BASEBALL UNDER THE SUN

Here we are in late October, headed for winter, and the World Series is still going on, just about half over. The problem with this is nights are cold this time of year, and a lousy time for baseball. Football? Sure, no problem. But a baseball game, even the World Series, when the temperature dips into the low 40's, just is not much fun. To attend or to watch. I saw one of the infielders for the Detroit Tigers wearing a knit cap the other night. No kidding. His ears were cold, I guess. Other guys were puffing steam as the game wound down in the late innings. See your breath during a baseball game? Come on. When you run the bases, you're supposed to sweat, not see your breath. There was a day when the World Series was played in daytime. So even if the evenings turned cold, chances are you still were blessed with an extra ten degrees under the sun. Better for the players, better for the fans. So what happened? Money. Television. Fat contracts. Money. (I already said that, I know). The networks, including ESPN, make the rules. "Play during the day?" they say. "Don't be crazy. We can get a bigger audience at night." "Sure," say the fans and players, "but think of the fun of listening or watching the game while you're at work, at lunch, taking a break, talking about the game with other people. Now that's America's past-time. The World Series at Night is just another reality show. If we catch an early cold snap in the next few days, The Boys of Summer will become The Boys of Winter.