The Noon First Pitch

These noon starts have always intrigued me. They are almost always in April, May or September, rarely in the "summer" months. What's the point of them? They're referred to as Businessman's Specials for reasons I can't really figure out, since businessmen tend to work at noon. It can't be an attendance stimulant.

In any event, several years ago I came up with a wonderful idea. I came up with it during the time that the Indians were selling out every game, so that it wasn't pertinent to the Indians at that time. However, as things have changed, it is now very much pertinent. To be fair, this might already be going on and I just don't know about it, but I have a hunch I'd have heard something about it if so.

In high school we had a Physics Day at Cedar Point. Our Physics class hopped on a bus, we were given several problems related to the physics of various rides (how fast must the raptor go in order to successfully loop, what is the force on the corkscrew, etc), then we were free to spend the rest of the day being high school kids at Cedar Point. It was usually in May when the park was closed except for the youth of the nation.

I took this idea and adjusted it to these noon starts. They're not very popular to attend - today's game got all of 15 thousand and change. So why not get with local schools and turn the baseball field into a classroom? This could be done at right about the age that students are able to do some work on their own, but still at a young enough age that they'd be impressionable. Fifth or sixth grade tends to stick out to me.

Here's the plan: Students board bus in the morning to arrive at the park by 9:30 or so. They spend an hour or so doing some various problems, math relating to the field, maybe something about baseball's role in American History - the World Wars, Jackie Robinson, that sort of thing. At 10:30, take a half hour to meet with a ball player for a little Q&A session. A starting pitcher who is not going that day would be an excellent choice (Paul Byrd, CC Sabathia etc). Then a final half hour for some science stuff about the field. By this time it's 11:30, feed the kids lunch for a half hour out at the pavilion and watch the game.

The benefits to this are tremendous to all parties. The children get to do something fun and exciting for a change of pace. The teachers get a similar welcome break. I'm sure enough parents can be rounded up to help shepherd the children through the process. The team can use this sort of thing to demonstrate how they're helping the community. And, more practically, if/when the kids have a good time, they'll want to go back. A single positive experience on an impressionable youngster would go a long way towards creating an Indians fan for life.