Show Baseball is back but the fans arent aren't Ray Ray- Will People Ever Come Back By Corey Bullock Sports Co-Sports Editor MEMORANDUM TO Ray Kinsella FROM The American Baseball Fan The reason for my writing is to address a concern I 1 have about the american past time baseball I 1 saw what you did to a cornfield in Iowa in the movie about your life Field of Dreams and I was pondering the fact that maybe you could help us figure out what to do with the state of baseball I 1 mean with the strike and everything that has occurred inthe in inthe inthe the past 10 months Your friend and fellow baseball fanatic Terrence Mann epitomized what baseball is is or was in his soliloquy during the movie Ray people will come Ray they will come to Iowa for reasons they can not even fathom They'll turn up your drive way not knowing for sure why they're doing it They'll arrive at your door as in innocent innocent innocent in- in as children longing for the past Of course we wont won't mind if you look around you'll say its it's only 20 per person They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it it where its it's money they have and peace they like And they'll walk walkout walkout walkout out to the bleachers and sit in their shirt sleeves on a perfect after after- they'll find tind they have reserved seats somewhere along one of f the baselines base nes where they the sat when they were children and cheered for their heroes And they'll watch the game and it will be as if they dipped themselves ves in magic waters The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their WI will 11 come Ray Ra y Ray people arent aren't coming to the ball parks to watch the games For Forthe Forthe Forthe the first time in history there were no sell-outs sell on opening day Attendance is down 16 percent over last year and the ball parks that usually average 50 to 60 thousand people on any given day are only drawing between between between be be- tween 10 and 20 thousand All you have to do is watch highlights highlights highlights high high- lights of the games on television and see a home run go out of the park into a never ending sea of green red or blue empty seats Im I'm afraid I have forgotten how it feels to sit in the bleachers on a perfect perfect perfect per per- afternoon watching my heroes battle out a double header Releasing Releasing Releasing ing the frustrations of my life and getting lost in the of a hanging on the outside comer corner of the plate as the umpire bellows bellows bellows bel bel- bel- bel lows out Or the rotation of a beautifully thrown fastball as it is crushed to deep centerfield Maybe its it's not that Ive I've forgotten forgot forgot- ten maybe its it's that I just dont don't believe in baseball anymore Maybe I just dont don't believe that the players and the owners care about me anymore I mean after all I 1 did have to pay money for one of my so- so called heroes to sign a I had caught The thing I dont don't understand is that these are supposedly grown men who cannot come to an agreement after countless hours of negotiations about the same sam problem Because of their inability to resolve that problem problem lem they robbed me of being able to togo togo togo go to the ball park on a sunny afternoon afternoon afternoon after after- noon and finding peace of mind in baseball They robbed me of watching the pennant races develop and feeling the excitement in a League Championship Championship Championship Cham Cham- Series and thus took from fromme fromme fromme me the fall classic They took from fromme fromme fromme me the chance to see Kirk Gibson or Joe Carter hit one deep and watch them prance around the base pads as the pitcher stands there dejected They stole from me the opportunity opportunity opportunity to see a pitching duel between two veteran aces They treated me melike melike melike like a little child and took from me memy memy memy my candy baseball No matter what kind of temper-tantrum temper I threw or how much begging I did they would not give it back to me When they were forced to return to me my candy they returned it with the wrapper torn off It was half eaten dripping with slobber When they gave it back it was When they gave it back it was recognizable Ray the candy isn't very appetizing anymore Terrence Mann also stated the theone theone theone one constant through the years Ray has been baseball America has rolled by like an army of steam steam- rollers Its It's been erased like a blackboard blackboard black black- board rebuilt and erased again But baseball has marked the time This field this game is a part of our past Ray It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again Oh people will come Ray People will most come Ray it remains to be seen if baseball can stand this test and only time will tell See what you can do Build another field of dreams Make me believe in baseball again Make me want to come back People will come Ray Will people come Q Friends Dont Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk |