海角大神

Resilience in the face of seemingly overwhelming power is a main theme of this war. Our reporter visited the front lines in a southern city to examine the disparity in motivation between attacker and defender.

Horrors including the bombing of a maternity hospital have amplified calls for NATO to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine. But an idea that some see as a 鈥渕oral imperative鈥� is fraught with moral complexity.

Brazilian Ukrainians have nurtured their ethnic identity for over 100 years, keeping their language and culture alive. That is strengthening their motivation to help Ukraine now.

In our roundup, progress is reinforcing roots for Indigenous peoples in California and Venezuela, renters in a struggling Beirut, giraffes in Africa, and whales near the bottom of the Earth.

It can be a challenge to understand someone who speaks differently. But this man鈥檚 story shows why we all benefit when we listen with empathy and compassion. Here鈥檚 episode 3 of our podcast series 鈥淪ay That Again?鈥�

A month after declaring war on Japan and Germany in 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the commissioner of baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a letter urging him to preserve the coming season. The game is 鈥渁 definite recreational asset to at least 20,000,000 of the fellow citizens,鈥� the president wrote, 鈥渁nd that in my judgment is thoroughly worthwhile.鈥�

Baseball mattered, just as it did on that July day in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Future Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry launched his first major league home run that day 鈥� as if to say to the astronauts, 鈥淗ere you go, boys. Here鈥檚 a little piece of home.鈥�

For any given date since the 1880s, there鈥檚 a baseball footnote. The game was always there to draw people together 鈥� to dazzle, to commemorate, or to salve. It was there through the pandemic, because baseball mattered, just as it had been after the Boston Marathon bombing. The rallying cry of a wounded city, 鈥淏oston Strong!,鈥� was coined at Fenway Park.

For 99 days this winter, the pro baseball season was in doubt. The major league鈥檚 first labor dispute in a generation threatened a spring without its most enduring national symbol of hope. There were no offseason trades to parse, no February workouts to watch. Opening day was postponed once, and then 鈥� almost 鈥� once more. In a Los Angeles Times poll, 60% of fans said they had lost interest in the season due to the player lockout.

But the woes of the major league did not spell the end of the game. Sales of balls, bats, and gloves have been growing. The market reaches right around the globe, from New York to Nigeria. The minor league season is already underway. So are college ball, Little League, and softball leagues. In the sandlots where dreams are spoken out loud, younger versions of Shohei Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr. taunt each other until called home for supper. Because baseball matters.

And because baseball matters, the players and owners of the major league reached a five-year deal on labor conditions March 10 and saved the season. There are even hopeful signs that the dispute did some good. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the deal with a note of contrition. 鈥淥ne of the things that I鈥檓 supposed to do is promote a good relationship with our players,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that I have not been successful in that. ... It鈥檚 going to be a priority of mine moving forward.鈥�

Older players went to bat for the guys at the margins. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about me,鈥� said Max Scherzer, the veteran pitcher who helped negotiate better salaries for young and aspiring players. Minor league players make as little as $8,000 a year. Clubs often hold back even their brightest young prospects to prolong the day when they can demand bigger paychecks. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen what happens to the other guys,鈥� Mr. Scherzer told The New York Times. 鈥淧layers in my position understand that there鈥檚 players in the minor leagues grinding through.鈥�

The dispute is settled. Spring training camps are open. Fans can stop fretting over the collective聽 bargaining agreement, whatever that is, and get back to the issues that really matter 鈥� like that iffy checked swing call that ended last year鈥檚 playoff series between the Dodgers and Giants in the bottom of the ninth of Game 5. C鈥檓on ump, you gotta be kidding.

Spring is coming. And baseball, for all that it鈥檚 up against, still brings it home.