Everyone talks about the thrill of going to a live major league baseball game. There's just nothing like being at the park to see your favorite team take the field and hopefully win a ball game for you. But is that really true? Is seeing a live game all that it's cracked up to be? We're not going to try to determine whether live or TV is better but we are going to present the pros and cons of both. You can make your own decisions on which is better.

Certainly, there is a thrill to being at a major league baseball park. Many of the newer parks are quite beautiful and a sight to see. If it's a nice warm sunny day, you can't compare sitting in your living room to being at the ball park. In between innings you don't have to put up with those annoying commercials. You can watch the players throw the ball around in the infield and outfield or even just bask in the glow of the warm summer air.

But what about actually being able to follow the game itself? Well, unless you have seats that are pretty close to the field, you really can't see everything that is going on. Certainly if you're sitting behind the first base line about 50 rows up, you're not going to be able to tell the difference between a borderline strike and a pitch thrown closer to the border of the next state over. You will miss a lot. There is no question about it.

Then of course there is the expense of the game itself. They don't let you in for free and tickets these days are very expensive. A baseball game for a family of four can easily run you several hundred dollars between ticket prices, parking, refreshments, souvenirs and all the other little incidentals. Better make sure you bring plenty of cash with you. The vendors don't take credit cards.

That brings us to TV. Let's face it. If you want to be in on every single pitch and even see those borderline strikes or great strikeouts more than once, TV is the place to be. The camera work is a lot better than it used to be 40 years ago when basically all you got was the view behind home plate. Now they have cameras all over the place. You can get a better view of a pitch than the players on the field, which is why many times the manager will come out to argue a call when we can plainly see the right call was made.

Then of course there is the expense factor. There is none. Of course unless you want to count your TV. But more likely than not, you didn't buy it just to watch one baseball game. So the cost is basically whatever snacks you bought at the local shopping center specifically for watching the game. And if there's any left over you can always use it for the next game or another occasion.

And if by some chance it starts raining at the game you don't have to get all upset that you drove 3 hours to the ball park only to have to come back home. All you have to do at home is switch the channel to something else.

Of course, there's not as much thrill watching the game at home unless the game itself is very exciting. Not all of them are. That's when the ballpark is hands down the better experience. Even dull games are more exciting because you are in a sense part of the action.

So, live or TV? Everyone is going to have their own opinion.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Baseball