Inside The Royals

No Matter What, Baseball is Still America's Pastime

The Kansas City Royals embrace many cultures represented throughout their locker room and it's what makes the combination of America and baseball great together.

Mark Van Sickle

Baseball is still America’s pastime. Yes, the NFL and NBA may be more popular sports. Soccer is becoming increasingly popular every year in America. However, baseball is still the godfather of American sports.

Full disclosure, there’s a bias that may be coming into play when I discuss my love for the game of baseball. When I was a little kid, it is the first sport I fell in love with. As a kid who was born in the mid-80’s in Seattle, Washington, watching Ken Griffey Jr. from his rookie season on had an impact on me and many others of my generation.

Yeah, Michael Jordan was alright for some, but no one could edge Ken Griffey Jr. in the cool department. That’s just the facts.

Of course, baseball goes deeper than my limited in-person interaction with the game over the past 35 years. You could go back as far as 1869 to find the first professional baseball team with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, but that might be a bit too far back in the baseball history books.

The deadball era pre-dated the 1920’s, and baseball really took off after that as the roaring 20’s paved the way for success in America despite some ups and downs along the way.

Everyone reading this should know the story of Jackie Robinson by now, but if not, he was the first person of color to be featured on a Major League Baseball squad. This was a huge turning point in the sports and one that continued forward progress in the sport.

Fast forward to modern day baseball and you’ll see clubhouses filled with players representing many different countries. Latin countries have been the most abundant pipeline of foreign born players to the MLB, but players from Japan and Korea have been successful on this stage as well.

There will be many countries represented in this year’s All-Star Game, highlighted by two-way player from the Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani. Of course, Kansas City Royals fans will be most interested in their own homegrown player, Salvador Perez, who will be the starting catcher for the American League squad.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore has fostered a culture of inclusion and really tapped into the Latin market. This is a part of the American Dream becoming realized through baseball, and we’ve seen it time and time again through the Royals organization.

Just like Royals baseball and Kansas City summers go hand-in-hand, the game of baseball and America go hand-in-hand. The display of the American Flag, the pre-game festivities, the post-game firework shows. It’s a sweet blend of sport and Patriotism.

While there are plenty of sports to watch and invest your time into, baseball will still be the sport that feels most rooted in American tradition. Watching a hot dog eating contest may be entertaining for some (or sickening for others), but watching a baseball game or playing catch in the yard during a bar-b-que on the Fourth of July can be a fun tradition passed down from generation to generation. Enjoy the moments together and lasting memories to be made. 

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Mark Van Sickle
MARK VAN SICKLE

Mark Van Sickle was born in Seattle, Washington, but has lived in the Kansas City area for 30 years. He has followed the city’s sports teams along the way, from the KC Blades to the Chiefs to the Wizards/Sporting KC, now the KC Current and — of course — the Royals. Mark has been a radio producer and on-air talent in Kansas City since 2011 and is currently a producer for morning shows on KCMO Talk Radio. He is a writer and podcast host for the Heartland College Sports Network, a writer for Arrowhead Report on FanNation and a consistent guest on Roughing the Kicker Chiefs podcast. He is also a writer and weekly contributor to FanNation’s InsideTheRoyals.com

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