Society

            
             Ideals and institutions may crumble, but baseball will remain. Throughout modern time, baseball has been present in America's history. Another constant in life is that people will always watch baseball. They will pack the stadiums by the thousands to boo, hiss, cheer and scream at the players. People take pride in their home team. They have visions of grandeur that their team will make and win the "big dance", the World Series. .
             It is a game that ties perfect strangers together. Two strangers talking on the Number 6 subway train in New York will seem like life long friends when talking about their Yankees. We place the players on a different level. They are regarded in a much higher standard than the rest of society. Major League Baseball players are the best in the world at what they do. Some ballplayers are better than others are; therefore they are viewed better than the rest. But because they are the best, their actions are also scrutinized more so than the rest of society. .
             Athletes grace the sports pages and evening news with their accomplishments in the game and sometimes their charity off field. But athletes are plastered across the front page and evening headlines when they commit crimes. Their private life is closely watched, waiting for them to commit a detrimental act to make us look down upon them. In the past, baseball players, because of their status were granted impunity. Their infractions were overlooked or cast aside. The more popular the player they were, the more they were revered. In the early 1900's, players that made racial comments or committed racial acts of violence were looked up to as people who you could trust. But despite the notorious beginning, as the country became more socially, ethically, and racially aware, the detrimental actions of players were taken more seriously and players were held accountable for their actions. Society in whole has matured.