A baseball season is composed of many things. It has elements of an overland adventure, a movie or play, a Greek tragedy, particularly when the Minnesota Twins play the Yankees.
After an offseason of baseball politics with buying and selling, trading or not trading, the adventure begins. Set in semi-tropical Florida, all parties come together during the dead of our Minnesota winter to begin determining their team.
Much like the Lewis and Clark expedition, all the needed parts are brought in. The diverse elements are fused into one. Different personalities, characters and even nationalities. Americans, Canadians, Japanese, Dominican Republicans, Venezuelans and Australians become the Minnesota Twins. It’s truly an international effort. And like the Lewis and Clark’s Sacajawea, the baseball Twins need an interpreter to help the journey go well.
The Western expedition set out to find future treasure and glory. So too, do the Minnesota Twins, beginning their long seasonal journey in the cool rain of April, then through the hot days of summer, ending in the cool briskness of October. Playing in the south, east, north and west.
There will be injuries, both physical and emotional, to overcome. The baseball journey does not depend on one or even two individuals alone. As with all adventures when one player is injured, another must provide the skill lost. If it is a leader, a replacement must step forward.
In some adventures, the success or failure is decided in a day or two. Not so in a baseball season, for there are many days, weeks and months that must be traveled. What is good and works well one week may not work well the next week.
Much like a Broadway play, there must be a producer who provides the funding, the players and the setting for the upcoming production. With the Minnesota Twins that effort opens out of town in Fort Myers, Florida. As with all productions, there may be difficulties and the company must be revamped. Perhaps a current player is not adequate and the understudy must take his place or, in an especially difficult case, another actor is brought in or the play is rewritten. If that is necessary, can the producer provide the necessary changes?
Director Ron Gardenhire and his assistants work daily striving to bring the act together. If the producer, director and players jell, the team there will be a long run. If not, it is always the option of the producer and director to dismiss some of the current players, and if the team still shows no promise, the director may even be fired.
For all the seen and unforseen problems, their summer journey is not nearly as difficult as Marco Polo’s long ago journey. For example there are no signs on the schedule saying: "There be dragons here!" Although a group called the Yankees is scary.
Still, there are similarities to ancient times. The Greek plays had a device called Deus Ex Machina where a fellow suspended on a crane explained what was happening during an especially complicated portion of the play to the audience. Today, sportswriters and other media types get to try and fill that role.
There is only one final winner out of all the Major League teams and there are many more losers than winners. There are times a team is beset by injuries or other problems when near their goal, and all their work goes for nothing and their team fails. Perhaps not a Greek tragedy, but still it hurts both for the players and the fans. Nevertheless, the rewards are great if the team succeeds, and the Twins certainly have an appropriate stage in Target Field.
