Major League pitchers and catchers reported for spring training this week. When I was a little girl, I loved (read: LOVED) baseball. It was always a bit of a mystery how I became a such a fan. Photography, on the other hand, was easy to pinpoint. That comes from my mom's side of the family, skipping her. But, back to baseball. Spring training symbolized fresh hope as players prepared for the new season. I was a loyal Detroit Tiger fan. Mark Fidrych, Jason Thompson, Steve Kemp, Ron LeFlore, Aurelio Rodriguez, Rusty Staub, John Wockenfuss...those names rolled off my tongue like they were my best friends. While most girls were playing with Barbies, I was studying ERAs and batting averages and reading Ron LeFlore's autobiography 'One in a Million' (One of the best stocking stuffers I received as a kid). Unfortunately, back then, the Tigers were cellar dwellers in the standings. But, every February, there was renewed hope that maybe, just maybe, this would be their season to win the pennant. When the season got underway in April, and it was rapidly apparent this would not be the Tigers' season, I still would listen to all the ballgames on the radio. If it was a night game, I'd tuck my little transistor radio under my pillow to catch all the action, while the rest of the house thought I was sound asleep. The west coast games were a killer -- 10 p.m. first pitch. I remember waking up on more than one hot summer night at 3 a.m., long after the game had concluded, wondering why muzak was emanating from my pillow, and more importantly, dying to know the score. So, it's 35+ years later, and I live in the thick of spring training. I really don't follow baseball anymore...but, I always attend some spring training games. There's nothing like that feeling of wiping the slate clean and knowing sweet dreams of victory on the diamond are waiting to become reality. Play ball!
7 comments:
I don't care that much for baseball but I do care about visiting your blog every day so I just added you to blog list on South Florida Guy.
My father is a baseball nut... in fact, he has written books about baseball and write a regular feature for the Fenway Park program. It is a source of great disappointment to him that I am not a fan - but I married one, so he gets a son-in-law to geek out about spring training and trades with!
I grew up with baseball and golf being the two sports on our TV. Fun reading about your love of baseball. Nice photo too!
I'd be so lost! I've never understood cricket despite a long youth in England and I don't really understand baseball either...
I left all of my sports interests behind in my teen years and my family wasn't sports-minded. In her later years my mother became a big fan of football and eventually loved Tiger Woods even though she didn't understand golf. (Thankfully she passed away before he fell from grace. It would have broken her heart.)
You really were a "fan," the word being short for fanatic! :-) But there are many worse things than enjoying baseball.
I always like it, but didn't get into it to the same extent you did. And today, I've given up on all professional and college sports. Too much money. Too many nasty people. Too much emphasis on winning - that coach was wrong, you know! :-)
You are my kind of girl, SRQ. I'm a Red Sox fan, but the enthusiasm has waned a bit in recent years as some bed things were going on in Fenway Park. I am in a wait-and-see mode for this year, though I am going to two spring training games.
My daughter is a big baseball fan, though I let her stray from the Red Sox for good cause. One of her prized possessions is an autographed Cal Ripken baseball, soon after he broke the consecutive game record.
Post a Comment