• by Roy Elvove , Op-Ed Contributor, April 7, 2020

It’s April. And typically, that would mean the opening of the baseball season.

Not this year.

But baseball, once viewed as the antithesis of today’s action-packed sports, is about to enjoy a rebirth and a renaissance.

When people are once again free to roam around…to be outdoors…baseball, with its leisurely pace and sun-drenched afternoon games, will re-emerge as THE sport of the modern-day era.

Who would have thought the simple pleasures of sitting outdoors, soaking in the sun, absorbing the smells and sounds around us, would have such deeper meaning and significance.  Forget the constant blare from stadium organs and electronic screens.  It’ll be the relaxation of attending a game, perhaps accompanied by some silly and fun in-stadium promotions like those perfected in minor league ballparks, that will steal the spotlight, capture the imagination, bring a smile to every fan’s face, and remind us of the joy to be alive.

It will reawaken our senses:the crack of the bat, the sound of the ball hitting a catcher’s glove, the smell of hot dogs, the taste of a cold drink, the wonder and beauty of a great fielding play…

It will be that rousing scene from Field of Dreams, when James Earl Jones bellows: “This field.  This game…it reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again. People will come. People will most definitely come.”

I, for one, can’t wait.