Thanks, Batting Stance Guy

Apropos to absolutely nothing except my own childhood and that of millions of others, I join the legions of groupies of Batting Stance Guy, who has imitated the batting stances of thousands of big leaguers on his now legendary YouTube page. His own website's tagline is "the least marketable skill in America," and yet at the very least this uncanny talent has landed him Internet fame, on-field access at major league ballparks, and the adoration of baseball fans like me who grew up mimicking our favorite players. (As a lifelong A's fan, I particularly appreciated his Rickey Henderson.) Nice to see him get some recent press in none other than the New York Times as well.

I especially like how he invariably gets a chuckle from the ballplayers themselves: Ryan Howard thought he nailed "Derek Jeter taking an outside pitch," while a few of the Padres taking BP yelled out, "Do Youkilis!" and then cracked up when he channeled Youkilis. Most are good enough sports to be able to laugh at themselves and definitely at their teammates when BSG "does" them. Our national pastime may be tainted, and far too many players jaded from the crush of media, million-dollar contracts, and the constant pressure to excel even if by cheating; but, at its heart, baseball still has some innocence to it. Thanks, Batting Stance Guy, for making us laugh, and, more poignantly, making us smile.