April 4 - Baseball the One Constant

This past week I witnessed or was part of four Baseball Opening Days. The beginning of new adventures, great experiences, and lasting memories.

• Monday, March 27 – Son, Zachary (17), pitches opening day for Fairmont JV team against Kettering Alter. Fairmont is victorious 12-2 as Zack is the winning pitcher.

• Saturday, April 1 – Son, Jackson (5), makes his baseball debut for the Blue Whales. Jack decides to run to third after his first hit. His Coach proclaims, “ Whose kid is this?” I’m the Coach.

• Sunday, April 2 – I begin my eighth season playing and second season coaching a 38 and over adult baseball team. The Anderson Dodgers make their 2006 debut, losing in extra innings 9-8 to the dreaded White-Sox. Lewis Senior goes 2-3 with a double and a walk, scoring three times. Ibuprofen is not a banned substance.

• Monday, April 3 – Cincinnati Reds open the season against the Chicago Cubs. It’s colder and windier than any Bengel game I can remember. The Reds stumble to a 16-7 loss.

From the great movie, “Field of Dreams”, Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones) states: “Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”