Baseball and Individualism

Baseball is an individualistic sport. I never understood this, and people said it all the time. Then again, I played soccer, basketball, hockey and wrestled, but never played baseball growing up.

When I think of an individual sport, I think of wrestling. It was obvious to me the first time I went to the mat: there is no one there to help me. This guy could beat me or I could beat him, but there is no one to blame but me. This is individualism. Only your performance matters; there is no collective blame.

I remember one tournament I was in: I was trying to get my coach to come to the mat where I was scheduled for a match. I wanted someone on my side so I didn’t feel so alone -- someone to yell helpful suggestions. I was called to the center of the circle. The coach wasn’t there. I was mad at the coach for not being there. I took it out on my opponent, and pinned him in the first period.

After the match, the coach came ambling up to say he was there. “Where are you going to wrestle?” he asked. I told him that I already pinned the guy. The coach's response: “Well, you didn’t need me after all.”

Since then, I’ve always loved the individual sports. My dad and I enjoy watching boxing matches. I occasionally catch a judo or collegiate wrestling match. I love the one-on-one, mano-a-mano style of sport.

So I found it hard to reconcile baseball as an individualistic sport. At least until my first at bat.

There I was, holding a bat for the first time in two decades. We already have two outs and are down by several runs. In our league, to speed-up play, batters start with a ball and a strike. Shortly, I was at three balls and two strikes. My heart was pounding. I had that exact same feeling that I had at the center of a wrestling circle. There was no one else. Only a few things could happen, I could get walked, I could strike out swinging or not, or I could hit it. But only two people had any control of that. Me and the pitcher. This was thrilling. This was me versus him. And even then, it was really me versus the 10 guys on the field. If they caught my hit, I was out. If they got the ball to first base before I was there, I was out. That’s pressure, and it’s thrilling.

This is how baseball is individualistic. The play revolves around a single individual trying to swing a big stick at a fast moving ball.

There are other aspects of the game.

In the field, there is teamwork. Anyone who watches a great double play has seen some excellent teamwork.

Yet there’s a lot of individual effort. You have to be responsible for balls hit to you. A great outfielder can make an amazing play that saves the game. If you don’t make the play you should, you get an individual error.

On offense, there are times when your goal isn’t to get on base, but to advance a runner on second home. Doing so to get runs on the board.

If you google this subject, there is a lot of great writing about this idea. My favorite is this one, written by a Brit who specializes in American history. He has a few excellent thoughts about the individualism of the sport.

America is a country based on individualism. I think it is fitting that her national pastime is individualistic as well. As Pete Rose said "Baseball is a team game, but nine men who reach their individual goals make a nice team."