Take Me Out to the Ballgame. . .

It truly is amazing to witness the significance on a small town of a simple concept - Baseball. In Sturgis, Michigan baseball isn't just a game; it a way of life, a mantra of sorts. People of all ages on one day of the year converge on Spence Field to eat drink and breathe baseball. To them, nothing else in the world could possibly matter, let alone exist.

Baseball. The word rolls off your tongue, conjuring images in black and white of legendary figures wielding two, three bats at a time. You can almost see the patriotic bunting fluttering in the breeze as the smell of hot dogs overcomes your nostrils and those famous lyrics creep into your thoughts. Baseball, America's past time. Never in my life have I seen such a love for the game as I did in Sturgis one hot summer day in July.

Months of preparations lead up to All Day Baseball. The event boasts six complete games and two home run derbies taking place on two fields with ages spanning from t-ball to grandfathers. Spence Fields are hallowed ground in Sturgis, steeped with tradition and hopes for glory.

Game Three: The Generation Classic is where the anticipation finally ends and the excitement begins, pitting the Old Timers against the athletic and determined Young Guns. Here, it is father against son with nothing to loose but a little dignity. Following, is the by invite only Home Run Derby where the power house sluggers battle it out for an induction into the prestigious All Day Baseball Hall of Fame.

It wasn't until the sun had set and those famed lights over Spence Field had turned on that the the real action everyone in Sturgis has been waiting for began. This time it was brother against brother in an epic battle for the trophy and title of champion. It was Game six: the Night Cap and the crowd that had gathered oozed intensity, forcing the already heavy air to thicken with anticipation, an anticipation that was felt in both dugouts. Who would be crowned champion? Would it be the four year defending champions, the Bad Guys? Or would it be the underdogs, the Good Guys? After coming from behind to win the game by one run, a dynasty was born when the Bad Guys hoisted the All Day baseball trophy for the 5th consecutive year.

I consider myself lucky to have witnessed such a spectacle, something that Sturgis will talk about on their front porches when they are too old to play, the stuff legends are made of; when children will tell tall tales of Jesse Fraim and Joey and Tyler Wood, and someone will say, "Hey I knew them. Remember that day. . ."