“It’s time for Dodger Baseball!” rang throughout the stadium as I sat down in my seat in the middle of the sea of blue.  The Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: the ultimate rivalry game for the city of Los Angeles. The energy was tangible as the Dodgers took the field.  It was the first game of the four game series and it was going to be a tough battle between the team from the National League against the team from the American League. Zack Greinke was pitching that night, the first time I saw him pitch in person. The game did not end the way I, or any Dodger fan, wanted it to though. The Angles had a four to zero lead by the end of the top of the first inning and kept that lead until the top of the sixth, when they scored another run making it five to zero. The combination of some cocky actions by Dodger’s players and the inability to get a hit off of the Angels pitcher Garrett Richards, lead to a loss for the Dodgers.

Baseball became popular in the United States in the mid-1850’s. It became known as a national “pass time” for many Americans. It started in New York City with the creations of six club teams, which created the National Association of Baseball Players, the first organized body of teams. By 1871 teams were becoming professional and not just amateurs. In 1876 the official National League was created and became the oldest surviving major league. Other major leagues were created but ultimately failed. African Americans were banned from playing for white-owned professional leagues so they started to create their own leagues. Many of the rules of baseball were created and finalized in the year 1901, along with the creation of the American League to play against the National League.  Each league had 8 teams who competed against each other in games and also began drafting players to the majors and between the teams. This became known as the National Association of Professional Baseball. By the 1920’s African Americans were attempting to enter the predominately white league. As the United States entered World War II, the major and minor leagues of baseball came to a slump as many of the men were deployed for war. Woman started to create their own leagues as they took on many of the male duties in our country, which included their favorite pass times. Still, at this time African Americans were not accepted into playing for a white owned professional team. Jackie Robinson was called up to the majors to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, breaking the major leagues color barrier. Integration of the sport was slow but by 1959 every team in the leagues had at least one colored player. In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles and in 1961 the first American League team, The Los Angeles Angels, reached the west coast.

Baseball is the all American sport: it is necessary for team work but much of the game is played as an individual, much like the way the United States is structured.  At the time this sport was created and being taught, the United States had been industrialized and was emerging as a leading power. With much success for the population, along with much failure, there needed to be an outlet in which Americans were able to come together for a common interest. That outlet was baseball. Even though there are nine players out on the field, only one player has control of the ball to begin with: the pitcher. As soon as he releases the ball and it hurls towards the hitter, it is then the hitter’s job to do with the pitch what he can. From then the team in the infield and outfield must adjust and react as the play unfolds. As I have grown up I have constantly heard that if I want to make a difference for myself or the world around me, I have to act. I have to make the decision. I have to throw the ball. The rest depends how the world reacts around me. Risky, yes; but with the right strategy any play can be successful.

I want to be the pitcher. I want to be the catalyst that starts a chain reaction in the world around me. I do not need it to be literally world wide, but I want to impact the people around me. I want to be the example that no one should let a tragedy or difficult circumstance drag them down and make them stay there. I want people to know it’s how they react and respond to that tragedy or circumstance that will define who they are. The most courageous acts can come from any single moment in a person’s life, and I want every individual to grab those courageous moments.  Life is hard, life may not seem fair to the majority of teenagers, but what is the point of living, especially in our generation with so much opportunity, if we are not going to act and at least try to do something about anything!

As I sat on the edge of my seat with my three friends, watching such an unfortunate game unfold for the Dodgers, I could not help but still feel content and enjoy my time in the stadium of bright lights. With such broad diversity of ethnicity, race, religion, political beliefs, age, and sex, thousands of people congregate in a stadium to watch a game that can have so much influence on how any individual approaches the rest of their life.  How cool.