Is it the prestige, with the sport being one of the oldest and most renown of the five major sports in the US?

Is it the excitement, with one only one pitch required to spark life into a ballpark?

Maybe it is the monotony of it all, as batters and hitters play a game that’s solemnly changed over its near 150 year history.

While all of the above can be argued, taking a trip to any minor league game, like the local Williamsport Crosscutters, will make the answer much more clear: the community aspect.

Williamsport Crosscutters fans have fun getting their flags before the start of the July 4th game against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

While the major league’s provide the big bucks and the biggest talent, it’s at the minor league level where the true beauty of the sport most resides. In Williamsport, spectators from all walks of life, working all types of jobs, in all different positions in every way, rest and unwind at Historic Bowman Field in the summer time to enjoy a spectacle.

It’s in that basic sameness where the sport of baseball truly is at its most vulnerable and precious; the ability to bring a community together in a way few other things do.

Of course, when hosting one of the largest celebrations in the sport, the city of Williamsport seems to take care of the sports roots more than others.

“I think it all stems from hosting the Little League World Series,” said Ryan Kennell, Williamsport shortstop who spent much of his childhood in the city. “It’s one of the biggest sporting events in the country, and the fact that we host it, [it brings] a lot of passionate fans that bring that here to the Crosscutters as a community and as a whole.”

Kennell is just one of the 28 members of the Cutters roster that took part in the Fourth of July festivities, a holiday that in itself leaves the country and baseball intertwined tighter than ever before.

Williamsport Crosscutters fans have fun getting their flags before the start of the July 4th game against State College at Journey Bank Ballpark. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“It’s awesome,” echoed Kennell when asked about playing during the holiday. “It’s a big holiday, and I’m excited to be playing baseball during it.”

For the third year in a row, Williamsport hosted their rival in the State College Spikes on the big occasion. The series is part of a two game set for Williamsport, who traveled to State College the night before in a home-and-home that has been in place since 2023. Appropriately, State College is 2-1 on July 3 versus Williamsport and the Cutters are a perfect 3-0 when hosting the Spikes on the Fourth of July going into Friday afternoon.

The trend of performing well on the Fourth extends throughout the Draft League. Since moving to an 80 game schedule in 2022, home teams in the MLB Draft League have a 7-2 record on July 4.

On top of drawing a higher than usual crowd, the day exemplifies the community aspect of the sport more than other days.

“You know… it’s the only sport that you can take your whole family to and everybody is kind of together and enjoys it,” discussed Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. “I love college football, but when you go to a game, you’re packed in, and there could be some people that tailgate pretty hard around you. But it’s the family atmosphere of baseball, it is just different… it calms you down. It slows down our busy world a little bit, it’s just an American thing.”

Thomas is in a unique place in terms of managing on the fourth. The South Carolina native is in his second season on the Williamsport staff, and brought in over 30 years of coaching college baseball with him. However, since the college season ends in May for most schools, Williamsport’s skipper has only managed during the Fourth on a couple of occasions.

“I’m a patriotic person,” said Thomas. “I love our country. I love the flag. The Fourth of July means a lot to me. So it’s very cool to be out here on the 4th of July playing baseball.”