A friend once mentioned that knowing the president of a minor league team was still only knowing the president of a minor league team. Such insightful logic! It didn't seem to matter to her when she had her hand out for tickets. Minor League Baseball is no longer Americana. It has become small independant centers of entertainment caught up in the relentless pursuit of a fan base no longer interested in jumping dogs, sumo wrestling and least of all, interest in baseball. Want Americana? NPR would send you to the Cape Cod League. I have never been there and I wonder if I shall. It smells of bonhomie among the players but also of a wealthy fan base.
Nobody laments that type of baseball park any more. We are too far removed from it and it was already a myth when I went searching. The Bush Leagues. The myth of the small baseball park defining an earlier age is vanishing as fast at tractors can tear up their soil and contractors can install flashing scoreboards and many watted sound systems. Does the audience as baseball games represent America? No, only those that wish to spend their entertainment dollar on baseball. This is, however, a remarkable cross section of the population.
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