Think about baseball for a moment. What comes to mind? Childhood experiences from Little League, such as the thrill of sliding into home plate or the anguish of being tagged out on second? Staying up late to watch a game on TV with friends an family? Going to see a game in person, with the sharp shouts of souvenir vendors, the crisp crack of the bat, and the crowd's cheers and chants? Around the world, and especially for many in America, there is a deep and emotional component to the game. As former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti said in his essay "Green Field of the Mind": "It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evening, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone."
