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Entry bubble Play Ball!

By: Colleen | April 02, 2008 | Category: Fun

Monday kicked off my favorite time of the year as a sports fan. It was Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park. baseball

Although the Phils dropped the home opener, it does nothing to diminish my excitement that baseball season is here.

Baseball is my favorite sport to watch in person (followed closely by college basketball and NFL football. On TV my favs are: college basketball, NFL football, college football, and then baseball...the differences in these two lists call for a another post entirely.)

Few things in life beat sitting in the warm sunshine on a clear afternoon with your friends and a hot dog, watching your favorite player crush a home run and your team ultimately winning the game.

Baseball has long been known as our "national pastime" and plays an important role in American history.

  • Each year, the President throws out the first pitch of the World Series
  • Franklin Roosevelt urged MLB to continue play during World War II to boost the spirit of the American people and to show resiliency
  • April 15, 2004 marked the first Jackie Robinson Day. This annual tradition serves as a reminder of when Jackie broke the color barrier—not just sending a message in sports, but society as well.
  • In the spring of 2001, President Bush opened the South Lawn of the White House for kids to play t-ball, keeping in the tradition of the "people's house."

Warm up your vocals and get ready to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," baseball is back!

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: baseball   colleen   national   pastime   president   series   sports   world  

Comments (3):

blue comment bubble Posted by Nancy on April 02, 2008 at 08:47 AM EDT

Colleen, if I didn't know you were a fellow Philly-area native, I'd have to look up the location of Citizens Bank Park. No offense to the corporations that are shelling out the big bucks for naming rights, but I really miss the days when ballparks and stadiums were named after people, neighborhoods, cities and teams.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Thomas on April 06, 2008 at 04:29 PM EDT

I feel sorry for Chicago Cubs fans. Going on 100 years and no World Series. Now the new owner of the Cubs is talking about selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field.

Thomas

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blue comment bubble Posted by TribeFan on April 10, 2008 at 11:49 AM EDT

I'm a big baseball fan myself. (Go Tribe! Go Nats!)

You should have mentioned, though, that the Library of Congress has a great collection online of historical baseball stuff, including a more extensive section on Jackie Robinson than you linked to above.

See http://www.loc.gov/topics/baseball/ for more.

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