Some would argue that football has replaced baseball as America’s pastime.
Sundays in the fall take on the feel of a holiday, as devout football fans have the option to watch three – or sometimes even four – full games in a row. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl is easily the most-watched television program of the year.
Don’t get me wrong. I like football and love the New York Giants, but I’m not exactly ready to turn away from America’s true pastime of baseball.
Luckily, two authors share my passion for baseball and compiled a two-year-long journey to tell the stories of how baseball can unite our country.
In “America at the Seams,” Nathan Rueckert and Ethan Bryan share 50 stories, one for each of the 50 states. Rueckert, a native of Sioux Falls, S.D., is a baseball artist who turns old, worn-out baseballs into works of art.
For this project, he used baseballs from the story subjects themselves to craft each state. He then stitched together all 50 states into a five-foot-wide map of the U.S. In total, he used more than 350 baseballs to complete the map.
Rueckert first fell in love with the game of baseball at age 4 while playing catch in the backyard with his dad. His dad was instrumental in helping him craft the map, showing how his baseball journey has come full circle.
That journey officially took off in the fall of 2001, right after the terrorist attacks on our country on 9/11. Here in New York City, we saw firsthand how baseball can heal a country during its darkest hour.
New York Mets fans like myself will never forget the home run Mike Piazza hit against the Atlanta Braves in the first game back in the city after the attacks. The “Healing Power of a Swing” was exactly what the Big Apple needed to show how it would remain strong despite the loss and suffering all around us.
Before Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, President George W. Bush threw a perfect strike during his ceremonial first pitch. Throwing that pitch right down the middle was a sign that our nation’s leader would not cower to the ugly face of terrorism and instead rose up to the challenge.
With baseball at the forefront of the country’s healing process, Rueckert founded the Baseball Seams Company, in which he began making American flag artwork from the tattered seams and leather of old, weather-worn baseballs.
For 18 years, he has given new life to the game by repurposing over 8,000 used baseballs into hand-crafted pieces of artwork. With the help of Bryan, who spent countless hours interviewing the story subjects, Rueckert’s “America at the Seams” was published in 2017.
“Through this project and this great game, I wanted to combine the story of America’s pastime and those who love it today, symbolically bringing people together again,” he writes. “Regardless which team you cheer, baseball is something we can rally around. I have been humbled, amazed and encouraged at the stories I’ve heard through this project.”
Each of the 50 stories is unique, yet they all share a common element in that baseball can be a source of hope for those dealing with adversity. Take the example of Dave Clark, the New York story.
Clark was born in the upstate town of Corning, N.Y., in 1952. At just 10 months old, he was diagnosed with polio. Doctors first said he would not live, but they then amended their prognosis saying he would instead never walk.
Though he wore leg braces, Clark would not let his polio stop him from playing the game he loved. He played baseball every day on the sandlot as a kid from March through November. Despite his limitations, his passion for the game could not be tamed.
In 1971, Clark signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He became the only professional baseball player ever to pitch while on crutches. He notched 20 saves for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1975 to earn the “Fireman of the Year” award as the league’s top relief pitcher.
Clark’s career spanned 10 years, and he never once let his physical ailments hold him back from achieving his dream. His story and those of the other 49 subjects show how baseball has helped some people through life’s most challenging moments.
These stories represent the best of baseball across the country, proving that the sport is still going strong as America’s pastime.
“I see thousands of memories stitched together on the artwork,” Rueckert writes. “I see the story of America. Our story.
“Most importantly, I see God’s story through this project. God takes our brokenness, our failures, our adversities and enables us to persevere. Life sometimes leaves us waterlogged, but God breathes hope and shapes new life, redeeming what we thought was old and tattered. Through Jesus, God’s love creates amazing stories in each of us.
“Baseball is more than a game. Baseball is one way that the greatest stories of all time are told, where we are all longing for home.”
Even as football’s popularity continues to increase, there’s just something about baseball that brings out the kid in all of us. It’s a way of life, as portrayed beautifully by Rueckert and Bryan in “America at the Seams.”
To learn more about the book and the journey, visit AmericaAtTheSeams.com.
Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmmanc@gmail.com.