Lovin the Game

Most are based in the Rocky Mount area--

 

Most of them are quite handsome when they start; But after years of wearing that mask they all look alike.

 

sort of comparing

I do think that baseball is a sport that you must acquire an appreciation for, and I consider that I do have that appreciation.

I was driving somewhere last weekend, while listening on the radio to an ACC basketball tournament game. Occasionally I would switch stations to listen in to a local ACC college baseball game. Now granted it was ACC tournament basketball vs. early regular season college baseball, but here's my impression.

In the basketball game the announcers could hardly talk fast enough to keep up with the fast paced action, a 3-pointer at one end followed immediately by a blocked shot or slam dunk at the other end, and all the while the background crowd noise was deafening.

The baseball game: the announcer in a monotone voice calling the play by play one pitch at a time. In between many pitches there was dead silence; you wondered just how few fans were actually there. If I switched stations to baseball between pitches, for a moment I wondered if my radio had gone dead. You could actually hear the crack of the bat thru the radio. Maybe a faint bit of fan noise when a homer was hit or a nice defensive play.

I think you get my point. Do you agree about the acquiring of an appreciation for baseball? And I would say that that appreciation comes natural to those that grew up with the game.

 

Those were the days

Yes indeed....those were the days. How I miss that timeline of my life. Getting in the car friday afternoon, bound for some city or town for a weekend of competitive baseball. While I miss that part, it's really the time the kid and I spent together that I miss the most. Checking into the hotels, and then having to threaten the kids to get out of the pool cause we had to be up at 7 am the next morning. Washing all the uniforms at the hotel laundry. Losing the first game and then battling back through the losers bracket to finish off a good tourney. Those dreaded drives back home on sunday evening suddenly weren't so bad. We were tired, hot, needing a shower, thirsty from the two pounds of sunflower seeds we spit, looking for a good meal after doing ballpark food or drive thru's all weekend. Then after a long week of work, we crawl back in the car and do it all over again. I wouldn't trade those days for nothing in this world.

 

Those were the days

When I was a kid there was nothing else to do but play baseball in the spring/summer. As soon as it was warm enough to get outside, out came the bats, balls and gloves. When we didn't have enough players for a game at school, we would play "rollie bat"! Anyone remember that game? We would play until the teacher would get mad at us for not coming in to the classroom. Also another game in a small backyard was "plastic baseball".
This was played with a plastic bat and a ball and could be played by two players. If you hit it into the neighbors yard, it was an automatic 3 outs. The neighbor was mean and would keep the ball if we didn't sneak over fast enough to retrieve. Another game was "strikeout"! This was also played with plastic and the pitcher was also the umpire! I threw several no-no's as a pitcher and ump!
When the Honeysuckles began to smell, it was Legion baseball time. Chasing foul balls for my stash at the house. Seeing Post 9 play my home team Concord Post 51 and almost every time lose to Post 9.
Even now when I smell Honeysuckles, I think Legion Baseball and remember the days playing at Webb Field.

I must admit that after my playing days, I moved away from the game and focused on making a living and when my Son came along I tried my best to steer him away from baseball at the competative level. He was such a natural and looked just like me, heck he even wanted to wear my number! I couldn't resist helping him and as I was helping him, I realized that HE was helping me more than I was helping him. He was helping return the love of the game back to me for which I tought was lost forever. Now on game days I wake excited about the day and feel like that 9 yr old waking early to get to school early to play "rollie bat" with all my friends before starts. Sometimes I can almost hear Mrs. Barbee (my teacher) hollering at us to get in the class room.
oh well, back to work!

 

Great, great story. I bet you aren't the only one that had those feelings. Welcome back!

 

What I love.......

There are alot of things I love about watching baseball. I could go on for days......but a few of my favorites..........

I love watching kids smile as they run out onto the field, heck even major leaguers smile on the field. How many sports do you see that in. Baseball is a fun game.

I love watching fans hold their breath in anticipation of whether an outfielder is going to run a baseball down, or in little league, if that outfielder is going to catch the one hit right to him. And then the screams when it is caught.

I love the fact that if you are great hitter 40% of the time you are a stud, and perfection is not the norm, but rather the rarity.

I love the fact that any child can play this game and be the hero. Whether it is a sacrifice bunt to move a runner over in the 9 hole, or pounding the double off the wall to score the runner. Good fans appreciate the small things done to win ballgames.

 

Easter and Baseball

I love the many tournaments during Easter break.

 

Like a moth to a flame

As a Retired Military man, I have spent many nights in different cities while traveling this great country. Did you know that in most towns and cities, during baseball season, you can look out from the Hotel room or parking lot and instantly recognize the glow of field lights? It didn't matter that I was miles or days away from home or for how long I was gone, if I could find those lights I could be in my 'comfort zone'. It didn't matter if I was watching a LL game, a slow pitch game, or a HS baseball or softball game, I was at home and around people who spoke the same language I did. Even if I never spoke to another person while there or didn't know anyone there. Anytime my wife and I are traveling through a town at night, even now, I look for that glow and tell her ' There's a field over there, want to go watch a coupla innings?' Although I'm a softball coach now, and the majority of my playing time has been on a fastpitch or slowpitch field, there is no feeling greater than being in a strange city, with people you have never met, and feeling completely at home.

 

What a guy

There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971