hey all, that awesome poem posted by doughnutman inspired me to share my own story about my love of the game. i know this is kind of long....it's a blog i wrote on my facebook page but maybe some of you can relate.....
so pitchers and catchers report in exactly 7 days (omg....7 days, can you believe it?)…and i’m struggling to surpress the excitement about the hot stove reports filtering in from the winter meetings. I know, I know this obsession isn’t normal…. it’s so much a part of who I am, the fabric of our family, the passion that is only requited by those two little words “play ball”.
What is it about this game that draws me in each spring and is released, but not forgotten, when the autumn chill is in the air? It can’t be defined by just a few adjectives….instead it’s an evolving list of ideas that with each game grows longer and ever changing…..
My first experience with baseball happened at the tender age of five. our small town didn’t have softball, so I played little league baseball with the boys…..and was conscious enough in my innocence to realize that I could PLAY with them. I could run just as fast, hit the ball just as far and I liked it. It probably is one of the most profound experiences of my life and to this day, I’m still amazed that I was able to recognize and understand it. The love affair has never stopped. by the time i was ten, i knew how to score a game, knew a backward "K" meant you struck out looking and could intelligently discuss the infield fly rule and the merits of the dh. But I digress, what is it about this game that draws me in…..
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” In the words of the great yogi berra……baseball has no time limit. In the movie “fever pitch” drew barrymore’s character asks in her naiveté, what time will the game be over. I couldn’t help but laugh….. baseball isn’t limited to the clock. you can be down 3 runs in the 9th with 2 outs and 2 on and still be in the game….it takes a major league fastball approximately .4 seconds to travel the 60’6” toward home plate. In what other sport can you score 3 times in .4 seconds?
I often hear people complain that baseball is boring…that there isn’t enough action…but have you ever really watched a baseball game? Every action is intended…..that restless outfielder may not be so restless (unless it’s manny) he may just be forcing the hand of the runner on third whose contemplating taking home. Follow the pitches….there’s a new one every 15 – 20 seconds….and each one is full of life. The 1-0 curve thrown low and away wasn’t a mistake or an errant pitch. It was a carefully calculated move by the pitcher to get the hitter to chase the heat he’s bringing next. It’s a challenge, a dance, a beautiful duel between pitcher and hitter…..it’s the pitcher saying to the hitter “I’ve got your number” and the hitter yelling back “not this time, jack”. it’s the most exciting .4 second in baseball…..and it happens around 120 times a game.
do you remember those pick up games from your childhood? the ones played on the playground or in a neighbors backyard. where a tree was first base, a broken frisbee was homeplate and that rusty swingset was the foul pole. baseball is still THAT game. sure, organized baseball requires that the bases be 90' apart and that the pitcher's mound be 60'6" from home plate, but each field offers up unique characteristics that determine how the game responds. from the 420' to deep center in fenway and the ivy covered left field wall at wrigley to the short right field porch at the old yankee stadium which sits less than 300' just inside the foul line......don't even get me started on the distances to the backstop. you won't find that in football or basketball, s****r or tennis. each venue may be unique to those sports, but the dimensions of the playing field are level. the ballparks in baseball offer up something that is totally unique to sports.
the baseball season itself is unique in so many ways.....162 regular season games. from march to sept./oct. the hope of good things to come that blooms each spring....the long hot grind as things heat up near the all-star break and the chill that settles over us as the cold realization that our teams will exit early in the fall. but where else can you start a season with a winning percentage of 30% and still have a chance of making the playoffs? can an nfl team go 3-7 and have that hope? although it's excruciating for the fans, it's entirely possible to start a season 6-14 and still be playing late in october. baseball doesn't let you down....7 days a week for 6+ months there is a game on somewhere.
arguably the greatest cast of characters ever assembled.....the heros, the villians, the everymen.....and heaven forbid don't forget about the most important character of all......the closer! no two fans will ever see eye to eye on this topic, but we all agree that it's the characters that play on this stage that make it so grand. some of my past favorites are barry larkin, reggie jackson, sandy koufax, george brett, ryne sandberg, mark grace, tom seaver and cal ripken, jr. and i LOVE rob dibble....he was with the reds during my high school years. his tantrums were EPIC!!!!! <3 him and today he's turned into one of my favorite announcers (MLB on XM, oh, yeah). i follow so many of today's players that i can't begin to list them. what interests me more, is that each year there are new stories...new players that emerge from out of the shadow and capitivate or polarize us. as much as i love the calmness and professionalism that terry francona brings, i've also got a thing for those fiery managers that show so much passion and emotion.....ozzie guillen, bobby cox, big lou. i look forward to the post game white sox wrap-up almost as much as i do the game. it wouldn't be called the BIG show, if there weren't some BIG personalities involved.
so far most of my glorification has been aimed at professional baseball, but my love affair with this game isn't limited to those who are paid to play....my appreciation extends out to cover the game at any level. maybe it helps that kelley has played since he was 4. pee-wee development through high school and legion ball.... watching the college world series.....being on vacation in hatteras, steps from the beach and a group of us watching the little league world series instead of hitting the waves. marrying into a baseball family...dreams of college ball and the chance to play just a little longer...road trips and college visits. the game itself is like a 5th member of our family....it is present in everyday conversation. it has a permanent residence in our home, literally and figuratively. it's so ingrained in our familly, that a day without it would be like losing a loved one.
the baseball experience can be as intoxicating as the game itself. close your eye's and think about a baseball game....what do you see? smell? hear? feel? i've always liked to get to baseball games early to watch the preparation. the pitchers warming up, the infield being watered and raked, and enough time to grab a hot dog and a cold beer. i love the smell of the fresh cut grass and and pine tar. i love the sound the glove makes when a fastball pops into it. and the sound of the bat making contact (except whenever kelley's pitching) whether it's the "ting" of a metal bat or the "crack" of maple. i've sat on freezing bleachers in april, braved midwestern thunderstorms in may, basked in the early summer glow in june, sweated the day and the score in july and august and welcomed the chilly nighttime air in september. and there isn't anywhere on earth i would have rather been than at the ballpark......
so am i obsessed? crazy? a fanatic? maybe....but whatever i am, i'm honored to just be a part of the game.........
(to be continued...)
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