Agriculture and America’s game

Looking around the Wilson Tobs stadium while attending a baseball game, I realized the impact of agriculture on America’s pastime.

The player walks up to home plate, setting his feet as he pulls the wooden bat up to his shoulder. Behind him, the catcher holds up a glove made from cowhide. The pitcher readies to throw a pitch with a ball covered by cowhide and filled with layers of wool thread.

The outfield is covered in natural grass. The infield is a combination of sand, silt, and clay — all components of soil. That would have made an interesting discussion in my college soil science class.

I’m sitting in the stands with my cotton t-shirt bearing the logo of the Tobs, which includes a tobacco leaf. When they first formed as a minor league team in 1908, the team’s original name was the Wilson Tobacconists. That wasn’t a word I was familiar with, so I looked up “tobacconists” in the dictionary. As it turns out, the term refers to someone who deals in tobacco. This makes sense in a town with a rich history of tobacco farming.

The team’s mascot, Slugger, is a tobacco worm. As he makes his way around the stadium, kids wave and run to get their picture taken with him, mine included.

There’s no telling how many hot dogs the concession stand sells each game night. My kids have done their part to support the french fry, popcorn, and ice cream sales. 

Glancing around during the game, those are the more obvious ways agriculture is a part of baseball. This time, I noticed the logos of the team’s sponsors: Some of them were farms or other agribusinesses. 

The Tobs are a summer league for college baseball players from across the country. Many live with host families, who provide housing while they are with the team. I’ve known farming families volunteer to be host families. 

While our farming community and other locals support the team, the Tobs also give back. They host food drives and dog nights where pet adoption is promoted. There was a barbecue festival — and you know southerners love their barbecue (make it vinegar-based in eastern North Carolina). My sons have participated in the Tobs “Books & Baseball” reading rewards program. 

In a community with deep roots in agriculture, supporting a baseball team that offers something for the whole family benefits the players on the field, the spectators and those outside Fleming Stadium.