Academics and Baseball

Last week was possibly the longest of my academic career. I barely got back from a Thanksgiving visit home in time to make Monday's lecture. I had my 20 page essay on the "Ukrainian" Famine of '32-'33 due Wednesday afternoon (though because of my Wednesday morning class it had to be done by Tuesday night) and two 8 page essays for Friday. Quite a rough week that involved lots of skipped meals and lots of coffee and chocolate. But the essays are done, and I'm relaxed and ready to focus on my final exam for Social Science Perspectives...then comes dreaded dissertation research. In Russian!

One of the essays I wrote was on the Chicago American Giants and their importance in Chicago's race culture and baseball culture. I had always thought it would be really great to study sport history. It's a nice tie-in between interests in my life and if you publish sport histories, you are probably more likely to sell more books. Anyway, so I was researching academic work on Negro League baseball and I have to say that it was a less than enjoyable experience. I think it has something to do with my relationship with the game as a fan. Since I have such a close connection to the game both as a former/current player and as an avid spectator, I relate to and analyze the game in a particular way. Doing academic historical work has made me shift my focus and way of approaching the game. You have to break the game down differently than you would as, say a fantasy baseball player or as a stat freak. Now you're looking at trends in the game and breaking the game down as an allegory or indicator of greater socio-cultural trends. I have to say that I didn't enjoy researching baseball history. Maybe soccer history would be different (I am still interested in football clubs in Russia during the 20s), but I think writing baseball history would compromise my current relationship with the game, which is quite good and healthy. I don't want to deconstruct the game as a part of grander schemes. I just want to eat a hot dog and argue with people about whether or not Nick Punto can actually be called a third-basemen (which, as far as I'm concerned, he isn't).