It may still be snowing in parts of the United States, including occasionally here in Montana where we have just moved, but the surest sign of spring is that baseball season has begun!
In our family we are die-hard Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fans, so we are thrilled that we can now enjoy our team’s games via satellite even if we are 1,800 miles away from the stadium.
Watching baseball games is a fun bonding experience for us as a family, and when we lived near our team, attending games was one of our favorite family outings.
There is a reason that baseball is America’s favorite pastime. Although football, with the glitz and glamour of the Super Bowl, gets a lot of media attention, there are only 16 games in a regular football season compared with baseball’s 162. This translates into more opportunities to see your team as well as more reasonably priced tickets. Often teams run ticket specials, as well as promotional item giveaways, to help fill up their large stadiums. In fact, my daughter Maddie’s favorite blanket – an Angels “snuggie” – was a promotional item from Anaheim Stadium.
If you don’t mind sitting in the outfield, (sometimes the best seats in my opinion), or up in the top tiers, you can often see a professional baseball game for less than you would pay to see a movie in the theaters. You can find a listing of all professional teams at Major League Baseball.
If there isn’t a major league team near you, or even if there is but you want to enjoy a smaller, more local baseball experience, there are plenty of minor league teams throughout the United States. Attending minor league games is always a fun experience, and teams and players are always appreciative of community support. There are often great outreach programs such as Kid’s Clubs that you can take advantage of. You can find a geographical listing of minor league teams here. In Helena, we have the Helena Brewers, the Advanced Rookie Affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers and we are looking forward to attending games and community events this summer.
Kraft Singles has partnered with Minor League Baseball for Singles Tuesday Night Tickets; if you bring your Kraft Singles Package Wrapper to a ballpark ticket office you can buy one ticket and get one free for Tuesday games.  The promotion runs April 12 – September 6, 2011, and while some restrictions apply, it is a great way to save even more while taking your family out to a ball game. Minor League Baseball has the information on the promotion on their site.
If you want to get your kids excited to head out to the ballpark, or even just out to your local park with their own glove and ball, here are some of the best kid-friendly baseball movies to get your family fired up for baseball season:
Field of Dreams is a film classic. It is gorgeous and moving. It’s about fatherhood and America, and America’s pastime. Who doesn’t tear up when they flip the lights on for the first time? Or get a shiver up your spine when you hear “If you build it, he will come?” Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe Jackson is perfection. When Ray Kinsella gets to play catch with his Dad? Well, by then I am usually a puddle of goo and sobbing quietly into my popcorn. I also have to give a shout out to the book this movie is based on, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella,
which is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read.
The Rookie is a fun, sweet, family-oriented movie about high school coach Jimmy Morris, who makes it into the majors after promising to try out if his high school baseball team made the playoffs. There is something about Dennis Quaid’s understated performance that just sells this whole movie.  It is also about believing in a dream, and the sacrifices a whole family makes to see that dream achieved.  This is a great father – son film as well; Morris’ biggest supporter is his young son, and the relationship between them is touching and inspiring.
The Sandlot is, in my opinion, quite possibly the best baseball movie ever. There a million reasons why I love this movie. Firstly, it is about a pure, unadulterated love of the game. These kids don’t play for big salaries or fame; they play because they love baseball. Secondly, it’s set in Los Angeles, my “hometown,” and it’s such a gorgeous representation of suburban L.A. in the 60s. Thirdly, it stars two amazing actors, James Earl Jones and Dennis Leary, but the kids – and baseball – are the true stars of this film.
“You’re killin’ me Smalls!” will immediately become your favorite saying after watching this movie, I guarantee it.
Whether you attend a major or minor league game, are involved with Little League or local city baseball, play catch with your kids outside, or watch some fun family baseball movies together, I hope that you and your family will take some time to enjoy America’s pastime this spring and summer.
Jessica is a mom of two rambunctious toddlers. She blogs at Narnia Mum about sewing, crafting, writing, and life in general.
