Expats Retired In Thailand

"A hot dog at The ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz. "Humphrey Bogart-


This reflection is a response to various comments I received before, during and after my visit to Quebec City Stadium on Wednesday to promote baseball team Capitales de Québec in Quebec which aligns the pitcher Eric Gagne.




I must say from the outset, my facebook status was provocative "will be at Municipal Stadium in Quebec City tonight to see Eric Gagne, winning the 2003 Cy Young Award" .



The comments were all in the same direction, or that this launcher was guilty of using steroids during his career in the majors, as well discredited everything he could perform well and the sport is no longer a mark of cheaters.


GOOD.



Let's settle on one thing. The era of steroids (which appears in the early 1990s) in major league baseball has really hurt the sport, especially for purists. It would be wrong however to think that sport has lost its popularity during this period. Instead, according to a study by Forbes magazine last year, revenue by baseball (ticket sales, TV revenue, merchandise sales) have exploded in recent years. Take for example the support of homeruns between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in the summer of 1998, which attracted the eyes of the world on a MLB.



Admittedly, this period has affected the purists of the sport as I have stated previously. I invite you to read an excellent article Jayson Stark of ESPN when published revelations about steroid use in the limelight of New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez, last February.



The other side of the coin







The real purpose of my thinking is to show the other side of the story of baseball. While the popular media stories raffollent crisp, especially those on steroids or what players do off the field.


However, baseball is a bit more than that, very much.


Baseball is this important cultural heritage family. Is there something more significant than the first time that the father and son Launch ball?


Baseball is also the only sport where the stadium is of paramount importance, both in the atmosphere than at the history of the city and the people who live there.


Baseball is the sport accessible. Certainly, in several stages, the price of tickets is very high. However, last year, I attended a game at the Los Angeles Dodgers for a measly $ 9. It is a sport whose players come from several quarters of poor countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela.


is the sport where statistics are vitally important. These statistics allow the sport part of a story and perpetuate.


is the sport where no matter what stage you're in Los Angeles, Quebec City or in Lasalle, you sing the famous "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the 7th round.


This sport EMOTIONS.


is the sport where the game can change dramatically while until the last batter is not removed.


This sport where every pitch is a surprise.





Next time






The next time your brother-in will prompt you at the stadium, whether at Yankee Stadium in New York or the municipal stadium of Quebec, you will certainly scrutinize the arms of every player under the microscope and ask if it was in a Duane Reade of Bedford, Massachusetts or in a CVS pharmacy of Boswell, Pennsylvania that he purchased his little pill.


I invite you to do something else. I invite you, when you cross the doors you remember the first launch of your childhood, to let you wear each launch as perhaps that will change the game and maybe even history. To let you conquer by a spectacular diving shortstop making a double play



I do every time I go. A great feeling, I assure you.