Kansas City was divided on the stadiums, but we can all come together and play catch | Opinion

In 2018, inspired and encouraged by my daughters, I played catch every day for a year. I wrote a book about that adventure which has inspired others to embark on their own catch-playing journeys across the United States.

From Jason, Adam and John on the West Coast to Don, David and J.D. on the East Coast, playing catch is creating ripples of joy.

I live in Springfield, Missouri. By and large, Springfield is St. Louis Cardinals country. I am one of the few Kansas City Royals fans in Greene County. I think I’ve played catch with the other seven or eight who aren’t related to me by blood. Even in Springfield, even in Cardinals country, people have been talking about “the stadium issue” in Kansas City.

The question is quite divisive. There are strong, vocal opinions on both sides which, on a small scale, is similar to what this country will feel like from coast to coast come November. Elections tend to bring out the worst in humanity.

Instead of slinging mud, I propose baseballs.

In May of 1979, I attended my first Major League Baseball game at the age of 4. The Royals won in the bottom of the 16th inning on a George Brett walk-off home run. Brett also hit for the cycle in that same game. Ever since that game, I have dreamed of playing for the Royals.

I am now older than every player in the MLB. But I still dream of playing for the Royals.

The true calling of a ballplayer is not related to how hard they can throw a ball, how far they can hit a pitch or how fast they can run the bases. The true calling of a ballplayer is not reflected in the numbers on the back of a baseball card or the numbers to the left of the decimal point on their paycheck. The calling of a ballplayer does not change if the team is in first or last place.

The true calling of a ballplayer is to bring people together.

A kid getting an autograph or souvenir from his favorite player, fans wearing the same T-shirt jersey, the conversation among ballplayers on opposing teams that happens on the bases — all ways athletes help bring people together. When Aaron Judge or Mike Trout plays catch with a kid in the stands in between innings. When you read the latest underdog-to-majors story. When players meet fans through various community and charity efforts.

Like Kayden Schmidt, who had the whole Royals team standing on the top step of the dugout to watch him use the Wanna Have A Catch throwing device his dad created so he could throw out the first pitch at a game in 2022.

Like inspirational ballplayers in Miracle Leagues across the country.

Like All-American Girls Professional Baseball League great Maybelle Blair — what else needs to be said?

Because the calling of a ballplayer is to bring people together, I think that’s why I still think of myself as a ballplayer, even though my primary ball-playing activity is just playing catch.

Playing catch brings people together, too.

I have an idea that stems from a combination of my passion for playing catch and my lifetime of Royals fandom: #CatchKC.

The idea is simple: Sign me to be The Official Catch Partner of the Kansas City Royals for just one day. I’ll travel all over the metropolitan area playing catch, collecting smiles and stories and selfies as souvenirs, maybe even giving out Royals swag and free tickets to future games.

The idea is for playing catch to do what playing catch is supposed to do: Spread joy through making personal connections.

In this play-deprived world filled with depression, anxiety, loneliness, and exclusion, where people loudly draw lines declaring, “You are not like me” or worse, “You are less than me,” playing catch is a simple way of celebrating the mysterious wonder of being human.

Playing catch teaches us to pay attention to one another and grounds us in the present moment so we can listen to everyone’s stories.

It’s in those catch-playing conversations where friendships are formed and the space between heaven and earth becomes a little thinner.

Ethan D. Bryan is the author of a dozen books including “A Year of Playing Catch.” His proposal “One Game of Catch” will be presented at the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in May.

This story was originally published April 6, 2024 at 5:08 AM.