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It's never too much
I'll dispense with my usual negative commentary about the Pirates. I actually feel bad for the players, now that the team is embarking on its annual tailspin into mediocrity.
But there's a whole world of baseball outside of Pittsburgh, as anyone who subscribes to the MLB Extra Innings package can attest.
The package features access to every Major League Baseball telecast on any given day, which at full capacity adds up to about 15 games. So why watch anything else?
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I'm going back to my roots, I guess.
See, I was one of those geeks who grew up with his nose stuck inside Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia and other such publications, memorizing the minutiae of the sport's history. At the time, a career as a baseball statistician didn't exist; if I'd been born a decade later, maybe I'd be in another profession right now.
Whatever the case, I was excited to move to Pittsburgh after college, primarily because I'd be living within a short distance of a major-league team. As it turned out, that was 1985, the year of Joggin' George Hendrick and 104 Pirates losses. But that didn't keep me away from Three Rivers Stadium.
I continued to attend games fairly faithfully for the next couple of decades. All the while, though, my interest in the sport declined: Strikes, steroids and Barry Bonds did nothing to endear me.
Plus, living in Pittsburgh tends to turn you into a big-time football fan and a "why bother?" baseball fan.
Seeing the national pastime from the perspective of a couple of dozen other cities can get you back on track.
Topping the list are Los Angeles Dodgers telecasts, which feature the voice of Vin Scully. You're familiar with the name, but let me enlighten you a bit about his career: He's been broadcasting for the Dodgers since 1950, back when they still had several years left in Brooklyn.
Scully has been hinting at retirement for several years now, and at age 83, this season just might be his last. So I'll try to catch plenty of Dodgers games the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, I still tune in frequently to Root Sports, out of habit of watching the Pirates.
If those games become too unbearable, I can simply switch the channel and watch a couple of other teams, instead of sitting there counting the days 'til the Steelers report to Latrobe. With the uncertainty surrounding the National Football League, that could turn out to be one long wait.
Online editor Harry Funk can be reached at hfunk@observer-reporter.com. Visit www.facebook.com/or.harryfunk.wednesday.
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