If you were to look at a map of major league baseball teams and where they are located, it makes sense that Louisiana does not have one.
The main idea that owners forget is that Louisiana possesses a rich history rooted in its military and revolves around its passion for sports, pride and love for anything that represents the state of Louisiana.
First off, the opposition has a point. However, let’s dive into the reason the counter argument has basis. The United States of America ranks 25th in the world in population and coincidentally Louisiana is the 25th most populous state in the country.
The 2010 United States census showed that over 4.5 million people, about twice the population of New Mexico, call “the boot” home. Although natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina are common, Louisiana’s population currently grows at a rate of 0.75% annually.
The 1810 nationwide census reported less than 100,000 people, about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, living in Louisiana at the time. That growth, in 200 years, is astonishing.
More importantly, Louisiana is only the 31st largest state in terms of land area. Louisiana’s population is also predicted to surpass five million people by 2030.
Those figures are interestingly modest in comparison to the rest of the country, but let’s not focus too much on the numbers. They don’t really matter much other than a way to get your point across.
On the topic of opinions, Louisiana’s history has shown that it is a traditionally conservative and extremely diverse state. If I were a billionaire looking for a great place to build a new MLB team, it would be difficult to find a better environment for fans that truly care about what is happening on the field and would support the team no matter the outcome of the game.
LSU baseball’s history and growth is the best-case study for this scenario. The largest parish in Louisiana is East Baton Rouge which is where LSU is located. New Orleans is the most densely populated city in the state and its metropolitan area holds nearly 1.5 million people, about the population of West Virginia. After the horrors of hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, bounced back so much that it was named the fastest-growing area in the country at the time.
LSU baseball began playing baseball in 1893 and in its infancy, as most people know, was largely tied to the military. The image that comes to mind is a bunch of guys, with a drill sergeant nearby, tossing a ball around near the old Pentagon barracks.
LSU’s longest tenured head coach, Harry Rabenhorst, an LSU legend and veteran of WWII, coached LSU’s baseball team from 1927-1942. Rabenhorst defended the world from tyranny and completely changed the culture of LSU’s baseball team.
Rabenhorst not only led by example, but he taught his players how to win. The game of baseball, played correctly, can create memories that last a lifetime and finding success when there had been very little in the history of the program is something few people in the history of LSU athletics can claim. When Rabenhorst returned from combat, he remained the head baseball coach for another decade and left the program better than he inherited it.
Alex Box Stadium, built in 1938 and originally called “LSU Diamond”, has a special name for a reason and is connected to the military as well. It was renamed Alex Box after Simeon Alex Box who was killed in combat while deployed in North Africa in 1942.
On a more positive and peaceful note, college baseball and the game of baseball in general is thriving, and its growth has shown no signs of slowing down. LSU’s most recent away game against Tulane in New Orleans is a non-negotiable example.
Baseball fans flocked from all over the state for a chance to witness the top ranked team in the country face off against a traditionally great baseball program. Ticket prices soared to absurd numbers because of the limited capacity in Tulane’s stadium and not everyone that wanted to be there was able to make it.
Turchin stadium does what it was designed to do, but it’s relatively small in comparison to bigger Division I baseball schools. Alex Box Stadium, intended for 10,326 people, regularly fills up to the point that fans watch while standing. That is about the same seating capacity of Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University’s basketball arena, holding 9,314 people. Of course, this normally occurs when other ranked SEC schools come to Baton Rouge, but no one can argue with facts and statistics.
Attendance at baseball games across the country, especially Louisiana, is at elevated and sometimes record-breaking levels. The game and the number of fans of it have been growing for centuries. Although over half of Louisiana’s population identify as female, LSU athletics, especially baseball and football, began as a place where grown men could relax and have fun.
Times are changing very quickly, and peaceful societies prove that idea. Society wants to accept everyone and rightfully so.
To quote the United States’ declaration of independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Louisiana has proven it can support a great baseball team through state pride and love for the game of baseball. For years, people have doubted whether Louisiana could support a major league baseball team.
At the same time, LSU baseball has had more success than any other school in the entire state, six national titles, over the last 30 years. Teams such as Louisiana-Lafayette, Nicholls State, Tulane, Loyola, Louisiana-Monroe and the University of New Orleans all boast their own fan bases.
Louisiana contains very few similarities to other places and easily grows on you after some time. If Louisiana had its own major league team, this would bring together all of the fan bases across the state for a common purpose.
People, especially Louisianians, would have pride in their home state’s team and would create a new place for future generations of baseball fans.
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation,” said a pridefully bold and unanimous Congress on July 4th, 1776.
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