Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Urges all Major League Baseball teams to play games on Memorial Day.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging all Major League Baseball teams to play games on Memorial Day.
Whereas, Americans played baseball informally in the 1800s and, by the 1860s, the sport was described as the “national pastime;” and
Whereas, Soldiers on both sides of the Civil War played baseball as a pastime, and played the game at home after the war as well; and
Whereas, Throughout World Wars I and II, hundreds of major league baseball players served in the Armed Forces, yet it was still encouraged for games to continue to serve as a morale booster; and
Whereas, The first professional sport in the United States was baseball; and
Whereas, Baseball has provided comfort and a platform for the nation to show its strength during difficult times, such as the Boston Marathon bombings and Hurricane Harvey, with the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros, respectively, winning the World Series shortly after; and
Whereas, Memorial Day is one of the holidays acknowledged across professional sports to honor and remember those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces; and
Whereas, Major League Baseball recognizes Memorial Day by having players and personnel observe an extended moment of silence at approximately three o’clock and wear the traditional Memorial red poppy as a patch on the left side of their uniform shirts with “Lest We Forget” embroidered on the patch; and
Whereas, Those teams who do not participate in games on Memorial Day are not given the opportunity to participate in Memorial Day traditions and, consequently, to honor fallen service members in this way; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey urges Major League Baseball to have all 30 teams play games on Memorial Day.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Commissioner of Baseball.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges Major League Baseball to have all teams play games on Memorial Day.
Baseball has been an integral part of American culture for more than a hundred years, establishing itself as America’s pastime. During wartime, it was played by soldiers as a diversion and played by professional players as a morale booster. The sport is the first in the United States to be played at a professional level.
During difficult times, such as the Boston Marathon Bombings and Hurricane Harvey, baseball has provided a platform for the nation to show strength and receive comfort. This platform is also utilized to acknowledge various holidays, including Memorial Day. In Major League Baseball, it has become tradition on Memorial Day to observe an extended moment of silence at approximately three o’clock and to wear the traditional Memorial red poppy as a patch on the left side of uniform shirts with “Lest We Forget” embroidered on the patch. By having all Major League Baseball teams play games on Memorial Day, the entire league is given the opportunity to participate in Memorial Day traditions and, consequently, to honor fallen service members.