Are Baseball and Politics Intertwined?
by JIM BROWN (excerpt)

“The difference between politics and baseball is that in baseball, when you are caught stealing, you’re out.” -Ron Dentinger

There is also a lesson to be learned from Babe Ruth as congress considers limiting executive pay and bonuses of corporations who receive bailout money. When the Babe was asked how he could justify making more money than the President, he shrugged off the question by answering: “I had a better year.”

I suppose one of the biggest differences between these two spectator sports is the sense of optimism that baseball brings every spring. The crack of the bat, a pop fly against a blue sky, and the green grass seem to offer a sense of renewal. It almost harkens back to the essence of youth and heroes of the past, and you feel that almost anything is possible in the coming baseball season. But in today’s political climate, there is little thought of great statesmen and principled political figures of the past. Political courage today is too often defined by poll watching and sticking a wet finger to the wind.

So when the TV clicker stops with a choice of politics or baseball, I’ve chosen the great American pastime. It’s baseball hands down.