In honor of John DeLorean, who died in March, we're going to take a time-travel trip 200 years into the future. Besides the fact that Clear Channel has a minority stake in everyone's soul, everything is pretty much the same … except, that is, for the growing popularity of an unconventional sport.

Take a trip to any suburban park, and one can see games going on in every direction: youth league games, informal pick-up games and hotly contested adult recreational games. It seems that wherever there is room to play, lacrosse is being played.

Yes, America's favorite laxtime has a stranglehold on the country's imagination, having been the nation's most popular sport for the better part of the last 100 or so years.

Rare is the American child who does not learn to cradle while in the cradle. Few are the televisions that don't tune in weekly to ESPN's "Thursday Night Lacrosse," one of the highest-rated programs on the air. Every city is clamoring for the chance to have its own Major League Lacrosse team.

But while lacrosse may be at the height of its popularity, there is another sport lurking in the country's parks and backyards, a sport that is catching on with youngsters and fringe athletes alike, a sport that is so radically different from lacrosse, it might just appeal to enough people to gain legitimacy: baseball.

Though it has long been relegated to fringe status, baseball is starting to take hold with those looking for a reprieve from the constant action and buzz of not just lacrosse but the rest of the world. Youth teams are starting to crop up, and people are learning more about this game with a relaxed-yet-competitive pace.

It's simple to play, too. Requiring nothing more than a glove, a ball of some sort and anything that resembles a bat, baseball can be played anywhere. This simplicity appeals to those who can't or won't pay for the protective gear and fancy equipment standard to lacrosse.

In fact, the only piece of adornment necessary — baseball hats — both adds to the appeal of the sport and solves a mystery of functionality that has long plagued the fashion world.

At one point, baseball was considered America's pastime. Everyone played and professionals made upwards of a $100 million. The records and history of "Major League Baseball" were lost in the wake of some scandal that plagued the league in the early 21st century. Historians still aren't sure exactly what happened.

Whatever went down then, baseball appears to be on the rise now. I don't think it'll do anything to dent the monster that is lacrosse, but baseball will continue to get more and more popular, especially in an increasingly high-paced world where it can be nice sometimes to just play catch.

Plus, there are those cool hats.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 26 2005.