Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game – and do it by watching first some high school or small-town teams. – Jacques Barzun, historian and educator
It’s no secret that the Golden Triangle is a baseball hotbed. From Starkville to West Point, Caledonia to New Hope, thousands of boys, girls, young men and women devote their springs, summers, and increasingly falls, to America’s pastime. In many ways, baseball is a microcosm of life, where the challenges, opportunities, triumphs and tragedies we all experience play out on well-manicured lawns across the region.
In an effort to understand how and why baseball (and softball) are such key components of youth culture in the area, The Dispatch will bring you a series of stories over the coming weeks that we’re calling, “Little Big League,” where we’ll focus on those who play, coach and love the game.
We’ll first introduce you to a man who loves coaching so much that he started his own youth baseball organization and made it his full-time job.
We’ll trace the history and influence of baseball in the region, from the birth of T-ball to the “Carnegie Hall of College Baseball” at Mississippi State, with a particular focus on the pipeline of local talent that continues to feed MSU and other college baseball programs.
We’ll examine the rise of “travel ball” culture in the area, introducing you to those who participate and facilitate our region’s obsession with the youth game. Who benefits from this pay-to-play system? And, more importantly, who suffers?.
We see baseball and softball are two sides of the same coin, and The Dispatch will also bring you stories from one of America’s most exciting – and fastest-growing – sports. Softball brings all the joy, heartbreak, passion and precision of baseball on a slightly smaller diamond, and we’ll examine how the sport’s growth on a national scale is playing out here at home.
Most importantly, we’re going to introduce you to the local folks who make it all happen – the administrators, umpires, mentors and baseball moms who make the whole enterprise work.
As always, we want your help. Dust off your old photos and refresh your old and new memories of baseball and softball and email them to [email protected] so we can share your stories with other Dispatch readers.
One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something. – Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
