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Tag(s): Baseball; Family; San Francisco; War Human Cost
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October 11, 2007 at 17:37:01

Headlined on 10/11/07:
In Baseball You Wear a Cap

by Jan Baumgartner Page 2 of 2 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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We dined at a small Mexican restaurant, without much privacy. The manager lingered around our table, the owner gifted us with a complimentary meal, and a few autographs were signed. It was a magical evening, though, and as we left, I remember feeling as though I were floating, even after gorging on a hefty platter of enchiladas and refried beans. (With time and wisdom, I would come to learn that this type of eating on a first date was not always prudent unless, of course, between the salsa and the chips, it was determined that a second date was not in one’s best interests).

Baseball has the seventh inning stretch. Football has the two minute warning.

He kissed me and I remember blushing, that wonderful, sweet, and singularly naïve moment that forever turns the world upside down. The tender, fleeting innocence that comes and goes on the wings of a butterfly. And only once.

As he tucked me into a cab for the ride back to the motel where my parents were patiently awaiting, and before he closed the door he said, “Make sure you call me as soon as you get in so I know you made it back safely, okay?” Okay.

It was a simpler time, and in many ways, a more honest time. I don’t imagine today there are many celebrity professional sports stars who would offer such heartfelt words, especially when they didn’t even make it past first base.

From a starry-eyed kid to a dreamy-eyed teenager, baseball was one of the constant backdrops to my formative years. And to this day, three decades later, I remain still, a devoted baseball and Red Sox fan. Spawned from those early, easy, innocent days when anything was possible and nothing was carved in stone. Where celebrity baseball players were gentlemen, but high school sweethearts and first loves, ended up taking center stage to first base.

In a tumultuous world, baseball provides us with a momentary lightness - a coming together of community. Baseball, unlike its more aggressive cousins, allows us to simply be.

In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing their aerial assault with a substantial ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.

In baseball the objective is to go home! And to be safe! I hope I’ll be safe at home!

George Carlin got it right when he summed up the differences between baseball and football. And in reading his ingenious comparison and insight, it bears a striking similarity to current day chaos – the shadow of war and unbearable loss.

Let us hope they all come home. And are safe.

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A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internationally, including the NYT, Bangor Daily News, SCOOP New Zealand, Wolf Moon Journal, Media for Freedom Nepal, and Banderas News in Mexico. She's finishing a memoir about her husband's death from ALS and how travels in Africa became one of her greatest sources of inspiration and hope. She is a Managing Editor for OpEdNews.

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2 comments

Young retired yank of 59 living in the highlands o Scotland. Been out of the old country for 20 some years now. I'm with the Dali Lama, kindness is the only thing that will work. LOVE cycling on or off road. My wife is a wonderful girl from Manchester England.We're haven fun.
davyYoung retired yank of 59 living in the highlands o Scotland. Been out of the old country for 20 some years now. I'm with the Dali Lama, kindness is the only thing that will work. LOVE cycling on or off road. My wife is a wonderful girl from Manchester England.We're haven fun.

A diamond of a story

Like finding a diamond :-). So enjoyed your story. When I was a young red headed boy at Comisky Park during batting practice with my dad, a young player from the White Sox walked over and said, "Hey Red would you like a bat?" I'm sorry I don't remember his name but my dad did make me write a thank you letter to him of which I am still grateful. I played football all the way through university and your analogies are so on the money. Baseball was like a great game and football was like going to war. I am now an X pat where soccer or footie is GOD. :-)

I too was a little league catcher and donned the tools of ignorance (Yogi) with pride. To this day the smell of leather takes me back to those times. Now I watch with relish The Tour de France and Athletics, as track and field are called in Scotland and YES I am sad about sports these days but nothing can take away the smell of leather or that wee hit of adrenalin on a crisp fall day.

by davy (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 240 comments) on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 6:50:30 AM

A native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Jan BaumgartnerA native Californian, Jan Baumgartner is a freelance writer currently living in Maine. Her background includes scriptwriting, comedy writing for the Northern California Emmy Awards, and travel writing for The New York Times. She has worked as a grant writer for the non-profit sector in the fields of academia, AIDS, and wildlife conservation and anti-poaching for NGO's in the U.S. and Africa. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous online and print publications in the U.S. and internat...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Thank you, Davy

I love it that your father had you write a thank-you note!

Well, I did enjoy the Red Sox win last night. I never thought I would switch my loyalties from the National League to the American, but there you go.

As a sweet sidenote: one of my brother's young daughter's plays on the girls "little league" team - a catcher, no less - and #5! She's the next generation Johnny Bench fan and undoubtedly, she too, has a head full of stats.

P.S. all of the comparisons of baseball and football that are boldface, are excerpts from the wonderful George Carlin piece. I hope I made that clear in my article...

by Jan Baumgartner (52 articles, 137 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 252 comments) on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 9:50:07 AM