Aug. 11--Baseball fans used to just happen naturally.
Kids would play catch on the lawn, then join Little League, then go to games with Uncle Ernie, and gradually they'd become fans. It was a self-renewing process.
But times have changed. There's so much more to grab a kid's attention, and time, that there has been some concern about how to bring youngsters back to baseball. Uncle Ernie would spit out his cigar to learn that, according to the media research firm Nielsen, the average age of a World Series viewer today is 54.
There may be help on the horizon.
Author and illustrator Kevin O'Malley and sportswriter Charlie Vascellaro have teamed up to write "At the Ballpark: A Fan's Companion," which is designed to turn young kids into young baseball fans.
It's a wonderful book, in a spiral notebook format but the size of a journal, that teaches the game -- its history, its rules, its lexicon -- and also draws kids in through interactive exercises.
For example, the book has checklists for the reader to mark. How did you get to the game? How was the weather? What foods did you see at the ballpark? Kids are asked to note their seat location, the color of the teams' uniforms, the dimensions of the ballpark. So it's not just a book of lessons, it's a diary of a trip to a ballgame.
There are sections on the ballpark, player positions and an inning-by-inning explanation of what's going on and what to look for on the field and around the ballpark. It gives a baseball game real depth.
"We wanted the book to appeal to young readers by being substantive, entertaining and able to be enjoyed both at a Major League ballpark when the game is going on, or at any ballgame anywhere even at home on TV," says Vascellaro, who with O'Malley spent two years on the project. "Kevin and I agreed that Mom or Dad had to find value in it too. We think we found the sweet spot by not including too much 'inside baseball' and including more of what makes the game such a joy on the field and all around the ballpark."
"At the Ballpark" is priced at $10 and can be purchased at afanscompanion.bigcartel.com.
