Take Me Out To The Opera

While I do like baseball...and opera, I generally cry and cringe at sports metaphors and operatic clichés.  I admit I have, at times, been guilty of attaching undue philosophical significance to the game, but that usually comes only after about five innings of baseball and beverages at Yankee Stadium.  While there is drama in baseball, I generally do draw the line at trying to drag baseball into the realms of theater, religion, or art.  And spirituality? The film Field of Dreams is more than I can take. 

Baseball can withstand gentle mocking, though. In fact, it asks for it, as in Ron Shelton's laughingly wordy film Bull Durham.  The character of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) puts religion (and everything else) in perspective:

"I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us." (Annie Savoy, Bull Durham)

This article, "Take Me Out to the Opera," from the New York Times, does a good job of trying to reconcile the unfortunate contradictions of art and baseball with some fans you may not expect.