When I look back and try to remember all the times in my life where I have had the most fun, many of the times have centred around  baseball. So many great memories of looking over a field of emerald green, and cheering for my favourite baseball team. Or at our local ball field where we forget about the stresses of life and play a simple game and cheer on our  team mates.  I have come to realize that baseball is so much more than a sport; it has a deeper meaning. Baseball is a healer, a nurturer, and an escape. It gives people the opportunity to forget about their worries for nine or more magical innings, where they can just enjoy a game.

One of the powers of baseball is that it brings people together. It unites fans of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. No matter who you are, you can be a baseball fan. The simple game of baseball forges strong bonds between families and friends. Baseball provides something for fans to look forward to every spring, and its something that we can always count on. Opening day is booked as a vacation day months in advance and more people come down with a sudden illness and phone in sick to work than any other day of the year.  From their couch, favourite chair or bar stool they lean into big screen televisions with eyes wide, entranced by the first plays of the season. But for the very lucky ones, they are crammed into the sea of enthusiastic screaming fans. The smell of pop corn and roasted peanuts in the cool spring air. The majestic beauty of the green grass and the perfectly manicured field. Baseball fans have finally been set free from the cold grey, home run-less winter. There is never an empty seat in the house on opening day, and all that is seen are rows and rows of baseball fans.

Baseball is not just a sport. It can connect you with others, and give you moments of carefree mindsets, where all you are thinking about is if that grounder will find a hole in the infield, or if that deep fly ball is going to have enough on it to clear the fence. Baseball nourishes you with excitement, memories, and of course hot dogs and jumbo pretzels. Because of its unexplainable powers, baseball has a special place in my heart, and it will never be just a sport.

I believe in baseball.