Stolen Bases Only in Baseball

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Photo Credit: online pic.

Thief! Thief! Call me anything else but not that word. It is understood that I will bring back your umbrella.  I don’t borrow it with the intention of not returning it. That is what stealing is, in a nutshell. The intention.

Not in America, and baseball in particular. They have something called ‘stealing bases.’ We couldn’t believe it when we first arrived in New York for college. Foreigners found it strange that ‘stealing’ was encouraged in sports. Isn’t burglary a crime? Mama never approved of stealing. That’s why she gave us a whup-your-behind when neighbors came to report that we stole peaches and guavas in their yards.

I don’t know how stealing bases started in baseball but I ended up enjoying the artistry (I’m sorry mama). I didn’t regard it as theft anymore. Speed is important obviously but other factors come into play. The potential ‘thief’ assesses the situation, like the government deciding how much to punish us for smoking. It’s called the ‘sin’ tax.

I digress. Where was I? Yes, the thief looks at the bases, the pitcher on the mound, his catcher and men on the field. Can he make it to the base he wants to steal, on time? Then he dashes off. The umpire does a scissor-like motion with his arms to show that the thief is ‘safe.' Is he called the umpire? Never mind. The thief is safe. He is good in math because there is a lot of mental calculation and supposition involved.

However, baseball brilliance or not, stealing is wrong, unless you are a millionaire with an army of tax consultants, to make it legit to the government. Ask Donald Trump. He tried to re-engineer the English language. He tried to steal Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, then turned around and said Biden stole his election.

I guess, there are no stolen bases in politics.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

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