I Believe in Baseball by Drew ten Bensel

Baseball. The American Pastime. The sport that pits a batter versus a pitcher and eight fielders. Nine defenders trying to get one offender out. Today I'm going to be informing you about Baseball; the influence it has on my life, benefits of playing baseball, and professional baseball. I believe in Baseball.

First let's discuss how baseball has influenced my life. I have been playing and watching baseball for as long as I can remember and started playing competitive baseball in first grade. I have played multiple sports for my entire life but over the past few years baseball has become my favorite. High school baseball and American Legion Baseball involve a lot of hard work, games and practice. You may think with all the activities it may get repetitive and boring but for me it seems that the more baseball I play, the more I enjoy it.

Next, lets talk about the benefits of playing baseball. Everyone knows that being involved in activities can keep kids from getting in trouble such as drugs and alcohol. And most people know about the physical benefits of being active, especially in baseball specific training where flexibility and core strength are keys. But what often aren't talked about are the mental benefits that come from playing baseball. During a baseball game alertness and attention to detail are very important. Possibly taking the focus required for baseball and applying it to academics or a job would be beneficial. Another benefit of playing baseball is the time you get spend with your friends and teammates over the duration of a season.

Lastly, let's go over professional baseball and its historic and current famous players. Many young players want to grow up and play in the Big Leagues. One obstacle that players might have is the grueling length of the Major League Season. The season includes 162 games that span six months from April to November. Even the game's top players such as Prince Fielder have been quoted saying the season is too long. Another major part of professional baseball is its famous players. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gherig highlight historic Hall of Fame players. Also Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Albert Pujols, and Manny Ramirez are all most likely future Hall of Fame players. Because of the grueling schedule, level of high performance and consistency needed to play professionally; pro baseball players are some of highest paid athletes in the world.

In conclusion, we discussed how baseball has influenced my life, benefits of participating in baseball, and Professional baseball and it's famous players. Baseball has always been a very important part of my life and I hope it will continue to be for many years. So hopefully the next time you're watching a baseball game you'll remember some of the things I discussed with you and what the game means to me. I believe in Baseball.