BP on TV

As I noted back in June, I've become a fan of MLB Network.  Channel 783 on Time Warner Cable has become one of my go-to stations; I frequently tune-in for live in-game updates, out-of-market telecasts and a plethora of commentary, highlights and scores.  But I've always said that, in order to succeed, MLB Network needs to give baseball fans something that the traditional sports networks can't provide.  While live telecasts of the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft are exclusive to the channel, they're only individual events that, while potentially interesting, won't fill up programming hours on a regular basis.

Now that I've been getting home earlier (one of the perks of quitting your job and heading back to graduate school . . .), I've noticed that each weekday at 5:30 PM MLB Network airs pieces of batting practice from around the Major Leagues.  Using what it calls its "Ballpark Cam," MLB Network goes from stadium to stadium filming players taking batting practice and adding pre-game access to interviews, analysis and lineups.  It's a unique behind-the-scenes look at the pre-game rituals and routines of Major League Baseball players, and it's truly fascinating.

When I was younger and first started going to baseball games, we always used to try and get there when the gates opened so we could watch teams take BP.  While playing in the Majors was, even at a young age, essentially impossible for me to even dream of, taking batting practice and fielding grounders and pop flies is something that every Little Leaguer has done countless times.  There's something awesome about watching the best baseball players in the world go through the same basic routine as a typical high school team.  Sure, the field is about a zillion times nicer, the equipment is better and there's a ton of support staff rather than an English teacher posing as a baseball coach, but the basics are the same.  BP is BP, whether at the highest levels of baseball or the lowest, which makes it one of the few remaining connections between professional baseball and the average ballplayer's childhood.

People love watching batting practice, even in Japan.

Some of my fondest baseball game memories are of watching BP.  I remember the fans in right field of Yankee Stadium trying to snag loose balls from the warning track using homemade contraptions made from coffee cups and string.  I remember watching the Pittsburgh Pirates take BP in Olympic Stadium in Montreal, with so few people watching that, rather than chasing home run balls, people sat calmly and waiting for the balls to be hit to them.  I remember sitting in the outfield of Shea Stadium before a Braves versus Mets game, screaming at the top of my lungs in hopes that Ryan Klesko or Kevin Millwood would turn around and acknowledge me.  The fact that MLB Network can restore these memories thanks to it's Ballpark Cam is awesome.  While I plan to spend the bulk of my summer break outside enjoying the warm weather, I'll be sure to take a break at 5:30 PM each night to tune in for a little BP.