Baseball rarely graces the realm of the BBC, so people tuning in to Radio Four yesterday morning would have been surprised to hear stories of Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox coming out over the airwaves.\u00c2\u00a0 Any thoughts that the bandwidth had been hijacked by an American station would also have been put to rest quickly by the unmistakably English accent of the presenter.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The voice was that of distinguished historian Simon Schama and he was narrating a programme called ‘Baseball and Me’, a two-part series in which Schama discusses his fondness for the game.\u00c2\u00a0 While the second instalment next Saturday will focus on the origins of the sport, the first was dedicated to Schama’s relationship with the Red Sox: the team that made him fall in love with baseball back in 1981.<\/p>\n
UK-based readers can listen again<\/a> to the documentary for the next six days via the BBC iPlayer and doing so is an enjoyable way to spend half an hour.\u00c2\u00a0 We join Schama on a pilgrimage to Fenway Park, a home from home that he describes as “a perfect oasis of beauty and excitement”.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n It’s a place where the sizzle of the hot dogs sounds like “chamber music”, the grass is “eye-poppingly, iris-burningly green” and the scoreboard operator scrambles in the inner sanctum of the Green Monster, like the bell-ringer in a church.\u00c2\u00a0 Schama describes baseball as a world containing “layers of memories and traditions” and perhaps no place on earth captures this better than Fenway.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n While I don’t imagine thousands of Radio Four listeners will be rushing out to buy a baseball glove, such positive coverage can only be a good thing for the sport.\u00c2\u00a0 Hearing Schama describe baseball as “the most beautiful, difficult, complicated but heart-stoppingly thrilling game in the world” can’t fail to make at least a few people want to find out more.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n From tiny acorns …<\/p>\n British baseball fans: we know you’re out there<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n The revelation that Schama is a baseball fan is not surprising considering he has lived in the States for so long, but it does provide another bit of proof that Brits are not hardwired to dislike the sport.\u00c2\u00a0 All you need is an open mind, although sadly that basic requirement is absent from many when it comes to baseball.<\/p>\n Still, the more you look, the more baseball-loving Brits you will find.\u00c2\u00a0 Viewers of MLB on Five will know about the likes of Phil Jupitus<\/a> and Colin Murray<\/a> and various footballers\/cricketers who have been mentioned on the show, although I believe the rumours (started by Johnny Gould) that Prince Harry is a fan turned out to be false.<\/p>\n One place where you can find a few more Brits is on the MLB.com MLBlogs network.\u00c2\u00a0 A quick search has uncovered\u00c2\u00a0 Rays from across the Pond<\/a>, the Yankees Scottish Princess<\/a>, Let’s Go Red Sox<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0and The View from the UK<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 If you find any more, please pass on the links.<\/p>\n