More and more, I escape into the past.
I'm only in my mid to late 60's but I find myself wandering the aisles of my memory, pulling open filing drawers, taking out folders with memories. Memories of what I did, where I went, where I lived. Lingering through the folders, Regretfully, putting them back in the drawer.
Today, it's baseball.
I remember some of the players of my youth and teenaged years.
Don Larson (the only man to pitch a World Series perfect game)
Lou Brock
Horace Clark
Jimmy Wynn, the Toy Cannon
Al Kaline
Joe Morgan....
And I think of my two lifetime trips to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (pictured above in 2014).
Then, reality intrudes. So many former major league ball players died this year (including all of them named above). Five Hall of Fame players passed away in the last six weeks. The latest one was Joe Morgan, possibly one of the greatest second basemen of all time, dead at the age of 77.
The old timers are vanishing before our eyes, we middle aged (and older) current or former baseball fans.
When will this year end?
It made me remember the one game, not quite an old timers game, I went to at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, where I got to see Bob Feller pitch at age 90. Then, he died a bit over a year later. In rereading this post, I realized that I had actually seen Whitey Ford at a minor league game in Binghamton, New York back around 2008. Ah, memories....
The following is taken from that 2009 post. I hope this is the last time I blog about baseball for a while.
It's funny....I go to a Fathers Day game for Fathers Day and....neither
of my parents were baseball fans. As a result, I grew up in the Bronx,
and never once visited Yankee Stadium. I don't know exactly how I
became interested in baseball, but (this was before it was OK for girls
to enjoy spectator sports) I used to get a lot of "you sure know a lot
about baseball for a girl" comments.
Actually my technical
knowledge wasn't and still isn't all that good. I can't tell you, given
a certain scenario, if the batter should bunt, try for the sacrifice
fly, if the man on first should try to steal, or what. I just always
loved to watch good baseball. I was always the last one picked for
softball, so I never even dreamed about playing, back in those pre-Title
IX days.
But...my Dad used to take me on Sunday afternoon walks
during the summer. It got both of us out of our hot apartment, as we
walked and walked. He used to love to go to houses under construction
to watch them go up. It fascinated him. I would tag along, with my
transistor radio, and listen to the Yankees ballgame. These walks are a
very fond memory for me.
That was many years ago, and my Dad passed away in 1986.
Too
bad no old Yankees from that 1960's lineup were there in Cooperstown
(although I did get to see Whitey Ford once in Binghamton) but here are
some pictures of players at the game. And, THANK YOU, BALLPLAYERS, FOR
COMING. It was so refreshing to see ballplayers who wanted to be there. And, I know you had a good time too. So much so that Bob Feller has already announced that he plans to return next year.
By
the way, I still don't know who the people were who rode in the
"Yankees" car, including the gentleman with the Mickey Mantle uniform
who looked so much like him. I have a picture, but there are spectator
faces in there so I don't want to post the photo.
And, now for the photos:
Here is Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson and pitcher Jim Hannan: (both from my era)
This
picture was taken seconds before a mob of children and adults followed
Brooks Robinson. blocking my view, to get his autograph.
Here, from the back, is George Foster: I sure would not have been rooting for him when he was playing for the 1970's Big Red Machine.
This
picture was taken after the game: the players in "camouflage" uniforms
were Military all stars who played alongside the old timers.
I
wish I had a good seat to capture all the clowning around. And,
Doubleday Field folks, just a hint-the PA system where we were (all the
way in the hinterlands) rivaled the 1970's PA systems in the New York
subway for incoherence.
And now....I need to escape into my memories once more.
Please, time....
...something that never interested me.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a Brooklyn boy who grew up watching the Dodgers. My mom grew up in the Bronx. On their first official date they went to Yankee Stadium to see DiMaggio play. My loyalty is to the Mets, my kids are Yankees fans. I’m loving your Cooperstown stories, I loved my trip there.
ReplyDeleteI’m also watching the news to see which baseball hero is the next to go. Sad...
It is sad as we have lost some the greats of the game. Joe Morgan was a local as he went to high school in Oakland and then later graduated the same college as I did- Cal State Hayward.
ReplyDeleteBaseballReference.com lists 82 former players who have died this year (https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2020-deaths.shtml), from Hall of Famers to guys who played just a few games. As a fan, I look for guys that I remember playing. There were quite a few. kind of scary now...
ReplyDeleteIt has kind of been a brutal time for old baseball players, hasn't it? Weird how that goes in cycles.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love baseball! My favourite movie is Field of Dreams. I must have watched it a hundred times!
ReplyDeleteThink of the ball game going on in heaven right now with all those players crossing the veil and onto that heavenly field! I look forward to watching. Hopefully not soon. But some day! ;)
I lived in area with no pro teams, I use to watch farm teams play. One thing my dad and I like the game baseball.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with box seats to the Red Sox games. We're a Boston sports loving family, but I'm not a sports fan, I only watch when one of "my" teams are playing.
ReplyDeleteMy first Father's Day BB memory is from 1964. I had been a Detroit Tigers fan for years- ever since the Brooklyn Dodgers and the NY Giants abandoned heaven for the West Coast...But, this year, the Tigers had traded their best pitcher to the Philadelphia Phillies and he was coming to a new team stadium- Shea- by the World's Fair. I took my dad and brother to the game. And, Jim Bunning (bad congressman, worst senator in the world- even Scott of VA had a leg up on him) pitched a perfect game. Which by the way is VERY boring until the bottom of the 9th inning.But, that's what it took for me to become a life-long Phanatic. Living in MA, MI, CA, or VA- I went to the Phillies games. Dragging my kids MILES to go.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stirring up this old fart's memories.