Dear Baseball,
I used to love you, now I feel like I don’t even know you.
In the 1980s, you were my first love. I remember my first baseball glove, an old left-handed glove passed down to me from my Aunt Sara. I used that glove, playing hours and hours of catch with my dad, neighborhood friends, and cousins. I used that glove for backyard baseball games, tee ball, and even the early years of little league. I wonder if I still have that glove, buried in storage in my parents basement?
And speaking of little league, there was nothing like it. As the weather changed in the spring, the anticipation of that first practice hit like a bang, or more like a Albert Pujols line drive. There was nothing like waking up on game day and counting down the hours and minutes until it was time to load up in the station wagon, minivan, or Pontiac Bonneville and head to the ballpark. I’ll never forget the beauty of a freshly chalked baseball field. It was like a piece of fine art. And of course, a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream cone from Frosty’s on the way home. Baseball, I want to thank you for all of that and the memories that have lasted.
I quit on you after one week of my junior season in high school. Man, do I regret that. I apologize. What a great group of teammates, great friends I had in baseball. And if I wouldn’t have quit, my senior season would have been something special. Our team was very good and one of my best friends to this day, my cousin, Andy Van Hekken, would have also been a teammate had I not quit. He was a special player. He was a left-handed pitcher who was hitting 92 on the gun in high school. Every time he pitched there were dozens of scouts behind the backstop with their radar guns.
It sure would have been great to be a part of that, and to be able to say I had a teammate who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners, and then traded to the Detroit Tigers organization, played an entire season in nearby Grand Rapids with the Single-A, West Michigan Whitecaps, had 5 starts with the Detroit Tigers including a complete game shutout against the Cleveland Indians in his first start, and was an all-time great pitcher in the KBO professional league in South Korea. Hey, at least I can say I had a cousin that did all that.
Baseball, you were a huge part of not just my cousin Andy and my life, but all my cousins' lives. Growing up at every Van Hekken get together, we would play 2 on 2 baseball, basketball, or football, depending on the season. My favorite thing to play with my cousins was baseball. My teammate was always the oldest boy cousin, and older brother of Andy, Chris. Chris was several years older than me and significantly more advanced in his knowledge of the game and he would, at times, try to install some of that more advanced knowledge into some strategy that had me, at my young age, looking like a deer in headlights, but I sure learned a lot. No surprise that Chris went on to become a phenomenal high school baseball coach.
What great memories on the other side of my family you brought me as well, baseball. Thank you for all the major league games my dad and I went to with my Uncle John, cousin Jason, cousin Jared, and cousin JB. Such amazing memories, especially going to Tiger Stadium, one of my favorite places ever on earth. I miss Tiger Stadium. I miss walking from the concourse into the stands and seeing the field, the perfectly groomed field, and the most beautiful color of green grass you could imagine. I miss talking about who the starting pitchers were for the game on the drive to Detroit. I miss watching the players warm up and being in awe at how effortlessly they could throw the ball, which looked like a mile. I miss the smells of the peanuts, popcorn, and pizza in the air. Sorry though row P, but I don’t miss your obstructed view you provided my family and me with at one game.
As summer would turn to fall, the leaves turned red, yellow, and brown, and the temperature would drop, there was nothing like sitting in a warm home, with a cup of hot chocolate, watching the playoffs. Where has that feeling gone? What teams are even in the playoffs now? Who is Pete Crow-Armstrong? Who is Yordan Alvarez? Who is Ben Rice and Gavin Williams?
What happened to Lou Whitaker, Eric Davis, Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Maddux, and Orel Hershiser?
What happened to the Milwaukee Brewers playing in the American League? What happened to the Houston Astros playing in the National League? And speaking of the National League, why are they using a DH? What is a pitch clock? Why are the bases so big? What are umpires reviewing and changing their calls?
Dear baseball, I feel like I don’t even know you now. Have you changed that much or have I changed? Are you still the greatest game ever? Can you still make me feel the way you made me feel when I was a kid?
Maybe I should give you another chance.
Can I still get the feeling I would get listening to Ernie Harwell call Tiger games on the radio? Or listening to George Kell and Al Kaline call a Tigers game on TV? If I were to pick up a pack of baseball cards, would I still have that excitement over the anticipation of who I might pull out of the pack? Is there still gum in the Topps packs? Are there even Topps cards anymore?
I guess the only way to know is to give it a shot. Maybe I should, indeed, give you another chance.