Small-Town Baseball
- gregorymaness
- Jul 12, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 12, 2025
I have been fortunate enough to play a number of seasons and partial seasons as an adult baseball player. To my considerable regret, I hung up my spikes years ago with the intent of just taking a season off and I never made it back to the diamond.
Playing on an amateur men’s league team, small crowds are practically a given. People generally don’t come out to see the games the way that they might have in an earlier time in America, back when there were fewer options for entertainment. Usually a men’s league baseball player can expect to see friends, girlfriends, wives, and children in the stands. And at least some of the players’ friends, girlfriends, and wives may have other plans at some points during the season.
Of course, there are exceptions as to the crowd sizes or the composition of those attending a game. I once signed a bunch of autographs for some kids that lived near the ballpark in Burlington, North Carolina and that had showed up to watch the game and chase foul balls. In California, it wasn’t unusual for someone driving past the fields to stop and watch at least a few innings. At a tournament or a shared home field, larger crowds were more likely. And on one occasion, while the crowd was still relatively small, I discovered that a local ballplayer that I had watched play for the AAA Richmond Braves was there watching my team play his old neighborhood’s semipro team.
But as an adult player not playing in a premier semipro league, you likely know a decent number of the fans personally. They are your friends, neighbors, and loved ones. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, you are there to play the game and spend a few hours with your friends and teammates. Play ball!
With that being said, it is great to see the love that some small towns and villages have for their boys of summer. Below are a handful of links to some stories about baseball as it is celebrated primarily in rural America, as well as a PDF copy of an excellent article on small-town baseball that ends with encouragement to get off the bench and into the game. ⚾️😁
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