With spring in full swing, its time to dig your baseball mitt out of your closet. Americas pastime is back!
If you're lucky enough to live near a big city, you can catch a Major League Baseball game almost any day (or night) starting in April. There's nothing like sitting in the stands at a big league game with a box of Cracker Jack in one hand and your baseball glove in the other you never know when youll catch a foul ball! And dont forget to stand up and sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch. It's an American tradition, just like eating apple pie or watching fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Even if you don't live near a major league team, chances are you can still find a baseball game near you. There are many minor league teams all across the country where you can see up-and-coming future stars in person. Even the best players in the world had to start somewhere. For example, Atlanta Braves star third baseman Chipper Jones played for minor league teams in Richmond, Virginia, and Durham, North Carolina, before being called up to the majors. And Babe Ruth himself, the Great Bambino, hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville, N.C., while playing minor league ball.
Since minor league ballparks are smaller than major league parks, you get even closer to the action. At some parks you can even get on the field between innings to run the bases or play games for prizes!
Baseball food: hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, cotton candy, Cracker Jack, ice cream.
What to wear: Your favorite teams ball cap, your mitt, and sunscreen if its a day game.
Best ballparks: Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Yankee Stadium in New York, Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Baseball movies to watch: Field of Dreams, Rookie of the Year, The Sandlot, Angels in the Outfield.
Aaron Fitt, originally from Westminster, Massachusetts, is a professional sports writer for Baseball America and lives in Chapel Hill, NC. In his spare time, he likes to travel around to national parks and go to music concerts.
