Ballpark Figure
July 29, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Almost a year ago to date, Charlie sat through two innings of a Phillies game, then pulled at our friend Hal’s hand and said, “Black car!”
On Saturday night, Charlie and Jim went to see the Phillies play the Pittsburghs Pirates. (Jim’s team: I don’t know what it says that, in all the time I have known Jim, the Pirates have not been good at all. “Bucs lose again,” has been Jim’s usual phrase.)
Jim and Charlie made it down to Philadelphia in record time and Charlie was all smiles greeting Hal (whom we last visited in May) at Citizens Bank Park. They got burgers and fries and Charlie left his iPod on the counter of the concessions stand, as Jim discovered when Charlie told him “I want iPod” and there was no iPod—-the workers handed it back to Jim, with the headphones nicely wrapped around it (”It would have been gone in New York,” commented Jim). Later, when Jim got up to get more fries, Charlie got upset, and was consoled by Hal, and ok when Jim came back, and sat through 6 innings in all. He attracted puzzled-friendly looks from a 12-year-old girl in front of him, and a few others in their seats behind home plate. Charlie enjoyed himself and was still smiling when he burst in the front door and threw himself onto the pillows and back of the couch, grinning.
Try as I might, I am not a fan of baseball and I last for fewer innings than Charlie, so it was a guys’ night out, and A Good Time Was Had By All. Charlie has also been to college basketball games (the UC Berkeley Golden Bears—my dad’s team; the Penn Quakers—Hal’s team; the Fordham Rams and the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, Jim’s and my employers’ teams, respectively). And he has been to a few football (American-style) games, for Saint Peter’s College and for some high school teams. When I think of how Charlie struggles to watch a cartoon, with the fast pace of the drawings and all the colors and the soundtrack and dialogue, it does seem that baseball—the diamond, the one-by-one appearance of the batters and their moving ’round the bases—-might be easier for Charlie to follow, and having a good friend and true fan like Hal certainly helps.
Charlie’s progress report from school reveals that, while he continues to struggle mightily with reading, he has been making steady gains in identifying his numbers (now working on 41-60). Maybe it’s time to start introducing him to baseball stats…….
Baseball photo courtesy of penywise.
I have always found baseball to be very calming (often to the point of making me a bit sleepy). There are fewer players who have to be closely watched at a given moment, and the rules are fairly straightforward. Even the sounds of the game are somewhat pleasant, in contrast to other popular team sports.
Baseball is also one of my favorite sports to watch (aside from swimming, gymnastics and a lot of the individual sports). There’s usually not a lot going on in one area of the field at once, versus American football or soccer where all the players are often in a clump on the field and it’s nearly impossible to know what’s happening.
Baseball stats are a good way to work with math and number skills, especially for kids who are interested in the sport. My brother’s doing division right now, so sometimes Mom will have him figure out a team’s average or a player’s batting average. He likes that a lot better than doing workbook math.
-Aidoann
Jim told me that Charlie was very startled the first time someone scored a run and there was a LOT of noise—–afterwards he really sat and watched. Our friend is a big fan and I hope they can all go to a game again—-Charlie also really liked watching swimming last time the Olympics were on and, even more, diving. And I’m wondering if the skating might appeal to him too, now.
Amigo enjoys baseball, and our “local” team is actually doing well this year. He can name all the major league teams and their stadiums, and it’s exciting to him whenever we go to a different one. He understands the game better now that he’s played on his adaptive team. yes, it’s a bit more peaceful to watch than football.