Wow, Rick… awesome essay. My 13-year-old son is an outstanding pitcher but only in my dreams would he be able to write as well as you do. He learned to keyboard while playing online massive multiplayer games, so it’s a different world than the one you grew up in.
Or is it?
Baseball provides continuity through generations that are experiencing radical changes. My son is now on a Pony League team that bears the same name as the MLB team I adored back in the days of Koufax, Drysdale, Wills, and so many other great names.
My son is now a Dodger, and he doesn’t even know anything about the MLB Dodgers. Every kid here in Phoenix is a D-Backs fan, and I don’t have any problem with that whatsoever.
Baseball is like an hour glass. In youth everyone tries it but few make it to the Pony League level of play and of course only the great ones make it to the MLB level. It’s nice to know that the hour glass fattens out again as people grow older. I loved your description of the older ones still out there on the field. Joi de vivre shouldn’t just be part of our childhood, it should exist throughout our lifetime and I’m glad to hear that you’ve seen it in your town.
Oh, and not to rub it in your face, but we live in Phoenix, Arizona, so while guys like you are blowing snow (no, that didn’t come out right) kids around here are playing baseball year-round.
