The image is so common among baseball fans as to border cliche. The freshly cut grass, the watered down infield, the crack of the bat, and evenings spent with parents and grandparents. An autographed ball is a treasure, a moment spent with a player a lifelong memory.
Talk to most baseball fans and their love of the game started with some combination of those elements.
And it goes far beyond the fans in the stands. Ask the average MLB’er or front office staffer and they’ll talk about going to the ballpark and being excited to go home and practice harder, try out the things they’ve seen.