The Two Ricks: Why doesn’t America hate baseball?

Spring is in the air (or so the calendar says), and that means it’s time for America to turn its attention to baseball. But for a country with an attention span that seemingly shrinks by the day, why are we still so in love with a sport that’s anything but quick and tidy?

Sun-Times columnists and co-hosts Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey dig into America’s love affair with its favorite pastime, and why so many fans still love a game rooted in another era. They’re also joined by White Sox beat writer Daryl Van Schouwen, who offers his takes on the sport and what’s happening on the South Side leading up to their home opener.

“By all rights, this time in America, we shouldn’t like this game,” Morrissey says. “Our attention span is basically down to zero. It’s a slow game.”

Do the Ricks figure out the answer to their grand question? Whether paining over the emergence of sabermetrics — “We were told there was not going to be any math when we went into journalism” — or waxing poetic on the delight of drinking a beer at the ballpark, the answer is, well, not quite.

But the Ricks try their darnedest, and provide sage wisdom like “boys and girls love balls” in the process.

Check out all of that and more in Episode 6 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions.

Legendary Sun-Times sports columnists Rick Morrissey and Rick Telander are co-hosts of a new podcast called “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered.” Don’t miss their gritty, no-holds-barred takes on everything from professional teams tanking to overzealous sports parents and more. Download and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Google Play, or via RSS feed.