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When I was a kid growing up in the U.S. Midwest, baseball and American football were very popular after school sports among my friends and schoolmates. Basketball was a close third. 在我小时候，棒球和橄榄球是当时美国中西部同学朋友们放学后最喜欢的体育运动，其次才是篮球。 In primary school days, pick-up games of baseball and football were popular after school and on weekends. We were fortunate to have enough public parks nearby, available for anyone at no cost and without advance booking, accessible either on foot or by bicycle. 上小学时，我们课余和周末最流行的活动就是学打棒球和橄榄球。当年我们运气不错，周边有很多公园，走路、骑车都能到，还不用花钱或提前预定。 These were “pick-up” games, spontaneously organized by kids, without adult supervision, referees, etc. There were also formal programs like Little League baseball and school-organized sports teams, but that’s not what I am talking about here. 作为孩子们自发组织的“入门”活动，球场上既没有大人指导，也不设裁判。当然也有一些正规的组织，比如“少棒联盟”和校队，但这不是我要说的。 A new style of baseball, called “whiffle ball” was introduced when I was a kid. It involved plastic balls and bats, which greatly reduced the risk of breaking a neighbor’s window, thus expanding the range of places where baseball games could be played, to include backyards and driveways. | 
