For the Love of the Game (2 minute read)

^{By Trish Arab}

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I hated baseball as a kid.

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Even watching the lone Canadian team in the League, that I could remember, win back to back World Series in 1992 and 1993 only made for exciting October baseball, and if I'm being completely honest, only those series games against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies respectively.

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Yes, baseball was boring, but since my dad was a huge baseball fan (who cheered for the Blue Jays and the Red Sox, even though he prefered the style of play in the National League) there was always a game playing on the radio or tv at my house.

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Playing outside on sunny summer afternoons I would constantly hear the Jays games wafting out of the windows, which would inevitably cause me to raise the volume on my discman or make my way to the school up the street to play more exciting sports like soccer, or basketball.

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My appreciation for the game didn't come until much later.

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The summer after my dad passed away I found myself searching for ways to feel closer to him. No matter where I looked though, I couldn't find him. That was until one afternoon when I heard a Blue Jays game playing on the tv. Buck Martinez' voice calling the game filled me with hope that if I kept walking up those stairs I would see my dad sitting in the den fixated on the screen watching the play and scoring the game.

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He wasn't there, but the memory of him was as vivid as it had been in months and it's a memory that stays with me, a visit with my dad with every pitch, every home run, every argument about why the Jays should be in the American League Central Division and not the East (don't get me started)

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I am in the minority of baseball fans here at Tidal League. I believe me and Keegan are the only ones who watch and who don't believe that it's a dying sport. The League made some changes this year to try and make the game move a little faster, be a little more exciting.

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At one point, I would have welcomed these changes with open arms - but now every extra inning means a little bit of extra time remembering my personal MVP.

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