Grip on Sports: A lifetime love affair with baseball is getting harder and harder to keep alive

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It happened sometime in the middle of this baseball season. And it didn’t have anything to do with the Mariners. But somewhere in June I realized I wasn’t as big a fan of the game as I once was. Read on.

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• I played baseball, or some variation of the game, seemingly from the moment I was born almost into my 50s.

The game helped get me through college. It helped me communicate with my father – and my sons. It was more than a sport, it was a life companion.

But it’s not as important to me anymore.

I can’t remember the exact game I was watching when I realized that, but I can remember the circumstances.

I do know it was a Mariners game. They were at home. And nine men came to the plate over the course of an inning and a half. All nine struck out. I don’t think any of them even hit a foul ball.

How exciting.

It wasn’t that one game, of course. The nine-strikeout stretch was just a tipping point. Like a long-time marriage gone bad, erosion of my love of the game has been years in the making.

And, like any divorce, during the downhill slide there were still some good times.

There have been individual games, and individual performances, over the past few years that have made me feel young again. Last October I attended a World Series game with my sister. That was a five-diamond moment.

But mostly I’ve noticed an inability to get excited about games.

Oh, I watch or listen. Mainly out of habit or work obligation. But as a fan? Not so much.

The game is hard to watch. Mainly because the game I grew up loving – and playing – celebrated, if not emphasized, brains over brawn, speed over size, precision over power. All of those attributes seem less important.

Baseball has always been the thinking man’s game. It still is, except all the thinking is done off the field. Smart people have transformed the game, using shifts and bullpens and computer printouts, to give their team the best advantage to win.

Nothing wrong with that. That’s evolution. Everything changes. It’s just really bright people have broken the code only some players understood for a 100 years: Being smarter than your opponent was as important in the game as being a better player.

It sort of like the invention of the calculator. Before it came along, someone who could do math in their head was thought of as a freaking prodigy. The ability to use a slide rule was almost god-like. Then all of a sudden everyone could divide 32 into 1,390,336 (it is 43,448 by the way; I used the calculator on my phone) in a few seconds and math-genius status was available to everyone.

In baseball, the little advantages that used to level the playing field have been taken away by front-office folks armed with the game’s endless supply of numbers. Again, nothing wrong with that.

But it has fundamentally changed the game. It has forced teams to standardize their rosters. Hitters need to be able to lift the ball to be successful. Pitchers need to throw a fastball in the high 90s. The more players that do this on a club, the more successful they are.

Those two skills combine to limit the number of balls in play. Guys who look to drive the ball out of the ballpark are going to swing and miss often. Guys who look to throw the ball past hitters are going to make them swing and miss often. A strikeout or a walk is going to happen more. It does happen more.

A game that once featured more diversity than any other is becoming more and more homogeneous. And the resulting game is not as fun to watch.

Yet, there I was last night late into the evening, watching the Cubs try to eliminate the Rockies at Wrigley Field, all the while listening to Alex Rodriguez tell us the game has to be played differently in October. The ball has to be put into play more. It’s important.

And thinking, why isn’t it important in May and July and September too? There wasn’t an answer in my head. Or from the TV. But there I sat, until the Rockies finally earned a 2-1 win in 13 innings.

Old habits, like old baseball fans, die hard.

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WSU: The Cougars have one more game, at Oregon State, before their midseason bye week. Where does Washington State rank among its Pac-12 peers? Theo Lawson has an idea. … The Cougars picked up a commitment from an outside linebacker that sounds as if it will stick. Theo has that story as well. … After practice yesterday, Theo recorded interviews with Mike Leach, Travell Harris, Jalen Thompson and Sean Harper Jr. … Larry Weir’s Press Box pod has five questions for the Cougars and Zags and others. … The winning pass play last week? You won’t see it broken down any better than this. … Here are some thoughts about the Cougars from the Oregonian’s Nick Daschel. … Oregon State running back Jermar Jefferson isn’t a typical freshman.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the bowl picture, and power rankings, begin to come into better focus every week. … Washington has a couple of defensive players who are standouts on and off the field. … Oregon is taking the week off from football but there is some basketball news. And it’s not good. … Colorado has more important things to think about than a ranking. … Utah is in a skid. It needs some spark to change the momentum against Stanford. … It’s a bye week at USC and the rest is needed. … UCLA has a kicker who has made success a routine. … Arizona State had a record rushing performance last week. Can it happen again? … The Arizona defense was pretty good in the second half last week. … Back to basketball. The same trial that has ensnared Oregon also is important to Arizona.

Gonzaga: The women’s basketball team began practice this week with three seniors ready to lead the group to another successful season. Jim Allen has more in this story.

Whitworth: A former Pirate, Kayla Leland, who also attended Gonzaga Prep, and another former Lake City High star, Vanessa Shippy, are among the nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.  

Preps: My guess is yesterday was the last day for a while the high temperature will reach into the 60s in Spokane. So it was a good day for outdoor sports. We have roundups from slowpitch and soccer as well as one from an indoor sport, volleyball.

Seahawks: With Earl Thomas out, the Hawks have reportedly signed a safety, one who used to start for this week’s opponent, the Rams. … Speaking of Thomas, were there any winners in how it played out? He lost some money over a gesture against Dallas. … Mychal Kendricks is suspended. That’s another defensive hole that has to be filled. … The tight end roster is thinner too. … No, it really wasn’t that long. … Third down was awful last week.

Mariners: The M’s won a lot of games. But they didn’t reach their ultimate goal. And what is ahead? … Ken Griffey Jr. lends his voice to a baseball commercial. … Ichiro will be around in the spring.

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• You know how you say “it’s freezing” when it’s cold outside? As I walked in the backyard this morning it seemed to be true. Ugh. And, also, another reminder. No column Friday. I’m traveling. Until later …