Baseball has always struck me as the quintessential American sport. It combines teamwork with individualism like few other games, which to me reflects the unique blending of cultures in our country.

A lot of people think America is made up of individualist cowboys, which is indeed part of our national mythology. But it’s not that simple in reality. American culture has always had a communal flavor that flourishes just below the surface of our individualism. Think of all the churches, Rotary clubs, unions, trade associations, even Instagram meetup groups that create the backbone of our social interaction.

The mix of individualist and communal styles blurs the line in America. And baseball, with it’s team effort on defense and individual effort at the plate, epitomizes this dichotomy.

In his book The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America’s Game, author Edward Achorn writes about the early days of baseball in the late 1800’s, “Something about baseball captured the national spirit, its striving, impatient, rebellious nature superimposed over a love of pastoral beauty, justice, and order. Moreover, baseball seemed to epitomize the American interplay between communal effort and something more essential: brilliant individual achievement.”

Exactly. And that’s why I love baseball.

Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring training, in case you hadn’t heard. And now’s the time to get back into the baseball spirit. Achorn has written a book that anybody who loves the history of baseball will appreciate. It’s a great way to start the season and reflect on what a fun game baseball really is.