Baseball Therapy

Remember that when you are “one in a million,” there are over 7,500 more just like you somewhere in the world. That is how many we are. No wonder we have the chaos of War, Insurrection, False Prophets, and Plagues while we battle the Wild Beast known as Murder Hornet. Meanwhile, many baseball icons from my youth rounded third and headed home in 2020: Dick Allen, Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro, Tom Seaver, and dozens more. The parade continues in 2021 with Tommy Lasorda. My friend Paul shares memories with me every time another one is tagged out. Paul and I were opposites when it came to baseball. He was good and I stunk when we played Colt League and CYO Baseball in high school. I would lose a fly ball in the sun while he was pitching and his dad would leave in the middle of the game to avoid assaulting me. Paul and I were rabid fans of different Major League teams. He rooted for the Cincinnati Reds while I bled Dodger Blue back when Red and Blue could still be friends. I can remember sitting in the stands at a minor league game in the mid 1960’s with Paul. Turmoil in the world swirled back then but baseball could provide us with daily respite for hours at a time. In early Spring, my Dad and I would make written predictions of where each team would finish in the standings and compare them in the Fall. We did not ever expect the world to change too much in six months. I sure hope Baseball bounces back like it was back in the day. I miss it.