Chain-link fences and netless rims. Broken glass on painted asphalt. These are the symbols of urban athletics. If you believe
the hype, there is only one sport played on inner-city playgrounds and that sport is basketball. But there are still a few who play a game that moves to a slower rhythm. Sports Illustrated looks at
a diamond in the rough: baseball thriving in an urban setting.
The ball games are as much a part of the city landscape as traffic lights. And while the player's preference—stickball or baseball—may peg him to a generation or neighborhood, the passion
remains the same.
Baseball isn't just Little League games in the suburbs on a Saturday afternoon. Nor is it a game played by ghosts and lovable
bumpkins in the cornfields of Iowa. Despite a profile lower than
a grounder, baseball blooms in the concrete jungle.
