In his book "A Game Of Inches", author Peter Morris makes reference to an 1850's journalist named Henry Chadwick who may have defined the principles in which the modern game of baseball is played and viewed. Chadwick is credited with the creator of baseballs traditional outlines. Chadwick covered baseball for over fifty years and he had this to say about our nation's pastitme. "A particular strategy, club, player, or result was not that much importance in and of itself. The most important themes included: baseball is a healthful game, baseball is a test of manliness: fairplay is more important than winning; umpires should be treated with courtesy and respect; baseball was a scientific game, in that success is based upon practice and discipline. Low scoring games are better than high scoring games; teamwork wins baseball games; games are won by steady contributors rather than flasy ones; individual statistics should be analyzed because they reveal who the steady contributors are; batters should aim for open spaces rather than swinging for the fences; specialization is good up to a point, but only after the basic skills of hiiting and fielding have been mastered." Do these values hold true today or has the modern game evolved into something that cannot be judged with these themes.?
