Welcome Guest Blogger Coral Rae Marshall

HOME / Welcome Guest Blogger Coral Rae Marshall

October 19th, 2011

Today, here at Bob On Baseball, we welcome another guest blogger to our ranks. Coral Marshall is a graduate student in Sport Management at California State University – Long Beach. She did her undergrad work at the University of California – San Diego, where she studied Communications and Russian & Soviet Studies. He passions include all things baseball, communication theory, Russian literature, studying new media, and reading by the pool (her words!)

Coral is a wonderful example of exactly the type of person The Perfect Game Foundation looks to assist, as she aims to find her place and make her mark on the business side of our great national pastime. Her succinct interpretation of how legends and heroes are born is first-rate, and a fine read.

Enjoy!

Bob Wilber

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Legends and Heroes

This year, Major League Baseball’s advertising executives have latched onto the post-season phrase “Legends Are Born In October,” but it seems that the word legend undermines the greatest parts of baseball itself.

Merriam-Webster defines legend as “a story coming down from the past; especially: one popularly regarded as historical though not verifiable.” What is great about baseball is its authenticity. Its truthfulness. Its veracity. Baseball is great because (at least in the modern era) there are no baseball myths, only baseball facts.

Yes, there are baseball legends. The legend of Babe Ruth’s alleged 715th home run (was he in or out of the batter’s box?). The legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson (what exactly was his involvement in the Black Sox Scandal?) But, like many, those legends are nearly a century old, and not all of them were born in October. They are not verifiable only because there was not the technology present at the time to verify them, and because baseball statistics were not nearly as revered in that time period.

Baseball in the modern era is a completely different ballgame (pun intended). Statisticians, fans, bloggers, writers, television crews, and so many more are continually critiquing every move made by every player on (and off) the field. Baseball is constantly and continually checked and verified in October, 2011, leaving fans not with legends or things of myth, but instead with something more powerful: Heroes and their epic narratives forever documented not only in memory, but on film and in statistics. Yes, October baseball does not birth legends. October baseball births heroics.

But, even the idea that these players and their tales are born in October seems to negate the value of the other 162 games that each team played to fight their way to the final eight spots of 2011.

The legend, myth, heroics, or whatever one might call it, of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals did not begin in October. The heroics of this team began at their first spring training game. The heroics of this team continued as they clawed their way past the Atlanta Braves and into the National League Wild Card spot. The heroics of this team became evident when they beat the heavily-favored Philadelphia Phillies and their “dream team” of pitchers. Chris Carpenter and the rest of the Cardinals became inspirations when they showed they possessed the resolve to beat the best pitching staff money could buy. The heroics of this team were cemented when they destroyed the Brew Crew and became the 2011 National League champions.

Albert Pujols is not merely a legend. Albert Pujols is an inspiration to those who have been told they will never make it (he somehow slipped to the 13th round of the draft in the year he was selected) but yet manage to rise above those expectations, and to those who yearn to lead their team to victory. Calling these feats “legend” discounts the veracity and the very nature of their heroics.

Some may read this and argue that calling baseball players heroes may be inaccurate as well. According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities.” It seems that the Cardinals, in surpassing the Braves an defeating the Phillies and Brewers, have embodied the American Dream; the dream that no matter what one is given (in this case a significantly smaller payroll, according to Forbes.com, witha less-highly touted starting rotation), one can pull one’s self up and achieve their goals. The dream that through teamwork and dedication one can overcome the odds. The dream that nothing is impossible.

Justin Verlander displayed similar heroics this season for the Detroit Tigers. Verlander won a league-high 24 games this season. More impressively, he led the league in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Yes, Justin Verlander brought the American League’s pitching version of the Triple Crown, and playoff baseball, to Detroit but Verlander’s story did not begin in October. Verlander’s story began on March 31, in New York as the Tigers started the season 0-1. Verlander proved that he could bounce back from defeat, 24 times, and become a lock for his first Cy Young Award. Verlander showed young kids everywhere to “try, try again”. Verlander’s willingness to start on short rest in the playoffs is not legendary it is heroic in his commitment to his teammates, to winning, to excellence, to hard work, and to the fans of the Detroit Tigers.

Legends are not born in baseball, and they are not born in October. At least in 2011.

In 2011, heroes are proven in baseball.

– Coral Marshall

2 replies on “Welcome Guest Blogger Coral Rae Marshall”

I had dinner once with a former Cardinals catcher (don’t have permission to use his name) who said Pujols was by far the hardest working player he’d seen at any level.

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