It’s November – Already Missing Baseball

It hasn’t been more than a few weeks since the professional baseball season ended with the conclusion of the the World Series. Both teams ran the gauntlet but only one could prevail. Kansas City came up short last year but would not be denied this time. They provided many tough at-bats late in games, played good defense and pitched well enough to win against a spirited Mets team. Offensively, the Royals showed how a team focused on solid, consistent contact rather than home runs, could prevail against a young, stingy, hard throwing Mets pitching staff.

Now it’s time for me to disclose that since the age of nine I have been a NY Mets fan. Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones and the rest of the Amazin ’69 Mets hooked me for life. Except for a few sterling seasons since, there have been some difficult years in between. But that didn’t matter this year, the Mets had an astonishing season. It was an exhilarating World Series and playoff run, with many long beleaguered Mets fans being given a new flash of enthusiasm for their team. Still, the wait until pitchers and catchers report to Sprint Training looms again in the distance with a cold, dark winter between us.

After taking a break from baseball activities during the November and December holiday season, my son, Jeff and I usually begin to slip and slide our way down the icy roads to our local indoor batting cage, which we try to frequent several times a week in the winter. We hit, catch and throw indoors until our season begins in April — That is, if the snow melts on time here in New Hampshire.

During the past seven years, since he was twelve and suddenly decided that he wanted to play, Jeff has learned to love baseball like few kids I have ever seen. We have learned to appreciate the game and each other in new ways both as father and son, and as training partners. We would throw long toss drills as soon as a field was ready to tolerate us and hit in the cage until our hands blistered and bled. We have come to know each other’s flaws and tendencies to become the other’s trusted mirror. As a kid, my father and I shared a similar relationship. My dad played a fine game of softball and coached almost all the teams that my sister, brother and I played on. His wisdom and knowledge of the game was well beyond my understanding. I have been blessed to be able to pass this on to my own son.

In 2010, Jeff was the one responsible for convincing me to play the game again. He felt strongly that I still had the ability to compete. I resisted at first. Not counting the 6 years of softball I had played sporatically in between, it had been over 30 years since I competed between the lines as a baseball player. To be honest, it was a bit scary at first. The only things I really had going for me at that point were my experiences in the distant past, the recent practice sessions with my son and the fact that I had kept myself in good physical condition. So I reluctantly joined the local over-40 team in a wood bat league where I played as a 50 year old rookie outfielder… Yikes! Besides the multitude of baseball skills I initially had to brush up on, the first thing I needed to learn to do was to hit a breaking ball, which I had not seen much of in my early playing days. Within a short time of playing against the over-40 teams and usually hitting 5th or 6th in our lineup, I was being pummeled with breaking balls by opposing pitchers. While I got off to a good start that year hitting fastballs, I slumped once pitchers figured out they could get me out with breaking balls. And they did.

Jeff and I worked intensely together and independently in the subsequent years to become decent ballplayers who could hit breaking balls hard. We enjoyed our practice, teammates and competition. When I played for my team, he was usually present and I knew he was watching carefully. I knew that I had to hustle and work hard if I wanted him to do the same. I always stressed the importance of being a calming leader, a supportive teammate, and a sportsmanlike gentleman, on and off the field. I can tell you now that he is well on his way to embodying those attributes.

It has been a fabulous journey with him. Aside from practicing long hours together, training with ex-pros and cheering each other on as spectators, we have played together as teammates in several father-son tournaments, including games in Cooperstown NY, on Doubleday Field. It has been an absolute blast and will never be forgotten by either of us. He’s planning on going away next year to play college ball, so I’ll need to keep busy in some new ways.

My new journey in the world of baseball is this website, for which we will provide content. We hope that you will enjoy our posts and we’ll do our very best to make it a special place to exchange and assimilate ideas on how to become a better baseball player or coach. We look forward to the road ahead with you!