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Got out to the ballpark for the first time this season on Sunday. And what a perfect day for baseball it was: A 29-degree windchill just about killed us -- though my wife, hearty soul that she is, wouldn't let me pay $70 for a $25 hoodie to keep her warmer -- but we got to see Brian Bannister pitch a gem against the Twins.

I'm fond of baseball. It doesn't excite the passions for me the same way that KU did by beating North Carolina in the Final Four -- take that, Roy! But in a way, that's the point.

Let's face it: Baseball would not be a huge and popular sport-slash-business like it is today if it was invented today. It's slow. There's often not much scoring. And there are too many Texans. (Just kidding, folks.) It takes patience and concentration.

But it is popular, because it's been handed down as a tradition. One of my fondest memories is sitting lakeside, at my grandparents wedding anniversary reunion in 1991, listening on the radio to Game 7 of the worst-to-first World Series between the Twins and the Atlanta Braves. I can't think of a better way to enjoy such a game -- aside from being there, of course -- and there's no other sport that would match that setting nearly as well.

Plus, as Yogi Berra said, it ain't over till it's over. In other games -- football, basketball -- the game is often over well before the clock ticks down. If your basketball team is down by 10 points with 15 seconds left to go, it's almost certainly over. (Yes, there are exceptions, but they're the ones that prove the rule.) In baseball, though, you still have a chance to come back until the final out -- there's no time restrictions, only the game itself that must be kept at bay. It's democratic, in a way

Also: Bill James is from Lawrence and I'm from Lawrence. I assume that means I can take some residual credit for the Boston Red Sox World Series wins, so I will.