Let The Children Play – Why Support Youth Baseball?

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I’m new to blogging. However, I understand that bloggers refer to key, foundational posts as "cornerstone content." In my opinion, the cornerstone content for the 4Bases4Kids blog should be my rationale for starting the program. In other words, I need to explain why I am doing this and why the reader should care. My first piece explained why I was starting this quest and why I included fundraising for youth baseball and softball. The second discussed my baseball background, answering the "OK I'm going on a quest, but why baseball?" question. My third post outlines my itinerary and hopefully garners enough interest so that readers will want to follow my progress. To complete the foundation, I need to explain why I think we need to support youth baseball. Is there an issue with youth baseball in low-income and inner-city areas that requires focus and donations? The knee jerk answer is "of course, don't low-income and inner-cities need help in any number of areas?" While that is the assumption, there is also evidence that indicates that youth athletics in these areas need support. The evidence indicates: Lack of activity causes physical and mental hardships in children. However, participation in athletics including community sports leagues (including baseball leagues) is shrinking. A significant part of the attrition is due to more expensive private club teams that are cannibalizing the traditional leagues. Registration and other participation fees make up a large percentage of local community league's revenue. Lower-income kids are more likely to stop participating in organized sports than middle and upper-income kids — likely due, in part, to these high costs. Some organizations work in low-income and inner-city areas but need increased funding and awareness. Active Kids Do Better in Life Yes, you’re likely thinking, “tell me something I don’t know,” but let’s start at the beginning. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative summarizes the benefits of sports activity in the chart below. If we want kids to avoid obesity, drug use, risky sex and pregnancy, we should encourage them to exercise. If they do, they are also more likely to do better in school, attend college, earn more financially and be more productive at work. Additionally, active children have a lower probability of disability, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. “Indeed, the physiological health benefits of sport participation are well documented. Sport participation for as little as 2–3 hours per week can result in significant cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal adaptations independent of age and gender, and is associated with a 7% lower risk of obesity in adulthood for girls. Numerous studies have also shown the social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of sport participation. In addition, compared with school-sponsored physical education, youth sport programs provide a broader community support for addressing the physical inactivity and childhood obesity epidemics by engaging children and adolescents in addition to parents, coaches, and families." Benefits to Society I've always considered myself to be relatively compassionate. I'm one of those "do things for the good of humanity" sorts…

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Itinerary – “The Refuge Of The Roads”

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My Quest - My itinerary will help me find my new way. As I mentioned in my first post: “I needed a change, I couldn’t go back to my old life, but didn’t know what else to do. I still don’t.” Instead, I’ll search for a new path for my life in “the refuge of the roads”. "I was running like a white-assed deerRunning to lose the bluesTo the innocence in hereThese are the clouds of MichelangeloMuscular with gods and sungoldShine on your witness in the refuge of the roads"Joni Mitchell, "Refuge of the Roads" This is not a just a trip to see each ballpark and have other baseball experiences. Nor is it a trip to see my team play as much as possible. No, this is a personal quest to find a new path, a new destiny. I need to fulfill my penance and give something to society. I envision a pot of gold at the end of this trip to support youth baseball. However, to fully achieve the goal, I need the satisfaction of finishing the journey! I will not be satisfied if I don’t complete all forty-two planned stops. I’m like Frodo - I need to get to Mordor. Up until now, baseball has been a hobby for me. Now I plan to immerse myself in the game and hopefully discover who I really am. I imagine that there will be times where I will need to force myself to travel or to write. However, by facing the challenge, I believe I will find my elusive new path. Logistic Requirements How do I plan an eight-month journey with forty-two specific baseball stops? Scheduling the trip is a logistical challenge, to say the least. A fundamental difficulty is that the tour needs to fit team and event schedules. First of all, there are logistic requirements: Needless to say, I need to make sure that there the teams are home when I get to their cities.To conserve costs, I need to group cities together, so I don't retrace my steps and book more flights than necessary.Stay warm - there is no use in going north in late April - the sunny south will be better. Forty-Two Stops Of course, I’m going to all 30 MLB baseball stadiums. However, I have some specific things to see at the ballparks along the way. I discuss these in the section below. Twelve additional baseball experiences will make the journey complete: Field of Dreams LocationNegro Leagues MuseumCollege World SeriesLittle League World SeriesCooperstownLouisville Slugger Museum and FactoryInternational Games in London, EnglandInternational Games in Monterrey, MexicoSpring TrainingArizona Fall LeagueAll-Star Game and Home Run DerbyWorld Series My Itinerary As soon as the schedules came out, I charted my path to navigate the journey. As with most things in my life, I created a spreadsheet with the games, flights, hotels and associated costs. After a few edits, this is the plan: Spring Training - “The Best Week of The Year” - March 15th - 23rd This…

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Why Collect Ballparks?

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.” As I said in my previous post, I plan to take a break and consider a new existence. However, since this break can entail almost anything, why should I devote my energy to collecting ballparks? Most people would likely find it excessive to focus an entire year on baseball. Excessive even if I raise money for youth baseball and softball. There are a lot of places to go, things to see, and experiences to have. Do I need to devote my time and money to baseball? Baseball has been a constant source of joy in my life. Consequently, this trip has become one of my dreams. Is it that the game reminds me "of all that once was good and could be again?" Will the trip make me feel young again? What is it about baseball that compels me to make this trip? I don't have answers that I can verbalize. However, I feel like I've been on a trajectory to take this trip for a long time. Of course, part of the path is a result of my career choices and where they have led. My career and the questions that I have at the age of 61 can wait for another day. For now, I'll focus on my lifelong enchantment with baseball and why this trip is my next logical step. You see, I trace my life story in terms of my baseball awareness. It's a story that has only one logical ending - my quest to find baseball’s essence and my reason for being. I need to experience each stadium and baseball's wonders. As my father used to say, I need to “collect ballparks”. I Probably Should Be a Yankee Fan As a Bronx native, I guess I should be a Yankee fan. I was born just a short 1.7-mile walk up the Grand Concourse from Yankee Stadium. It's an even shorter trip on the #4 train. It’s only three stops to the Mt. Eden Avenue station and a five-minute walk to Lebanon Hospital on 173rd street. Grand Concourse Looking South Siddarth Hanamanthu, Wikipedia However, I have decidedly National League roots as my father (an ex-catcher) was a Dodger fan. I arrived in the winter of 1957 when he was still distraught that "Dem Bums" moved to California that winter. Frequent Trips to The Stadium When I was five, we moved to St. Petersburg, Florida so my father could further his career in aerospace. Every summer we returned to the Bronx to visit my grandparents and other family members. On every trip, I found myself with him at Yankee Stadium almost as soon as the plane landed. We returned to the sanctity of the Stadium many times during the visit. I acquired my early love for the game on these excursions. In classic style, a devotion for baseball passed from father to son at the ballpark. I assumed it was a common practice to quickly say…

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From Irrelevant to Relevant

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 Becoming Irrelevant - Why does one decide to travel across three countries to experience baseball in every way imaginable except for actually playing the game? In my case, I became irrelevant - at least from a business point of view. Moreover, it clearly wasn't my decision. For two decades I worked for an advertising technology company and was considered a relatively strong performer. I rose through the ranks, was well paid and had a good stock package. However, in October my company restructured and I was no longer needed. In other words, I was considered irrelevant from a business point of view. I was frustrated - my separation wasn't because I couldn't do the work, I clearly could. Instead, the company changed its policies - I worked remotely and that was not acceptable anymore. Additionally, an underlying factor was likely that I was considered too old - I was 60 at the time. I was also very tired - somewhat burnt out. In Silicon Valley, you work six to seven days a week, long and odd hours. I also travelled a lot. I'm not complaining. I know I'm not alone. Job loss and career change happens to many people my age. Frankly, it's my second twenty career to end abruptly. However, this time I am older, near the end of the road and it feels much different. Long story short - I needed a change, I couldn't go back to my old life, but didn't know what else to do. I still don't. So I started thinking, what does a 61 year old, lifetime baseball fan with time on his hands do now? I'll Have A Baseball Adventure The answer came to me quickly. I had a series of consecutive thoughts that added up to a brilliant idea - at least I think so. My ideas: Why not take some time, break with the past and really find something rewarding to do with the rest of my life?I can indulge my baseball fantasy and travel to every Major League Baseball stadium in the country - I've always wanted to do it?A thirty-stadium tour will be great, but a really rewarding baseball experience needs to include some other stops. Spring Training, the Little League and College World Series, international games, the Negro League Museum and more.I'll need to keep a journal to support this journey of self-exploration.I'm a budding photographer so I'll certainly take pictures.It stands to reason that I can transform my journal and photos into a book that someone can be convinced to publish.My friends will want to keep tabs on my progress - so I'll post updates on Facebook, maybe learn to Tweet and I'll have photos to post on Instagram. The Adventure Needs Meaning Now, the reason I have a blog and you are hopefully still reading it. Note that I am very sensitive to the fact that you are likely wondering what the point of this story is. The trip needs to contribute to the common…

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