The fact that baseball is a game is often used to diminish it. "A game" is almost always preceded by "just," and the phrase is meant to prove that baseball shouldn't be taken seriously, or to claim that it can't be held responsible for any significant influence, or to distract from everything else that it can be. Adrián Beltré did something different with this fact. His career was a celebration of baseball because it's a game, not despite it. In watching him, it was impossible to forget that it's all just a game—and he made that not just a good thing, but a beautiful one.
The Game of Baseball Won't Be Nearly as Much Fun Without Adrian Beltré
