Essay on a game.

     Spring. America. Longer days, Easter, graduations, and baseball, baseball, baseball.  The game that renews our hometown pride every year is in full swing again.  A game , that we as Americans, hold near and dear to our hearts.

     I still remember springs and summers over 30 yrs gone by, pacing around , tossing a ball into my glove over and over, listening to Bob Uecker, and his signature call as Gorman, Benji, Robin, and Rollie, brought pride to a team that had never known contention, and to a generation of fans who could add to the stories of 1957 with  some new legends of their own.  The only thing that seemed to get in my way from spending all summer immersed in listening about or reading about the game, was eating (once in a while), and playing the game I spent so much time living and breathing, every summer.

   It all started when I was 4 or 5.  Foggy memories of long gone grandparents, bouncing me on a knee , and sharing these cards with me, and some dry, crunchy, eventually sweet, bubble gum.  That was the beginning of the affair.  The seduction of the gum, and the photos of hereos, along with the emotion that seemed to surround the fans, was all it took to have me wrapped around baseball's fingers.  

      The first card I ever held was a Hank Aaron.  His stoic face was not very remarkable. The hushed tone my Mom got to her voice when talking about "The Hammer" was.  He was to be respected, that's for sure.  He was such a polarizing figure , as so many in the public eye have been. He entered baseball not long after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and left, after breaking a record set by the biggest ever, "The Babe".  In doing so, he endured sacks of racist , hate mail, and still swung for the fences.  I met him in 2000 and I will never forget the day I shook his hand.  755 and NO PED's?  What's up Barry? How's house arrest for ya?

    Over the years, our relationship has been tested, only slightly.  Trades, and free agency, have forced the understanding that it is a business as well as a game. Some chases after home run records, and some great new stars , have solidified the game's place in our hearts for a long time.  The "better angels of our nature" have found entertainment, even in a game where PED use has tainted the game's purity.  

     " Say Hey"..."Shoeless"...."The Kid"..."The Babe"....The nicknames are only surpassed in cool, maybe, by old school mobsters names.  Jimmy the fish, Tommy the Gun, etc..etc....

      "So this summer, as I track games on my blackberry, and watch up to the minute web casts with real time stats updates, and video, and other slick tech stuff, I will try and recall , scoring the game in a program, lacing up my spikes, the smell as I approach the stadium, the cheers, and the crack of the bat.  The game will always be there, growing, and moving on, side by side, with us, the fans.  PLAY BALL!!!!