course too, TV’s love of all those dollars generated by primetime advertising plays a huge role in all this.
Without question, baseball is no longer the national pastime. Tonight by 10:30 (or the middle of the sixth inning) it’ll be the national naptime.
Last year’s Series with all games starting around 8:30, drew a record-low TV audience. TV’s answer was moving this year’s games up to 8 o’clock. That’s not much help for adults and virtually no value to kids.
No question, TV calls the shots. But a decade or two from now you have to wonder who’s going to be watching the games at any time of day. Kids today don’t watch baseball and they’ll not be picking up the habit as they get older. And without fans, the advertisers will be history.
• Dave Kitchell is the Kokomo Tribune’s sports editor. He may be reached by e-mail at dave.kitchell@kokomotribune.com.
Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
KITCHELL: Fan base erodes for late-night World Series
- Sports
-
-
Fritz, other friends help carry on Gabriel’s vision
Tony Gabriel was an easy pick for the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a four-sport standout at Taylor High School and later a seven-time state racquetball champion in singles and doubles.
-
Comets making progress
Much like any coach would expect in his first season leading a young team, Eastern baseball coach Nick Sale has helped his team deal with the growing pains that come with regime and philosophy changes.
-
Tipton survives M-G, savors softball sectional 3-peat
It looked like a blowout early and turned into a nail-biter late, but in the end, Friday’s Class 2A Eastern Sectional Softball final between Tipton and No. 3-ranked Madison-Grant turned out the same way as each of the previous two years.
-
Schubert wraps up standout collegiate track career
Megan Schubert could easily lament lost opportunities and think about ‘what if’ scenarios looking back at her track and field career at the University of Louisville.
-
Comets, Kats, Panthers sending athletes to state
After announcing his retirement late last week, Eastern boys track and field coach Paul Nicholson knew Thursday’s Kokomo Regional could be the final meet of his 43-year career. Senior Josiah Price and junior Grant Cole made sure it wasn’t.
-
New Western basketball coach is right at home
Bart Miller’s passion for Western basketball runs deep.
Miller, like his father and brother before him, played for the Panthers. He started and was the third-leading scorer on the Panthers’ 1990 Kokomo Sectional championship squad.
-
Tipton, Madison-Grant reach final of Eastern Sectional
Tipton’s softball team had enough to get past Elwood and into the championship of the Class 2A Eastern Sectional on Wednesday night. Friday night, the Blue Devils will need more to hoist the hardware.
-
Beeler, Hurst pitch Panthers into title game
Western softball pitchers Erika Beeler and Madi Hurst are getting their first meaningful postseason innings in the circle in this year’s Class 3A Twin Lakes Sectional, but unknowing spectators would never know.
-
Raiders hold off Wildkats
Kokomo and Harrison each had three hits after two innings of their Class 4A Lafayette Jeff Sectional game on Wednesday in Loeb Stadium.
Control problems for Kokomo starting pitcher Chase Hatfield allowed the Raiders to turn their three hits into four runs and they used those runs to earn a 6-5 win.
-
Benton C. turns back N’western
Northwestern’s baseball team saw an early lead disappear in a 7-5 loss to Benton Central in a Class 3A West Lafayette Sectional game Wednesday.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
