We at Pregor University understand that America's culture is as important to the nation's health

as American politics, and that sport is an important cultural ingredient.

So, consider the many reasons why baseball deserves to be the national pastime, the game

especially suited to our democracy.

First, democracy celebrates ordinary people.

Of course, baseball players have extraordinary talents, but most players resemble ordinary

people.

As a wise baseball man once said, to play baseball you do not need to be 7 feet tall or 7

feet wide.

And baseball, like America, has a strong independent judiciary, the umpires.

In fact, baseball is in one regard better than the rest of America.

And baseball, three strikes in your out.

The most expensive Washington lawyers in lobbyists can't help you.

And remember, racial integration came to baseball in 1947, a year before integration came

to the armed services, and eight years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of

the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

Today baseball is a career open to talented people from around the world.

About 20% of major leaders are from outside North America.

This is because in baseball the only race that matters is the race to the base.

Baseball is a game of episodes, pitched by pitch out by out, inning by inning game by

game.

Hence baseball generates an enormous, constantly enriched sediment of numbers.

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