Baseball and Knitting a Hot Double-Play Combo

(April 19) -- Considering the controversy over baseball players injecting steroids with needles, it's ironic if needles are the very things bringing people back to the ballpark.

Especially sewing needles.


But, believe it or not, the old-fashioned sewing circle is being replaced with a baseball diamond, thanks to a partnership between The National Needlearts Association and Major League and Minor League Baseball that is called "Stitch N' Pitch."

Basically, it encourages people to bring their needlepoint, embroidery, knitting and crochet projects to work on during the games and, so far, the event has created a tight-knit community since the first such event was held six years ago by the Seattle Mariners.

Now, almost every major league team has a Stitch 'N Pitch event planned this year, starting with the Kansas City Royals on May 16. In addition, at least 50 minor league teams are also planning events as well.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is also getting into the act on April 24 with Stitch 'N Pitch Day, where folks who come to Cooperstown, N.Y., to see the plaques of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Ted Williams will also be able to learn crocheting.

One of the participants is astrophysicist Meredith Wills-Davey, who is also a big Colorado Rockies fan.

In fact, a sock she knitted at a Rockies games during the 2007 season is part of the Hall of Fame's permanent collection in the "Rockies Locker" section.

"This is beyond my wildest dreams," she said. "Ever since I was born, my dad said he wanted me in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in some strange twist I got there!"



According to Stitch 'N Pitch spokeswoman Libby Butler-Gluck, the idea of mixing sewing with baseball was designed to get more women to the games.

"The needle arts started getting popular around that time because celebrities were doing it," Butler-Gluck said. "The industry has grown cooler in recent years. You can now knit with sequins, glitter or cashmere.

"Baseball and knitting actually go well together. It's fun to sit for three hours and knit and talk with your friends and look at the game."

The events attract all types: crocheters, cross-stitchers and embroiderers, and Butler-Gluck says the different groups are able to work together in peaceful co-existence and don't get rowdy like, say, Yankees fans when they meet members of the Red Sox Nation.

"It's very social. There's not a granny in a rocking chair by herself," Butler-Gluck said. "I'd like to say that we're watching the game, but we are talking about what we're doing. It's creative and non-competitive."

It's also nonviolent, despite the presence of what are sometimes long needles being carried by thousands of needlepoint buffs.

"Knitters aren't walking into the games with long, sharp, steel needles," Butler-Gluck promised. "Metal needles are long gone. These days, the needles are plastic, bamboo or bone. Not one person has been harmed or stabbed at a Stitch 'N Pitch event."

Although the organized aspect of needlepoint and baseball is new, Stitch 'N Pitch aficionado Barbara Paley says there is actually a long tradition of combining both activities -- at least in her family.

"When I was growing up, my dad would take us to watch the New York Mets and my mom would bring her knitting," said Paley, who now has San Francisco Giants season tickets. "It's fun to celebrate the needle arts in person."

Paley has attended Stitch 'N Pitch events all over the country and says none of the other spectators have ever needled her.

"However, people do look out of curiosity," she said.

Still, there are some perks. At last year's St. Louis Cardinals' Stitch 'N Pitch event, two of the stitchers got to participate in batting practice with the players. However, no needles of ANY kind were discussed with them.

It might seem that the tight confines of baseball seats might make it difficult to knit one, purl two, plus there is always the potential of spilling mustard or beer on the afghan dedicated to Ichiro Suzuki, but Butler-Gluck insists that's not an issue.

"Most people who stitch have good hand-eye coordination," Butler-Gluck said.

"Not only does stitching improve hand-eye coordination, but studies show it reduces stress," she said.

Those same studies suggest sewing also helps with mathematics, and that's an important skill when you're counting your million-dollar salary.

So far, the Stitch 'N Pitch events are once-a-year events, but Butler-Gluck figures they will only get bigger.

"We're a very attractive group to baseball because we like to be further away from the ball," Butler-Gluck said. "Some groups want to pay $10 per ticket for the best seats in the house, but we don't mind being further away, and we don't mind going to the slower weekday games or when the opposing team isn't as high profile."